Person
Kenneth Colley
Born 7 December 1937 Died 30 June 2025, aged 87 Manchester, England, UK TMDB ↗
Kenneth Colley (7 December 1937 — 30 June 2025) was an English actor. A long-time character actor, he came to wider prominence through his role as Admiral Piett in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
FR·01
The numbers
18age in their first credit on record (1956)
69years on screen and counting
6credits in 1965, their busiest year
124dated credits on record
FR·02
Movie credits
Age: 75 Scar Tissue
2013as Weaver
Age: 74 LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out
2012as Admiral Piett (voice)
Age: 69 Greetings
2007as Ken
Age: 67 Like Father Like Son
2005as Rawsthorne
No poster
Age: 61 Hold Back the Night
1999as Uncle Bob
Age: 60 Shadow Run
1998as Larcombe
Age: 58 Brassed Off
1996as Greasley
Age: 58 Robert Rylands' Last Journey
1996as Archdale
Age: 57 Solomon & Sheba
1995as Nathan
Age: 55 Unnatural Causes
1993as Inspector Gerry Reckless
Age: 54 The Secret Life of Arnold Bax
1992as John Ireland
Age: 54 La Vie de Bohème
1992as Street Sweeper
Age: 53 Prisoner of Honor
1991as Capt. Dreyfus
Age: 52 The Last Island
1990as Nick
Age: 52 I Hired a Contract Killer
1990as The Killer
Age: 52 Kremlin Farewell
1990as Sergej
Age: 52 The Plot to Kill Hitler
1990as Wilhelm Keitel
Age: 51 The Rainbow
1989as Mr. Brunt
Age: 51 A Master of the Marionettes
1989as Inspector Tennyson
Age: 50 A Summer Story
1988as Jim
Age: 49 Casanova
1987as Le Duc
Age: 48 The Whistle Blower
1986as Bill Pickett
Age: 46 Return to Waterloo
1984as The Traveller
Age: 45 Return of the Jedi
1983as Admiral Piett
Age: 45 The Scarlet and the Black
1983as Capt. Hirsch
Age: 44 Giro City
1982as Martin
Age: 44 Firefox
1982as Colonel Kontarsky
Age: 44 I Remember Nelson
1982as Vice-Adm. Horatio Viscount Nelson
Age: 42 The Empire Strikes Back
1980as Admiral Piett
Age: 41 Life of Brian
1979as Jesus
Age: 41 The Danedyke Mystery
1979as The Major
Age: 41 Measure for Measure
1979as Duke Vincentio
Age: 41 Les Misérables
1978as Police Prefect
Age: 41 One Bummer News Day
1978as Frank Benyon
Age: 39 Come the Revolution
1977as Bruce Tetley
Age: 39 The Testing of Eric Olthwaite
1977as Robber
Age: 39 Jabberwocky
1977as 1st Fanatic
No poster
Age: 38 Three Days in Szczecin
1976as Edmund Bałuka
Age: 38 The Chester Mystery Plays
1976
Age: 37 Lisztomania
1975as Frederic Chopin
Age: 37 Flame
1975as Tony Devlin
Age: 36 Juggernaut
1974as Detective Brown
Age: 36 Mahler
1974as Krenek
Age: 35 Hitler: The Last Ten Days
1973as Boldt
Age: 34 The Triple Echo
1972as Provo Corporal
Age: 34 The Boy Friend
1971as King in fantasy sequence (uncredited)
Age: 33 The Devils
1971as Legrand
Age: 33 The Music Lovers
1971as Modeste Tchaikovsky
Age: 32 Performance.
1970as Tony Farrell
Age: 32 Dance of the Seven Veils
1970No poster
Age: 30 Cause of Death
1968as Dr. Emil Justin
Age: 30 The Blood Beast Terror
1968as James
No poster
Age: 30 Who Pays?
