An Australian-born English actor, well known for his roles as J. Bruce Ismay, the managing director of the White Star Line in Titanic, Egyptologist Allen Chamberlain in The Mummy and Sam Parrish/Van Pelt, the hunter in Jumanji.

He is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Among other roles, he played Ferdinand in a 1985 production of John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi. He was an original cast member of Not the Nine O'Clock News, the first series of which was pulled from broadcast because of the General Election of 1979. He has also appeared in several television mysteries, including The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes starring Jeremy Brett, and Midsomer Murders.

He has been in numerous films including The Tailor of Panama, Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking, Eisenstein, Anaconda and Richie Rich.

In 2007, he played Dr. Dorn in Chekhov's The Seagull and the Earl of Kent in King Lear for the RSC. He reprised his role of Kent in the 2008 television film of King Lear.