William Squire (29 April 1917 – 3 May 1989) was a Welsh actor of stage, film and television. Squire was born in Neath, South Wales, the son of William Squire and his wife Martha (née Bridgeman). As a stage actor, Squire performed at Stratford-upon-Avon and at the Old Vic, and notably replaced his fellow-countryman Richard Burton as King Arthur in Camelot at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway. One of his first film appearances was in the 1956 film Alexander the Great, which starred Burton in the title role. His varied screen roles included Thomas More in the 1969 film version of Maxwell Anderson's play Anne of the Thousand Days, Sir Daniel Brackley in the 1972 television adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Black Arrow, the voice of Gandalf in the 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings and the Shadow in the 1979 Doctor Whoserial The Armageddon Factor. Perhaps his best-known role was as Hunter, the superior of secret agent David Callan in the spy series Callan in the early 1970s; Squire took over the role from Derek Bond. In a set of Encyclopædia Britannica-produced educational films about William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Squire played the role of Macbeth. This was in keeping with his long career as a Shakespearean actor, which included roles in the classic 1960s TV series, An Age of Kings.

Filmography

• 1988Testimony — Khatchaturyan
• 1984Puccini — Giacchi, the Doctor
• Marco Polo — Locandiere
• 1982The Ghost Downstairs — Narrator
• The Hound of the Baskervilles — Frankland
• 1981The Life and Times of David Lloyd George — Dr Clifford
• 1979Doctor Who: The Armageddon Factor — The Shadow
• All Creatures Great and Small — Roderick Perowne
• Blake's 7 — Kommissar
• 1978Les Misérables — Magistrate
• 1978The Lord of the Rings — Gandalf (voice)
• 1978The Thirty Nine Steps — Harkness
• 1977The Portable Phonograph — The Actor
• 1976Buffet — Arnold
• The XYY Man — Laidlaw
• Prometheus: The Life of Balzac
• Rumpole of the Bailey — Sir Daniel Derwent
• 1975Snooker — Humphrey
• The Venturers — Sir George Fielding
• Centre Play — Humphrey
• The Black Arrow — Sir Daniel Brackley, The Stranger
• Jason King
• Play for Today — Arnold
• 1969Anne of the Thousand Days — Thomas More
• Canterbury Tales — Chaucer
• W. Somerset Maugham — Owen Griffiths
• The Champions — Duncan
• The Jazz Age — Mr. Urquhart
• 1968Where Eagles Dare — Thomas
• 1967A Challenge for Robin Hood — Sir John
• Callan — Hunter
• Half Hour Story — Alex
• ITV Playhouse — Max
• 1967Which of These Two Ladies Is He Married To? — Alex
• 1965The Wars of the Roses — Duke of Suffolk
• The Wars of the Roses — Suffolk / Buckingham
• Doctor Who — The Shadow
• Festival — The Rev Melvyn Thomas
• An Age of Kings — Shallow / Epilogue, Owen Glendower, Chorus
• 1958Dunkirk — Captain (uncredited)
• 1958Innocent Sinners — Father Lambert
• Pride and Prejudice — Mr Bingley
• The Verdict Is Yours — Counsel for Defence
• 1957The Film That Never Was
• 1956Alexander the Great — Aeschenes
• Armchair Theatre — Paolo Bracchiana
• 1956The Battle of the River Plate — Ray Martin
• 1956The Man Who Never Was — Lt. Jewell
• The Adventures of Robin Hood — Vef
• 1951The Long Dark Hall — Sergeant Cochcran
• Sunday Night Theatre — Hector

Appearances as themselves (3)

• 2016Callan: This Man Alone — Himself (archive)
• 1988In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton — Self
• Great Performances — Self