Rudolph Walker

Rudolph Walker is a Trinidadian-British actor. He was born on September 28, 1939, in San Juan, Colony of Trinidad and Tobago. His career in acting began when he was eight years old and was about to join Derek Walcott's Trinidad Theatre Workshop. Actor Errol John convinced him to go to the UK for training. He married Lorna Ross in 1968, but later, the couple split after having two children. His second wife was fellow Trinidadian Dounne Alexander but the marriage did not last long. In 2016, he got married to Evangeline Vincent.

Walker made his television debut as a policeman in the episode titled "Fable" under the series The Wednesday Play in 1965. His roles in The Thin Blue Line, Ali G Indahouse, and Love Thy Neighbour (Thames Television) were famous for comedy. He appeared in Doctor Who, The War Games, and in some episodes of Empire Road(1979). He featured in the first episode of the ITV Sitcom On The Buses, The Early Shift (1969), and Mr. Bean(1990). He has acted in the BBC One television soap opera EastEnders since 2001 as the character Patrick Trueman, for which he was voted The Best Actor at the Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards, in 2002. He starred in The Crouches, a BBC One sitcom.

He appeared in movies including King Ralph, Let Him Have It, Lovejoy, and 10 Rillington Place. He was the title lead in Shakespeare's Othello, and Caliban in The Tempest. He played Gower in Pericles, Prince of Tyre, in 1989. He lent his voice to Teletubbies, a British Children's Television series. He read a five-part abridgment by Margaret Busby in 1997. In 1989, he was the subject of This is Your Life. Walker launched the Rudolph Walker Foundation on his 70th birthday, which aims to help disadvantaged youths build a career in entertainment.

The Foundation has also administered the Rudolph Walker's Inter-School Drama Award (RWiSDA) for schools to compete across London. Rudolph Walker's Role Model Award (RWRMA) is presented to students who have made extraordinary contributions to their school. He won the Outstanding Achievement Award at the British Soap Awards in 2018. He was made the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama in the 2006 Birthday Honours. He was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to drama, and charity in the 2020 New Year Honours.