Ben Cross (born 16 December 1947) is an English actor of the stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire.
Cross was born Harry Bernard Cross in London to a Roman Catholic family; his mother was a cleaning woman and his father a doorman and nurse. He began acting at a very young age and participated in grammar school plays – most notably playing Jesus in a school ...
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Ben Cross (born 16 December 1947) is an English actor of the stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire.
Cross was born Harry Bernard Cross in London to a Roman Catholic family; his mother was a cleaning woman and his father a doorman and nurse. He began acting at a very young age and participated in grammar school plays – most notably playing Jesus in a school pageant at age 12.
He attended Devonport High School for Boys but was bullied by a teacher and left home at 15. He worked in various jobs including work as a window cleaner, waiter and carpenter. He was master carpenter for the Welsh National Opera and property master at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham.
In 1970 at the age of 22, he was accepted into London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) - the alma mater of actors such as John Gielgud, Glenda Jackson and Anthony Hopkins, but later expressed little interest in pursuing the classical...
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