Stephen Thorne

Stephen Thorne (March 2, 1935 – May 26, 2019) was a British actor of radio, film, stage, and television. He was born in London in 1935.

He trained at RADA and after a time in rep he played several seasons with the Old Vic Company and the RSC in Stratford and London including a tour to Russia. He has worked extensively in radio with over 2000 broadcasts for the BBCincluding Uncle Mort in the Radio 4 comedy series by Peter Tinniswood.

His television credits included Z-Cars, Crossroads, and Doctor Who. In Doctor Who he played three major villains (Omega, Azal, and Eldrad), as well as an Ogron. On radio he appeared as Aslan in The Magicians Nephew, as Treebeard in the BBC Radio 4 adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, and also in their adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Guards! Guards! in which he portrayed Fred Colon (and also Death). He was also renowned for audio book narration. He also played the character of Lionheart in The Scarifyers following Nicholas Courtney'sdeath.

Other television work included Death of an Expert Witness, David Copperfield, and Last of the Summer Wine. He voiced Aslan in the animated version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Thorne reprised the character on the BBC radio adaptation of the same name. He gave many poetry readings on radio, television, and tape and in venues from Westminster Abbey to various pubs.

He recorded over 300 unabridged audiobooks including children's stories which earned critical acclaim in both the UK and the US. Awards included a Talkies Award 1996 for Enigma by Robert Harris and several Golden Earphones Awards from Audiofile Magazine.

On May 26, 2019, Thorne died at the age of 84.