Basil Exposition

Background:

"Cinema, it has always seemed to me, is essentially a filmed thought." Michael York

British actor Michael York is recognized by audiences for his role as British Intelligence leader Basil Exposition in the Austin Powers series of comedy films: "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" (1997), "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" (1999), and "Austin Powers in Goldmember" (2002).

An actor since the 1960s, York, who received a Star on the Walk of Fame in 2002, has starred in such films as "The Taming of the Shrew" (1967), "Romeo and Juliet" (1968), "Cabaret" (1972), "The Three Musketeers" (1973), "Logan's Run" (1976), "The Riddle of the Sands" (1979), "Wide Sargasso Sea" (1993), "A Young Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" (1995), "The Omega Code" (1999), "The Haunting of Hell House" (1999), "Borstal Boy" (2000) and "Megiddo: The Omega Code 2" (2001). He will next be seen in the upcoming films "Mika i Alfred," "Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey" and "Quantum Heist."

On the small screen, TV viewers could catch him as Charles Scott (1987-1988) on the CBS primetime television soap opera "Knots Landing" and as Colin Rhome on the series "The Lot," which earned him an Emmy nomination. He also starred in a handful of TV movies and miniseries, most notably "The Forsyte Saga" (1967), "Great Expectations" (1974), "Jesus of Nazareth" (1977), "The Phantom of the Opera" (1983), "The Master of Ballantrae" (1984), "The Lady and the Highwayman" (1989), "Night of the Fox" (1990), "Fall from Grace" (1994), "Danielle Steel's The Ring" (1996) and "A Knight in Camelot" (1998).

He is also credited for such Broadway productions as "Out Cry" (1973), "Bent" (1979-1980), "The Little Prince and the Aviator" (1982), "The Crucible" (1991-1992) and "Someone Who'll Watch Over Me" (1992-1993).

English

Childhood and Family:

Born in Fulmer, Buckinghamshire, England, on March 27, 1942, Michael York-Johnson grew up in Burgess Hill, a suburb of London and Brighton. His father, Joseph Gwynne Johnson, was an ex-army officer turned businessman and his mother, Florence Edith May Johnson, was a musician. At age three, little York broke his nose when he jumped off the roof of a coal house trying to fly.

York was educated at Bromley Grammar School for Boys, in Bromley, Kent. In 1964, he graduated with a BA degree in English from University College, at Oxford University, in Oxford, England.

“The great thing about university is that they incline you to get up and do it, from the classics to modern plays, to the humor that Monty Pythons made popular. They were my contemporaries at Oxford and they took that university wit and universalized it. You know, not having the same training as in drama class, but still having a practical training, the experience of just getting on stage and letting it rip.” Michael York

On March 27, 1968, he married Patricia McCallum. He is the stepfather of “Star Wars” producer Rick McCallum.

York is good friends and mentor to actor Casper Van Dien and is a lifelong friend to Casper's wife Catherine Oxenberg. He was awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the British Empire).

Knots Landing

Career:

"I was fortunate because it was a great era in British acting when I was growing up. We had Laurence Olivier, plus Alex Guinness, Michael Redgrave, Paul Scofield. It was very fertile. It was particularly strong in my era and I think it was a great thrill to work for Olivier. They could [all] be my theatrical gods." Michael York

Beginning his acting career as a teenager, Michael York worked with the semi-professional Bromley Little Theatre Company and appeared in a 1956 production of "The Yellow Jacket.” He made his London stage debut with a one-line role in a 1959 production of William Shakespeare's tragedy “Hamlet.” While attending Oxford University, he spent his summers working with Michael Croft’s Youth Theatre, where he toured Italy in a production of another Shakespeare's tragedy, “Julius Caesar.” He also became a member of the Dundee Repertory Theatre in Scotland, where he made his stage debut as Sergius in George Bernard Shaw's comedy "Arms and the Man."

