Kenneth Colley
Actor
Born December 7, 1937 in Manchester, England, UK
Kenneth Colley (7 December 1937 — 30 June 2025) was an English actor. A long-time character actor, he came to wider prominence through his role as Admiral Piett in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Colley was born in Manchester. He played Jesus (very briefly indeed) in Life of Brian (1979), having also appeared in the earlier Python-related production Ripping Yarns episode "The Testing of Eric Olthwaite" alongside Michael Palin. As a Shakespearean actor, he played the Duke of Vienna in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of Measure for Measure (also 1979).
Filmography
The Institute
Gate Guard #5
Scar Tissue
Weaver
Peaky Blinders
Vicente Changretta
LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out
Admiral Piett (voice)
Vera
Ronald Devreux
The Queen
Misfits
Old Rudy
Greetings
Ken
Like Father Like Son
Rawsthorne
New Tricks
The Royal
Bernard Hussey
Foyle's War
Brian Jones
Relic Hunter
Professor Lamenza
Always and Everyone
Joseph
The Last Train
The Mrs Bradley Mysteries
Archie Burlington
Shadow Run
Larcombe
Midsomer Murders
Lloyd Kirby
Brassed Off
Greasley
Robert Rylands' Last Journey
Archdale
Solomon & Sheba
Nathan
Wycliffe
Sam Peploe
Peak Practice
Stan Jordan
Unnatural Causes
Inspector Gerry Reckless
The Secret Life of Arnold Bax
John Ireland
Between the Lines
Chief Supt. Tattersall
Heartbeat
Clive Harris
La Vie de Bohème
Street Sweeper
Prisoner of Honor
Capt. Dreyfus
The Last Island
Nick
I Hired a Contract Killer
The Killer
Kremlin Farewell
Sergej
The Plot to Kill Hitler
Wilhelm Keitel
The Rainbow
Mr. Brunt
A Master of the Marionettes
Inspector Tennyson
Agatha Christie's Poirot
Mathew Davenheim
War and Remembrance
Paul Blobel
A Summer Story
Jim
The Play on One
DI Tennyson
The Modern World: Ten Great Writers
Chief Inspector Heat
Casanova
Le Duc
Inspector Morse
DCI Patrick Dawson
The Whistle Blower
Bill Pickett
Casualty
Paddy
John Silver's Return to Treasure Island
Ben Gunn
Mussolini: The Untold Story
King Vittorio Emmanuele
Wallenberg: A Hero's Story
Adolf Eichmann
Screen Two
Sergej
Return to Waterloo
The Traveller
Return of the Jedi
Admiral Piett
The Scarlet and the Black
Capt. Hirsch
Giro City
Martin
Firefox
Colonel Kontarsky
I Remember Nelson
Vice-Adm. Horatio Viscount Nelson
The Kenny Everett Television Show
Self
Peter and Paul
Theodotus
The Empire Strikes Back
Admiral Piett
Minder
Ron
Life of Brian
Jesus
The Danedyke Mystery
The Major
Measure for Measure
Duke Vincentio
Les Misérables
Police Prefect
One Bummer News Day
Frank Benyon
The BBC Television Shakespeare
Duke Vincentio
Pennies from Heaven
The Accordion Man
Come the Revolution
Bruce Tetley
The Testing of Eric Olthwaite
Robber
Target
Jessal
Jabberwocky
1st Fanatic
Dickens of London
Robert Seymour
The Chester Mystery Plays
Ripping Yarns
Robber
Lisztomania
Frederic Chopin
Flame
Tony Devlin
The Love School
Edward Burne-Jones
The Sweeney
Noah Riley
Churchill's People
Ancient Beau
Juggernaut
Detective Brown
Mahler
Krenek
Fall of Eagles
Father Gapon
Hitler: The Last Ten Days
Boldt
The Triple Echo
Provo Corporal
Crown Court
Stanley Meredith
The Protectors
Devlin
New Scotland Yard
Peter Elliot
The Boy Friend
King in fantasy sequence (uncredited)
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
Farrish
The Devils
Legrand
The Music Lovers
Modeste Tchaikovsky
Play for Today
Bruce Tetley
Performance.
Tony Farrell
Dance of the Seven Veils
Dear Mother... ...Love Albert
Judge Dee
The Expert
Foreman
The Blood Beast Terror
James
How I Won the War
2nd Replacement
Omnibus
Hitler
The Jokers
De Winter
The Informer
Slater
BBC Play of the Month
Yolinichev
Thirty-Minute Theatre
Paddy
Three Clear Sundays
Nick
Redcap
Private Bolt
The Wednesday Play
Bethold Florenberg
It's Dark Outside
Hammond
Seventy Deadly Pills
Covent Garden porter
The Avengers
No Hiding Place
Armchair Theatre
Jimmy