Bruce Robert Allpress (25 August 1930 – 23 April 2020) was a New Zealand actor.

Bruce Allpress
As Aldor at Helm's Deep, 2000
Born
Bruce Robert Allpress

(1930-08-25)25 August 1930
Dunedin, New Zealand
Died23 April 2020(2020-04-23) (aged 89)
Auckland, New Zealand
OccupationActor

Biography edit

Allpress grew up in Dunedin, the second son of William and Gladys Allpress.[1][2] He began performing in the 1960s in a vaudeville minstrel show called the Cheeseman Singer Series.[1] He began working in television drama with a role in the series Hunter's Gold, then spent several years as a regular character on the late 1970s soap opera Close to Home.[3]

He appeared in many television dramas and also presented on television and radio productions. In the mid-1980s, he was a regular on The Billy T. James Show,[1] as well as featuring alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the pirate adventure film Nate and Hayes.[4] He also played the role of a blind piano tuner in The Piano (1993) directed by Jane Campion.[5] His most known role is Aldor, archer of Rohan that accidentally shot the first Uruk-hai from their army in the 2002 film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.[3]

Allpress died on 23 April 2020, aged 89, six months after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.[6]

Awards edit

In 1981 and 1983, Allpress was awarded the Feltex Television Award for Best Actor in the series Jocko.[3]

Filmography edit

Year Title Role Notes
1981 Beyond Reasonable Doubt Detective Sam Keith
1981 Bad Blood Inspector Calwell
1982 The Scarecrow Uncle Athol
1983 Nate and Hayes Mr. Blake
1985 Came a Hot Friday Don's Dad
1985 Should I Be Good? Neville Oswald
1987 Erebus: The Aftermath Peter Grundy TV miniseries
1990 The Shrimp on the Barbie Mr. Ridley
1993 The Piano Blind Piano Tuner
2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Aldor
2006 Ozzie Charlie Foster
2007 The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep Jock McGowan
2008 Power Rangers Jungle Fury Master Phant
2011 Rest for the Wicked Mr. Maxwell

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Bruce Allpress". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Bruce Allpress death notice". New Zealand Herald. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Kiwi actor Bruce Allpress who starred in Close to Home dies aged 89". NZ Herald. 25 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Savage Islands". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Lord of the Rings actor Bruce Allpress, who played a pivotal role in The Two Towers, has died aged 89". The Independent. 26 April 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  6. ^ "'Icon' Kiwi actor Bruce Allpress who 'fought to the end' dies aged 89". Stuff. Retrieved 25 April 2020.

External links edit