In January 1965, York received his first break when he was invited to join England’s National Theatre and was immediately cast by esteemed Italian director Franco Zeffirelli in Shakespeare's comedy “Much Ado About Nothing,” which led to his BBC TV debut as Young Jolyon in the acclaimed drama series “The Forsyte Saga” (BBC, 1966). In 1967, he portrayed Jolyon 'Jolly' Forsyte in the phenomenally successful BBC miniseries adapted from a series of three novels and two interludes by John Galsworthy, "The Forsyte Saga." That same year, he made his film acting debut in the Franco Zeffirelli's big screen version of William Shakespeare's comedy, "The Taming of the Shrew" (1967; starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton), portraying the handsome suitor Lucentio.

The following year, York was cast as Tybalt in Zeffirelli's take on Shakespeare's tragic play, "Romeo and Juliet" (1968), and was nominated for a Golden Laurel Award for Male New Face. He then portrayed the handsome country boy in post-war Austria in stage director Harold Prince's first feature film, "Something for Everyone" (1970; opposite Angela Lansbury), which was inspired by Harry Kressing's novel, and the role of Brian Roberts, the love interest and eventual lover to Liza Minnelli's Sally Bowles, in Bob Fosse's film adaptation of the 1966 Broadway musical, "Cabaret" (1972).

“I think that British actors train to encompass all the media because it's easier. It's a smaller country. You're expected to do your radio play for the BBC, go off and do a film, and then return to the theater. You cover all the bases. When I first came to this country [the U.S.], it wasn't true. Everyone had been very firmly put in their pigeonholes. They were film actors and there was very little crossover, which I thought was a terrible pity. I've always been a maverick. I've done whatever I wanted.” Michael York

York was the original choice to play Sgt. Howie in the British cult classic horror film directed by Robin Hardy, “The Wicker Man” (1973), but was unavailable for the part and it went to Edward Woodward. Meanwhile, he made his Broadway debut as Felice in Tennessee Williams' short-lived play "Outcry" (March 1, 1973 - March 10, 1973) and gave a strong performance as Anthony Farrant in Peter Duffell's underrated film adaptation of Graham Greene's novel, "England Made Me" (1973; with Hildegarde Neil and Peter Finch). He also had supporting roles in Charles Jarrott's film based on James Hilton's 1933 novel, "Lost Horizon" (1973) and "The Three Musketeers" (1973; with Oliver Reed, Charlton Heston, Raquel Welch, Faye Dunaway, and Richard Chamberlain), Richard Lester's romp based on the classic novel by Alexandre Dumas, père.

In the subsequent year, York acted in Sidney Lumet's all-star ensemble cast of "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974). He later recalled, “It was wonderful on several counts, because every role was played by a major star. It was fantastic company. They had a sort of round table for lunch, to make things quicker and more efficient, and that was great because all sorts of people would drop by, royalty and whatever. So I had a wonderful time.”

York then portrayed the poor orphan Pip in the NBC version of Charles Dickens' novel, "Great Expectations" (1974). He also played the title role of the Sandman in Michael Anderson's Oscar-nominated sci-fi thriller film based on the 1967 novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, "Logan's Run" (1976), and John the Baptist in the NBC biblical miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth" (1977; alongside Robert Powell's Jesus and Anne Bancroft's Mary). He wrapped up the decade by associate-producing his first film, "The Riddle of the Sands" (1979), an adventure drama based on the 1903 novel by Irish nationalist Erskine Childers. He then succeeded Richard Gere in the lead role of the promiscuous gay man Max in the Broadway production of "Bent" (December 2, 1979 - June 28, 1980).

1982 saw York make his U.S. musical theater debut with "The Little Prince and the Aviator," in which he portrayed aviator Toni. Afterward, he starred as Rollo Spencer in the BBC film inspired by Rosamond Lehmann's novel, "The Weather in the Streets" (1983), and was cast as opera producer Michael Hartnell in the CBS version of Gaston Leroux's classic French novel, "The Phantom of the Opera" (1983). He also had the lead role of James Durrie in the CBS movie based on a book by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, "The Master of Ballantrae" (1984), and played a music video producer who discovers his wife may not be deceased in "Are You My Mother?"

