Michael Cronin (actor)

For other people named Michael Cronin, see Michael Cronin (disambiguation).

Michael Cronin
Born	1942 (age 68–69) Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England
Occupation	Actor/Author
Years active	1972–present

Michael Cronin (born 1942) is an English actor and author.

Personal life

Born in Cranfield, Bedfordshire during World War II, he was educated by the Christian Brothers in Bristol, and at the University of London where he studied English. He lives in London with his wife and they have two sons.

Acting career

Cronin is a television and stage actor, particularly remembered for his role as PE teacher 'Bullet' Baxter in the television series Grange Hill between 1979 and 1986. He also made a cameo appearance as Baxter in a 2000 edition of The Grimleys. He also appeared in Fawlty Towers as Irish cowboy builder Lurphy (whom Manuel memorably called a "hideous orangutan"). He has appeared in episodes of Foyle's War, Midsomer Murders, The Sweeney and Bergerac. In 1990 he played Alfred Inglethorp in the Agatha Christie's Poirot film The Mysterious Affair at Styles, and played Sergei in the 2000 television adaptation of Anna Karenina. He also occasionally appears in the BBC television programme Merlin (2008), as the character Geoffrey of Monmouth. Other television work includes: The Sweeney, Marie Curie, Chinese Puzzle, Midnight at the Starlight, Invasion, Tiny Revolutions, The Gentle Touch, Glorious Day, Bergerac,  The Bill, Wycliffe, Tom Jones, Shakespeare Shorts, Our Mutual Friend, Goodnight Mr Tom, and The Mayor of Casterbridge.

His theatre work includes: An Empty Desk (Royal Court); Duet for One, Hamlet, Due Process of Law ( Dukes, Lancaster); Hamlet, Jail Diary of Albie Sachs, and Gloo Joo ( Young Vic); Hedda Gabler (Octagon, Bolton); Caesar and Cleopatra, The Prisoner of Zenda, and The Corn is Green ( Greenwich Theatre). From 1986 to 1991 he worked with the English Shakespeare Company in Richard II, Henry IV Pts 1 and 2, Henry V, Henry VI, Richard III, Coriolanus , and The Winter's Tale, and toured with them in the UK, Europe, Japan, US, India and Australia; All My Sons ( Oxford Stage Company/ Wolsey); Purcell's The Indian Queen with the King's Consort and NYMT at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Schwetzingen Festival in Germany;  Hamlet, and, Comedians (The Belgrade, Coventry);  Northanger Abbey (Greenwich Theatre); The Merchant of Venice (Salisbury Playhouse); Timon of Athens (AJTC Brix Theatre) The Taming of the Shrew , Don Juan  The Masterbuilder ,The Cherry Orchard, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Ghosts, King Lear,  Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, (English Touring Theatre) Mary Stuart (Derby Playhouse) Richard II (Steven Berkoff) Hamlet, Mother Courage (English Touring Theatre); The Last Confession (Chichester/The Haymarket London).

His film work includes: Jesus of Nazareth, Hopscotch, Oliver Twist, The Captive, Hour of the Pig, Heart of Darkness, The Grotesque, For My Baby, Jeremiah,  RKO 281, The Discovery of Heaven, The Wolfman.

Writing career

Michael Cronin has written three children's novels, published by Oxford University Press. His first novel, Against the Day, was short listed for the 1999 Angus Book Award. The story is set after the end of Second World War in an England that has fallen under Nazi occupation. It follows the adventures of two boys who become dangerously involved in a secret resistance movement. A sequel, Through the Night, was published in 2003. A third book in the series, In the Morning, was published in 2005.

He is also a screenwriter with two film screenplays to his credit.

Bibliography

• Against The Day - 1998 novel (ISBN 0-19-275267-7)
• Through the Night - 2003 novel (ISBN 0-19-275221-9)
• In The Morning - 2005 novel (ISBN 0-19-275447-5)

• No Final Truth - film script
• Stealing the Fire - film script

External links

• Michael Cronin at the Internet Movie Database
• Author Bio at Oxford Education
• Against The Day at Oxford Education^{[dead link]}

Persondata
Name	Cronin, Michael
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1942
Place of birth	Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England
Date of death
Place of death