Topic: John Bennett

John Bennett (8 May 1928 – 11 April 2005) was a British actor. Born in Beckenham, Kent, he was educated at Bradfield College in Berkshire, then trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, followed by a wide Rep experience including Bromley, Bristol Old Vic, Dundee, Edinburgh Festival and Watford before going to London's West End.

Often cast as a villain, he had many roles on television including Porridge, Survivors, The Avengers, Bergerac and four episodes of The Saint . He guest-starred in two Doctor Who serials, as General Finch in Invasion of the Dinosaurs (1974) and as the Chinese magician Li H'sen Chang in The Talons of Weng-Chiang (1977). He is also well remembered as Philip Bosinney in the BBC's 1967 adaptation of The Forsyte Saga, but also appeared in over three hundred TV productions including God's Architect, Blake's 7, I, Claudius, Rome, Rosemary & Thyme, Saracen, Honey Lane, Special Branch, Softly, Softly, Mulberry, Tales of the Unexpected and Anna Karenina.

His film roles included The Fifth Element (1997), Charlotte Gray (2001) and Minority Report (2002).