Famous UK Cypriot actor Peter Polycarpou appeared in The Lost Honour Of Christopher Jeffries last night on TV.
Peter played the part of Louis Charalambous the solicitor of Christopher Jefferies.
The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies is a 2014 British television film that tells the real-life story of retired schoolteacher Christopher Jefferies who was initially questioned by police as a suspect in the murder of Joanna Yeates who rented a flat from him. He was vilified by the press, partly on account of his eccentric appearance and long flowing hair, even after he had been released on bail by the police.
Five weeks later the real killer, neighbour Vincent Tabak, was finally arrested.
Peter Polycarpou is well known for his parts for playing Chris Theodopolopodous in the television comedy series Birds of a Feather and The Lost Honour of Christopher Jeffries, in which he played Louis Charalambos.
Polycarpou’s work in movies includes Evita (alongside Madonna), Oklahoma!, and De-Lovely. On stage, he was the first actor to play the role of John in the musical Miss Saigon in London. He was an original cast member of the musical Les Misérables, and has played The Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. He has also appeared in the UK première of The Woods by David Mamet at the Finborough Theatre, London. Television work has included The Bill, Holby City, Casualty and Waking the Dead. In 1992 he sung the theme tune to Love Hurts charting in the UK at number 26.
In February 2006, Polycarpou appeared in EastEnders, playing Yannis Pappas, father-in-law of character Carly Wicks for 3 episodes. More recently he played a leading role in the movie O Jerusalem, released in 2007. He also starred in a short film Broken alongside Michelle Collins playing the leading role of Solomon. The film, about a Greek Cypriot immigrant family in 1960s London won several international awards. He wrote and co-directed his own short film Mad George with ex-musician and long time friend John Hoare. The film has shown at several International Film Festivals.
Recent work includes playing Gash in Bryony Lavery’s play Last Easter, directed by Douglas Hodge, at the Door Theatre in Birmingham, and the leading role of Daniel Warshowsky in the musical Imagine This at the New London Theatre in 2008.
In 2010, he starred alongside Sean Bean and Charlotte Rampling in the terrorist thriller, Cleanskin which was released in 2012. He also appeared in the eighth series of Hustle for BBCTV directed by actor Adrian Lester.
Between 2010 and 2011 he appeared alongside Emma Williams and Michael Xavier in the Chichester Festival Theatre’s Love Story. It later transferred to the Duchess Theatre where it had a short run.
He also worked at Chichester Festival Theatre between 24 September and 5 November 2011 – playing Beadle Bamford in Sweeney Todd (alongside Love Story producer Michael Ball as Sweeney Todd). He returned to Chichester in 2014 to star alongside Sophie Thompson in Guys and Dolls. Later that year he played the Hollywood mogul Buddy Fiddler in Larry Gelbart’s City of Angels at the Donmar Theatre, London.
In 2015 he appeared in 9 episodes of the FOX TV drama Tyrant playing Colonel Mahmoud.
In September 2017 he played Ahmed Qurie in J.T. Rogers’s stage play Oslo at London’s National Theatre, accompanying the production when it transferred to the West End in the following month. He was nominated for an Olivier Award in the Best Supporting Actor category for his portrayal of Ahmed Qurie. In July 2018 he narrated Raja Shehadeh’s biographical Where the Line is Drawn: Crossing Boundaries in Occupied Palestine for BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week.
In 2019 he played Sancho in Man of La Mancha for English National Opera at the London Coliseum opposite Kelsey Grammer as Cervantes/Quixote, Danielle de Niese as Aldonza/Dulcinea and Nicholas Lyndhurst as the Governor/Innkeeper.
