Biography

Michael Jayston

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Michael was born in Nottingham and educated at Becket Roman Catholic Grammar School, West Bridgeford, where he was known as Jimmy (his real name was Michael James) and where he was caned some 130 times. While that might have been a record, the one that went into the record books was scoring 60 of the under-13 football team's 120 goals in a season. In between canings and scoring goals, he acquired a great love of literature and the English language from a teacher at Becket Grammar School, which he left at seventeen with an A level in philosophy. He initially worked as an accountant with the coal board. Before he took his accountancy finals, he left the Coal Board and went to work in the Nottingham Fish Market, where the language he learned was a revelation to him.
- IMDb mini biography by: Tonyman 5

He was the only actor to play both Ian Fleming's James Bond and the Doctor in Doctor Who (1963). He played Bond in a 1971 BBC radio adaptation of You Only Live Twice (1967) and was at one point considered for the role on film. He portrayed the Valeyard, a possible future, evil incarnation of the Doctor, throughout the 1986 series of Doctor Who (1963). He later reprized his role in the 2003 Big Finish audio drama "He Jests at Scars...".
He was a distinguished classical stage actor (including performances for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre) who came into his own briefly in 1970s historical films, particularly as Czar Nicholas in Nicholas and Alexandra (1971). He was also a familiar face (and voice) to British television viewers.
He was offered the part of Captain Striker (played by Keith Barron) in Enlightenment: Part One (1983). He later played the role of the Valeyard in the "Trial of the Time Lord" season of Doctor Who (1963), an amalgamation of the dark side of the Doctor between his twelfth and thirteenth regenerations.
He was considered for the role of Dr. Armstrong in Lifeforce (1985), which was taken by Patrick Stewart.
Decided to change his surname to 'Jayston' because people were confused to whether his name was 'Michael James' or 'James Michael'.

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