1968as Corbett
Age: 29 How I Won the War
1967as 2nd Replacement
Age: 29 The Jokers
1967as De Winter
No poster
Age: 28 Macbeth
1966as Macbeth's servant
Age: 27 Three Clear Sundays
1965as Nick
Age: 25 Seventy Deadly Pills
1963as Covent Garden porter
FR·03
TV credits
Age: 87 The Institute
2025as Gate Guard #5
Age: 75 Peaky Blinders
2013as Vicente Changretta
Age: 73 Vera
2011as Ronald Devreux
Age: 71 The Queen
2009
Age: 71 Misfits
2009as Old Rudy
Age: 66 New Tricks
2004
Age: 65 The Royal
2003as Bernard Hussey
Age: 64 Foyle's War
2002as Brian Jones
Age: 61 Relic Hunter
1999as Professor Lamenza
Age: 61 Always and Everyone
1999as Joseph
Age: 61 The Last Train
1999
Age: 60 The Mrs Bradley Mysteries
1998as Archie Burlington
Age: 59 Midsomer Murders
1997as Lloyd Kirby
Age: 56 Wycliffe
1994as Sam Peploe
Age: 55 Peak Practice
1993as Stan Jordan
Age: 54 Between the Lines
1992as Chief Supt. Tattersall
Age: 54 Heartbeat
1992as Clive Harris
Age: 51 Agatha Christie's Poirot
1989as Mathew Davenheim
Age: 50 War and Remembrance
1988as Paul Blobel
Age: 50 The Play on One
1988as DI Tennyson
Age: 50 The Modern World: Ten Great Writers
1988as Chief Inspector Heat
Age: 49 Inspector Morse
1987as DCI Patrick Dawson
Age: 48 Casualty
1986as Paddy
Age: 48 Casualty
1986as Clifford Watkins
Age: 48 Casualty
1986as Arthur Cobb
Age: 48 John Silver's Return to Treasure Island
1986as Ben Gunn
Age: 47 Mussolini: The Untold Story
1985as King Vittorio Emmanuele
Age: 47 Wallenberg: A Hero's Story
1985as Adolf Eichmann
Age: 47 Screen Two
1985as Sergej
No poster
Age: 44 I Remember Nelson
1982as ice-Adm. Horatio Viscount Nelson
Age: 43 Peter and Paul
1981as Theodotus
Age: 41 Minder
1979as Ron
Age: 40 The BBC Television Shakespeare
1978as Duke Vincentio
Age: 40 Pennies from Heaven
1978as The Accordion Man
Age: 39 Target
1977as Jessal
Age: 38 Dickens of London
1976as Robert Seymour
Age: 38 Ripping Yarns
1976as Robber
Age: 37 The Love School
1975as Edward Burne-Jones
Age: 37 The Sweeney
1975as Noah Riley
Age: 37 Churchill's People
1974as Ancient Beau
Age: 36 Fall of Eagles
1974as Father Gapon
No poster
Age: 35 Black and Blue
1973as Schultz
Age: 34 Crown Court
1972as Stanley Meredith
Age: 34 The Protectors
1972as Devlin
Age: 34 New Scotland Yard
1972as Peter Elliot
Age: 33 The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
1971as Farrish
Age: 32 Play for Today
1970as Bruce Tetley
Age: 32 Play for Today
1970as Frank Benyon
Age: 31 Dear Mother... ...Love Albert
1969
Age: 31 Judge Dee
1969
Age: 30 The Expert
1968as Foreman
Age: 30 The Expert
1968as Munt
No poster
Age: 30 City '68
1967as Corbett
Age: 29 Omnibus
1967as Hitler
Age: 28 The Informer
1966as Slater
Age: 27 BBC Play of the Month
1965as Yolinichev
Age: 27 Thirty-Minute Theatre
1965as Paddy
Age: 27 Thirty-Minute Theatre
1965as Dr. Emil Justin
Age: 27 Thirty-Minute Theatre
1965as Adolf Hitler
Age: 27 Thirty-Minute Theatre
1965as Charles I
Age: 26 Redcap
1964as Private Bolt
Age: 26 The Wednesday Play
1964as Bethold Florenberg
Age: 26 It's Dark Outside
1964as Hammond
Age: 23 The Avengers
1961
Age: 21 No Hiding Place
1959
Age: 18 Armchair Theatre
1956as Jimmy