John Bach (born 5 June 1946) is a British-born New Zealand actor who has acted on stage, television and film over a period of more than four decades. Though born in the United Kingdom, he has spent most of his career living and working in New Zealand.

John Bach
Born (1946-06-05) 5 June 1946 (age 78)
Garndiffaith, Monmouthshire , Wales
Years active1975–present

International audiences are most likely to have seen Bach as the Gondorian Ranger Madril in the second and third movies of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003). His leading roles in New Zealand television include playing the titular Detective Inspector John Duggan in the Duggan telemovies and television series, one of the truckdriving brothers in series Roche, and time on long-running soap opera Close to Home. In 1992 he starred as Scottish inventor Alexander Graham Bell in the telemovie The Sound and the Silence. In 1999 he played the Earl of Sackville in an episode of the TV miniseries A Twist in the Tale.

Bach's Australian work includes science fiction series Farscape, playing Mike Power in based on a true story mini-series The Great Bookie Robbery (1986), and as Sir Ian Hamilton in the 2015 TV miniseries Gallipoli.

In 2010 Bach appeared in NZ science fiction series This Is Not My Life as the sinister Harry Sheridan, as magistrate Titus Calavius in Spartacus: Blood and Sand and in an episode of Legend of the Seeker.

He has also appeared in several New Zealand films, including Utu, Carry Me Back, Goodbye Pork Pie, The Last Tattoo, Pallet on the Floor, Old Scores (in which he had a central role), and Beyond Reasonable Doubt.

In 2014 he performed as body double for Saruman in place of Christopher Lee, who was unable to fly to New Zealand for principal photography on The Hobbit film series.

He appeared as the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in the first season of the 2016 Netflix drama series, Roman Empire. In 2021, he began a recurring role as Don on the comedy series Under the Vines, created by Erin White and starring Rebecca Gibney and fellow Lord of the Rings alum Charles Edwards.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1975 Richard Pearse Jack Pearse TV movie
1977 Wild Man Barman Feature film
1978 The Mad Dog Gang Meets Rotten Fred and Ratsguts Wilkie TV movie
1979 The Gathering Lou TV movie
1980 Goodbye Pork Pie Snout Feature film
Beyond Reasonable Doubt Feature film
The Mad Dog Gang Spooks Wilkie, Wink Wink and the Wobbler Wilkie TV movie
Sea Urchins Harvey TV movie
1981 Bad Blood Bert Chopp Feature film
1982 Battletruck Bone Feature film
Carry Me Back Winton
1983 Wild Horses Jack TV movie
Utu Belcher Feature film
The Lost Tribe Edward / Max Feature film
Prisoners Bodell Feature film
Nearly No Christmas King Penguin TV movie
1984 Heart of the Stag Shearer
Other Halves Jim Feature film
Iris Mike TV movie
Pallet on the Floor Jack Voot Feature film
1985 Lie of the Land Gorrie
1986 Dangerous Orphans Desk Sergeant Feature film
1988 Georgia Karlin Feature film
1990 Blood Oath Major Roberts Feature film
1991 The Sound and the Silence Alexander Graham Bell TV movie
Old Scores Lead role Feature film
1993 Crimebroker Frank MacPhee TV movie
Typhon's People Daniel Harrington TV movie
1994 The Last Tattoo Austin Leech Feature film
The Feds: Obsession Rainer Bass TV movie
1995 The Feds: Suspect
The Feds: Deception
The Feds: Abductions
The Feds: Seduction
The Feds: Terror
The Feds: Vengeance
1996 The Feds: Betrayal
The Feds: Deadfall
2000 Clare Herbert Green TV movie
2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Gondorian Ranger Madril Feature film
2002 Der Liebe entgenen Mr Chapman TV movie
2003 The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King Gondorian Ranger Madril Feature film
2004 Ike: Countdown to D-Day Sir Trafford Leigh-Malloy TV movie
2005 Kidnapped Cluny
The Man who Couldn't Dance Dancing Man Short film
2007 The Tattooist Lazlo McFadden
2008 The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian British Homeguard #1 Feature film
2009 Piece of My Heart Mike TV movie
2011 Rest for the Wicked Frank
2014 The Cure Lionel Stanton Feature film
Nancy Wake, the White Mouse Fiocca TV movie
The Hobbit Saruman body double Feature film
2014 The Light Harvester Short film
2016 Judgement Tavern The Judge Short film
The Light Between Oceans Jock Johnson Feature film
2019 Mistress Mercy Judge Anderson TV movie
2020 Zealandia Man Short film
Reunion Jack Feature film
2022 The Ballard of Maddog Quinn Grandpa Quinn Short film

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2021–23 Under the Vines Don TV series, 11 episodes
2020 The Sounds Frank Cabbott 6 episodes
2017 Janet King[1] Graham King TV series, 5 episodes
2016 Roman Empire Marcus Aurelis TV docuseries, 2 episodes
Jack Irish Michael Longmore TV series, 5 episodes
2015 Gallipoli[2] Ian Hamilton TV miniseries, 7 episodes
2014 Hope and Wire Vernon TV series, 1 episode
2013 Wentworth Vinnie Holt TV series, 2 episodes
2010 Spartacus Calavius 5 episodes
Legend of the Seeker Herald TV series, 1 episode
This is Not My Life Harry Sheridan 5 episodes
2006 The Lost Children Frank TV series, 12 episodes
2005 Hercules Crenon TV series, 2 episodes
2004 Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars Einstein TV miniseries, 2 episodes
2002–03 Farscape Einstein TV series, 5 episodes
2000–02 The Dark Knight Du Bois TV series, 6 episodes
2000 The Lost World Balar TV miniseries, 1 episode
Tales of the South Seas Miller TV series, 1 episode
1997–99 Duggan John Duggan TV series, 13 episodes
1999 Young Hercules Zeus TV series, 1 episode
A Twist in the Tale Earl of Sackville 1 episode
1998 The Day of the Roses Tom Weir TV miniseries, 2 episodes
1997 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Thierry TV miniseries, 2 episodes
1995 Mysterious Island Captain Nemo TV series, 22 episodes
Snowy River: The Mcgregor Saga Jim O'Rourke TV series, 1 episode
1994 Time Trax Xavier TV series, 1 episode
High Tide Boucher TV series, 1 episode
1993 White Fang Tom Cooper TV series, 1 episode
1989–92 The Ray Bradbury Theater Lazlo TV anthology series, 2 episodes
1992 Spender Doorman TV series, 1 episode
1991 Heroes II: The Return Donald Davidson TV series, 2 episodes
Golden Fiddles Walter Balfour TV miniseries, 2 episodes
1990 The Paper Man Phillip Cromwell TV miniseries, 6 episodes
1989 The Heroes Donald Davidson TV miniseries
1988 Spit MacPhee Jack Tree TV miniseries, 4 episodes
1986 The Great Bookie Robbery Mike Power TV miniseries, 3 episodes
1985 Roche Mick TV series, 9 episodes
1984 Inside Straight Bill McLean TV series, 3 episodes
1975–83 Close to Home Tom Hearte TV series, 784 episodes
1982 Loose Enzo Ron TV series, 1 episode
1980 Mortimer's Patch Kevin Cartwright TV series, 1 episode
1977 The Governor John Sheehan TV series, 1 episode
1975 The Games Affair TV series

Note

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Bach's surname is pronounced "Baitch", and not as in the Welsh language pronunciation of the word for small, from which it is derived.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ "Don Hany, Susie Porter join Janet King. | TV Tonight". 7 November 2016.
  2. ^ "Gallipoli | TV Tonight". 15 January 2015.
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