10 Facts About Kenneth Cranham

Kenneth Cranham was born on 12 December 1944 and is a British film, television, radio and stage actor.

Cranham was born in Dunfermline, Fife, the son of Lochgelly-born Margaret McKay Cranham and Ronald Cranham, a London-born civil servant.

Kenneth Cranham trained at the National Youth Theatre and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1966 with a RADA Diploma.

Kenneth Cranham starred in the title role in the popular 1980s comedy drama Shine on Harvey Moon, prior to which he had appeared as Charlie Collins in A Family at War.

Kenneth Cranham was cast as the deranged Philip Channard and his Cenobitic alter-ego in the Horror film Hellbound: Hellraiser II.

Kenneth Cranham's performance was described as "the performance of his life" by Michael Coveney of WhatsOnStage.

For BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Play, Kenneth Cranham has played DS Max Matthews in The Interrogation by Roy Williams and starred as Thomas Gradgrind in BBC Radio's 2007 adaptation of Dickens' Hard Times.

Kenneth Cranham has two daughters: Nancy Cranham from a relationship with actress Charlotte Cornwell, and Kathleen Cranham with his second wife, to whom he is still married, actress Fiona Victory.

Kenneth Cranham was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to drama.

Kenneth Cranham has performed a number of readings for BBC Radio.