Biography

The versatile British character actor Damien Thomas was born in the town of Ismailia, situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal in Egypt. After relocating to London, he trained for acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1966. That same year, he made his theatrical debut as Flamineo in John Webster's 17th century play The White Devil. He subsequently also performed at London's Old Vic and with the New Shakespeare Company.

Thomas first graced the screen in 1968. He was, thereafter, cast in a wide variety of ethnic roles, ranging from Middle Easterners and Spaniards to Dutchmen and Russians. He is perhaps best remembered as the gleefully satanic Count Karnstein in Hammer's classic vampire film Twins of Evil (1971). His other prominent roles have included the cursed Prince Kassim in Ray Harryhausen's production of Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977), the unfortunate musician Mark Smeaton, executed by the king for adultery in Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972), the Jesuit priest and translator Martin Alvito in the Emmy Award-winning miniseries Shogun (1980), a ruthless Spanish sea captain, Don Alfonso de la Torre, chief antagonist in Roman Polanski's swashbuckler Pirates (1986), and Agrippa, last king of Judea, in the six-part American/Italian period drama A.D. (1985). Thomas also made guest appearances in such diverse TV shows as Van der Valk (1972), Blake's 7 (1978), Dempsey and Makepeace (1985), The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1986) (as a murder victim), House of Cards (1990) and Zorro (1990).

Damien Thomas died on April 18 2025, a week after his 83rd birthday.
- IMDb mini biography by: I.S.Mowis