Acting
John Standing
Sir John Ronald Leon, 4th Baronet (born 16 August 1934) is an English actor and baronet who is known as John Standing. He is the stepson of John Clements. Standing was born in London, the son of Kay Hammond (née Dorothy Katherine Standing), an actress, and Sir Ronald George Leon, 3rd Baronet, a stockbroker descended from Sir Herbert Leon, the builder of Bletchley Park. He succeeded his father as the 4th baronet in 1964, but does not use the title. The Leon family were, until 1937, owners of Bletchley Park, the country house in Buckinghamshire used in the Second World War as a code-breaking centre. He was educated at Eton College and Millfield School, Somerset. He served in the King's Royal Rifle Corps as a second lieutenant, before going on to study at the Byam Shaw School of Art in London Standing began his career in Peter Brook's 1955 production of Titus Andronicus starring Laurence Olivier and wife Vivien Leigh and later played leading parts in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, Christopher Fry's Ring Round the Moon, A Sense of Detachment by John Osborne, and Noël Coward's Private Lives, with Maggie Smith. He was nominated for an Olivier award (1979) for Close of Play at the National Theatre. He made his film debut in The Wild and the Willing (1962), going on to appear in King Rat (1965), Walk, Don't Run (1966), The Psychopath (1966), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), The Elephant Man (1980), Nightflyers (1987), Mrs Dalloway (1997) and A Good Woman (2004). One of his first major television roles was as Sidney Godolphin in the BBC twelve-part serial, The First Churchills (1969). Other television appearances include Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979); the ITV sitcom The Other 'Arf (1980–84), with Lorraine Chase; The Choir (1995) and King Solomon's Mines (2004). In the United States, he made guest appearances in numerous weekly programmes including L.A. Law, Civil Wars and Murder, She Wrote, and co-starred briefly with Robert Wagner and Samantha Smith in the action series Lime Street (1985). In 1976, he also appeared opposite Peter O'Toole in the little-seen BBC thriller film, Rogue Male, directed by Clive Donner. He appeared in the horror film Nightflyers (1987) adapted from a short story by George R. R. Martin. In 2002, he had a speaking credit on Lost Horizons, the second studio album from the British electronic duo Lemon Jelly. On track 1, "Elements", he lists the basic “elements" that make up the world: ash, metal, water, wood, fire and sky. On track 3, "Ramblin' Man", Standing reads a long list of various locations around the world, ranging from small Sussex villages to major world capitals. In July 2010, it was confirmed that he would be appearing as Jon Arryn in the HBO series Game of Thrones, based on Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels.
Filmography
Can You Hear Me?
Film · 2025
The Great Escaper
Film · 2023
May… I Have This Dance?
Film · 2020
A Family Affair
Film · 2019
Churchill and the Movie Mogul
Film · 2019
The Happy Prince
Film · 2018
King Lear
Film · 2018
Patrick Melrose
Series · 2018
The Hippopotamus
Film · 2017
Churchill's Secret
Film · 2016
The Crown
Series · 2016
Queen & Country
Film · 2015
The Last Resort
Film · 2014
Rosamunde Pilcher: The Other Wife
Series · 2012
Game of Thrones
Series · 2011
Borgia
Series · 2011
The Shadow in the North
Film · 2007
The Contractor
Film · 2007
I Want Candy
Film · 2007
Consenting Adults
Film · 2007
Fallen Angel
Series · 2007
V for Vendetta
Film · 2006
Rabbit Fever
Film · 2006
Scoop
Film · 2006
The Line of Beauty
Series · 2006
Lassie
Film · 2005
Animal
Film · 2005
A Good Woman
Film · 2004
King Solomon's Mines
Series · 2004
Shoreditch
Film · 2003
Keen Eddie
Series · 2003
Trust
Series · 2003
The Falklands Play
Film · 2002
The Real Jane Austen
Film · 2002
The Gathering Storm
Film · 2002
Pandaemonium
Film · 2001
Queen's Messenger
Film · 2001
Witness to a Kill
Film · 2001
In Deep
Series · 2001
Love in a Cold Climate
Series · 2001
The Calling
Film · 2000
Longitude
Film · 2000
Longitude
Series · 2000
Rogue Trader
Film · 1999
8 ½ Women
Film · 1999
Mad Cows
Film · 1999
Joan of Arc
Series · 1999
The Vice
Series · 1999
The Man Who Knew Too Little
Film · 1997
Mrs. Dalloway
Film · 1997
The Woman In White
Film · 1997
Midsomer Murders
Series · 1997
A Dance to the Music of Time
Series · 1997
Lexx
Series · 1997
Midsomer Murders
Series · 1997
The Woman In White
Series · 1997
Gulliver's Travels
Series · 1996
The Choir
Series · 1995
Look at the State We're In!
Series · 1995
Riders
Film · 1993
Chaplin
Film · 1992
The Count of Solar
Film · 1992
Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel
Film · 1992
The Old Boy Network
Series · 1992
Eerie, Indiana
Series · 1991
Civil Wars
Series · 1991
Tonight at 8.30
Series · 1991
Night of the Fox
Film · 1990
The Endless Game
Film · 1989
Dark Holiday
Film · 1989
Chameleons
Film · 1989
Paddington Bear
Series · 1989
Agatha Christie's Poirot
Series · 1989
The Endless Game
Series · 1989
Flapjack Floozie
Film · 1988
Murphy's Law
Series · 1988
Nightflyers
Film · 1987
Visitors
Film · 1987
L.A. Law
Series · 1986
Lime Street
Series · 1985
Screen Two
Series · 1985
To Catch a King
Film · 1984
The Biko Inquest
Film · 1984
Hunter
Series · 1984
Murder, She Wrote
Series · 1984
Murder, She Wrote
Series · 1984
Privates on Parade
Film · 1983
Invitation to the Wedding
Film · 1983
Pygmalion
Film · 1983
Hotel
Series · 1982
Shillingbury Tales
Series · 1981
The Elephant Man
Film · 1980
The Sea Wolves
Film · 1980
The Other 'Arf
Series · 1980
Hart to Hart
Series · 1979
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Series · 1979
The Legacy
Film · 1978
The Class Of Miss MacMichael
Film · 1978
The Sinking of the HMS Victoria
Film · 1977
Nanny's Boy
Film · 1977
Beryl Reid
Series · 1977
BBC2 Play of the Week
Series · 1977
Jubilee 1977
Series · 1977
The Eagle Has Landed
Film · 1976
Rogue Male
Film · 1976
Space: 1999
Series · 1975
Au Pair Girls
Film · 1972
Zee and Co.
Film · 1972
Van der Valk
Series · 1972
The Frighteners
Series · 1972
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
Series · 1971
All the Right Noises
Film · 1970
Wine of India
Film · 1970
A Touch of Love
Film · 1969
Charley's Aunt
Film · 1969
The First Churchills
Series · 1969
The Main Chance
Series · 1969
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Series · 1969
Torture Garden
Film · 1967
ITV Playhouse
Series · 1967
Walk Don't Run
Film · 1966
The Psychopath
Film · 1966
King Rat
Film · 1965
BBC Play of the Month
Series · 1965
BBC Play of the Month
Series · 1965
Sharp at Four
Film · 1964
Hot Enough for June
Film · 1964
The Wednesday Play
Series · 1964
The Iron Maiden
Film · 1963
The Wild and the Willing
Film · 1962
A Pair of Briefs
Film · 1962
The Saint
Series · 1962
The Avengers
Series · 1961
Drama 61-67
Series · 1961
Armchair Theatre
Series · 1956