York spent the rest of the 1980s playing a regular role on the CBS primetime television soap opera "Knots Landing" from 1987 to 1988 and providing a voice-over for one of the apes in Mel Brooks' science fiction parody film of "Star Wars," "Spaceballs" (1987). He was also a member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1987 and later portrayed the role of King Charles II of England in the CBS production of Barbara Cartland's novel, "The Lady and the Highwayman" (1989; starring Hugh Grant, Emma Samms, Lysette Anthony, and Oliver Reed).

In the early 1990s, York played dual roles in the syndicated two-part TV movie based on Jack Higgins' novel, "Night of the Fox" (1990). He also returned to the Broadway stage as Reverend John Hale in a production of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" (December 10, 1991 - January 5, 1992) and Michael in Irish dramatist Frank McGuinness' “Someone Who'll Watch Over Me” (November 23, 1992 - June 13, 1993). Meanwhile, he played Rachel Ward's husband in John Duigan's film adaption, "Wide Sargasso Sea" (1993), and wrote an autobiography titled “Accidentally on Purpose” (1993), which was published under the title "Traveling Player" in Britain.

After co-starring with James Fox in the CBS miniseries set during WWII, "Fall From Grace" (1994), York played Merlin in Ralph L. Thomas' novel-based adventure film "A Young Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" (1995) and acted alongside Nastassja Kinski in NBC’s production of Danielle Steel's' romantic drama novel set during WW II, "The Ring" (1996). He also portrayed Basil Exposition in Jay Roach's comedy movie starring Mike Myers, "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" (1997). He would later reprise the role in the sequels "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" (1999) and "Austin Powers: Goldmember" (2002). He also appeared in the music video for Madonna's "Beautiful Stranger" (1999), which was the movie soundtrack for "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me."

York next portrayed King Arthur, opposite Whoopi Goldberg, in the ABC movie loosely based on Mark Twain's novel "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," "A Knight in Camelot" (1998), had the lead role of a mysterious professor in Mitch Marcus' horror movie "Henry James' The Haunting of Hell House" (1999), and played Stone Alexander, opposite Casper Van Dien, in the film directed by Robert Marcarelli, "The Omega Code" (1999), a role which he reprised in the sequel "Megiddo: The Omega Code 2" (2001).York then portrayed the tough head of a reform school in Peter Sheridan's take on Brendan Behan's autobiographical novel, "Borstal Boy" (2000) and received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Temecula Valley International Film Festival. In 2001, he had the recurring role of Colin Rhome, an Errol Flynn-like actor, in the drama/comedy series "The Lot," for which he earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. Also that year, he published the acting manual book "A Shakespearean Actor Prepares."

"I've always enjoyed writing, I graduated with a degree in English; I've done bits of journalism. A couple of years ago, I co-authored a book on Shakespeare. To do that and to do my day job, I had to wake up early (laughs), so when the book was over, I looked at something else to keep me busy. That was the genesis of the more recent one." Michael York

York received a Star on the Walk of Fame (Motion Picture) in June 2002. That same year, he lent his voice in TV commercials for Pepsi Twist and Taco Bell.

The following year saw York read the audio book of Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" and narrate the unabridged audio book version of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" from the C.S. Lewis series “The Chronicles of Narnia.” In 2005, he published a memoir about his adventures in filmmaking titled "Are My Blinkers Showing?"

In January 2007, York appeared with Rachel York and James Barbour in a production of the musical "Camelot" at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts in La Mirada, California.

"I've always loved it. I happen to love working in cinema, but the theater is always there, you know, and I would never shut the door on it. Even though it's been quite a bit of time since I've done a play. Last one was in New York." Michael York

York is currently working on the films projects "Mika i Alfred," a mystery drama based on Vladimir Kunin's novel, "Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey," an animated movie directed by Harry 'Doc' Kloor and Dan St. Pierre in which he will lend his voice alongside Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and John Travolta, and "Quantum Heist," a mystery/thriller directed by Geraint Wyn Davies. He will also provide his voice in an episode of Cartoon Network's animated action series "Ben 10: Alien Force" and will appear in an upcoming romantic drama TV movie based on Rosamunde Pilcher's novel, "Four Seasons."

Awards:

• Karlovy Vary International Film Festival: Town of Karlovy Vary Award, 2002

• Temecula Valley International Film Festival: Lifetime Achievement Award, 2000