page_title: Clive Mantle
section_title: 2010s
hierarchical_section_title: Clive Mantle / Career / 2010s
caption_attribution_description: English: Clive Mantle as Tommy Cooper, Edinburgh Festival.
context_page_description: Clive Andrew Mantle is an English actor. He played general surgeon Mike Barratt in the BBC hospital drama series Casualty and Holby City in the 1990s, and Little John in the cult 1980s fantasy series Robin of Sherwood. He returned to Casualty in 2016 as Mike Barratt for the 30th anniversary.
  Mantle was educated at Kimbolton School, Cambridgeshire between 1970 and 1975 and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art between 1978 and 1980. He appeared in 11 productions of the National Youth Theatre in five seasons between 1974 and 1978, and began carving a successful career as a stage actor in the 1980s, alongside various television roles. In 1984 he was nominated for an Olivier Award and was joint Best Newcomer in the Plays and Players Awards for his performance as Lennie in Of Mice and Men.
  In 1984 he was also cast as Little John in the cult 1980s fantasy series Robin of Sherwood, a role which he considers the most enjoyable of his career and which has remained one of his best-known roles.
context_section_description: In 2010, Mantle portrayed Tommy Cooper in the successful stage entertainment show Jus' Like That! A Night Out With Tommy Cooper, which appeared at the Edinburgh Festival. To train for the role, Mantle mastered many of Cooper's magic tricks, studying under Geoffrey Durham for several months. Mantle was thrilled to take on the role as Cooper is his ultimate comic hero, saying "It's such a big privilege playing Tommy – I genuinely love the man. He is one of the funniest comedians this country has ever produced. So this whole tour for me is just an immense thrill." Mantle considered the role highly challenging, given that he had to combine several aspects of skill, from the magic tricks to the joke-telling, the physical comedy, and emulating the distinctive voice. 
  Some people initially questioned the suitability of Mantle for the character, given that he was well known for playing a solemn doctor in Casualty, but he and the play were warmly received by critics. South Wales Echo called it a "compelling, funny and moving play" and said "Clive, best known for his role as Dr Mike Barratt in Casualty, has had to get used to wearing a fez and conjuring up some magic for his title role of Jus' Like That! A Night Out With Tommy Cooper."
  In 2011 he took a supporting role in the TV series White Van Man as Tony Curry, father of the central character, Ollie "Rogan" Josh Curry, played by Will Mellor. He also has an ongoing role in HBO's Game of Thrones as Lord Greatjon Umber, a close ally of Robb Stark, and has provided the voice to the audio editions of Andy McNab's Nick Stone thrillers. In 2012, Mantle appeared in the Sherlock episode "The Hounds of Baskerville" as Dr Frankland.
  In 2013, Mantle performed in the black comedy The Ladykillers, playing the part of Major Courtney. He was forced to withdraw from the touring production in March 2013 after he was attacked at the Travelodge hotel in Newcastle. On the night of Saturday 23 March, he became involved in a brawl after asking a group of fellow guests to keep the noise down, during which part of his right ear was bitten off. He had to have emergency surgery at the Royal Victoria Infirmary hospital to have it sewn back on. A 32-year-old man from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire was charged over the incident and appeared before a magistrate in April 2013, and another man was released on bail in connection to the incident; a third man has been released without charge. In June 2014 the two accused were found not guilty of all charges.
  In 2014 Mantle supplied the voice of Gator in the eighteenth season of the British children's television series Thomas & Friends as well as its sixth CGI animated film Tale of the Brave. He voiced Gator in both British and American dubbed versions.
caption: Mantle as Tommy Cooper
exif: {"Image Copyright": "Andy Phillipson / livewireimage"}