Michael Carter (born 29 June 1947) is a Scottish actor of film, stage and television, known for portraying Gerald Bringsley in An American Werewolf in London (1981), Bib Fortuna in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983), as Von Thurnburg in The Illusionist (2006), and as Jaehaerys I Targaryen in episode: "The Heirs of the Dragon" in House of the Dragon (2022).

Other credits include A Christmas Carol (1984), Taggart (1986 & 2005), One Man's War (1991), Civvies (1992), Rebus (2000–2007), Two Thousand Acres of Sky (2001–2003), Casualty (2005), Spooks (2006), Attack Force (2006), Centurion (2010), Hunted (2012), The Halcyon (2017), The New Look (2023), and Death by Lightning (2025).

Early life Michael Carter was born 29 June 1947,"Michael Carter". BFI. Retrieved 10 August 2021. and brought up in Dumfries, Scotland, and educated at Dumfries Academy, where he was goalkeeper in the school football team. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London, graduating in 1969."Student and Graduate Profiles: Michael Carter" rada.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2022.

Career Early work Carter's earliest television role was playing a UNIT soldier and a prisoner in The Mind of Evil (1971), in Doctor Who. He made his film debut as London Underground passenger Gerald Bringsley who is killed by the werewolf in An American Werewolf in London (1981).

Star Wars In 1983, Carter portrayed Bib Fortuna in Return of the Jedi (1983) he had come to the attention of casting director Mary Selway, who saw him perform in a musical in the West End theatre section of London in the early 1980s. Director Richard Marquand had also seen and enjoyed Carter's theater work, and wanted to cast him as Fortuna; Marquand, who described Carter as a "terrific actor", was drawn to him for the role because he wanted Fortuna to be very tall, and Carter was about six feet tall. Marquand invited Carter to meet at a studio in Elstree Studios to discuss a role he was casting in a film, which Marquand would only identify by its fake working title Blue Harvest. Carter was performing on a television series at the time. Carter's train was late and Marquand was in a meeting when he arrived, and the front desk forgot to inform Marquand that he arrived, so Carter waited for an hour without being called in. Marquand happened upon Carter as he was leaving for the day, and the meeting took place. During the 30-minute meeting, Marquand informed him the part was an alien in a science-fiction film, also describing it as a children's film, and that Carter could have the role without auditioning if he wanted it, but Marquand could not discuss any details about the character or film because it was a "top secret Hollywood movie". Carter was initially not sure the part interested him, but Marquand persisted, and Carter reluctantly agreed. Only then did Marquand reveal that it was a Star Wars film. Carter was sworn to secrecy about the role, but he told his family about the part anyway, and the next day his daughter discussed it publicly with a friend at her school.

Carter had never seen the original Star Wars film, and had only seen the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, because he was working at the time in a theater production with Anthony Daniels, who played C-3PO in the film. Carter spent three months undergoing extensive makeup casts and tests for the character at Elstree Studios before shooting began. Molds were made from his hands and head. Several foam appliances were sculpted to conform to Carter's face, and molds were made and cast into foam latex, which were then trimmed and carefully glued to the actor's face. It took about eight-and-a-half hours to apply the makeup to Carter the first time, though the process was eventually reduced to slightly under an hour. Carter had been told a great deal of makeup would be involved with the part, but he said, "I did not know what I was letting myself in for when it came to having to wear so much makeup. It did come as a bit of a shock."

Following his appearance in Return of the Jedi, Carter was offered several alien roles or parts that involved heavy amounts of prosthetics. For example, he was cast in the role of Radu Molasar, a monster and warlord in the Michael Mann film The Keep (1983), as a direct result of his work in Return of the Jedi. Carter has continued to receive letters and autograph requests from Star Wars fans for decades after the film's release, and he has made appearances at sci-fi and fantasy conventions. Carter was offered the opportunity to reprise the role of Bib Fortuna in the prequel The Phantom Menace, but he declined due to the rigors associated with the makeup application.

Other roles On stage Carter has appeared at the National Theatre, in the West End, and in Broadway theatre. He co-wrote the 1991 film One Man's War starring Anthony Hopkins.

His appearances on television include Rebus with both John Hannah and Ken Stott, and Taggart. He starred as the polygynist husband of Brenda Fricker and Josette Simon in the 1992 TV mini-series Seekers, and as Tulloch, head of the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service in Thames TV's seven part series Call Red. He also portrayed King Jaehaerys I Targaryen in the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon (2022).

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1981 An American Werewolf in London Gerald Bringsley 1982 The Draughtsman's Contract Mr Clarke Credited as Mike Carter 1983 Return of the Jedi Bib Fortuna The Keep Radu Molasar 1985 Out of the Darkness Julian Reid 2003 Young Adam Prosecutor2006 The Illusionist Von Thurnburg Attack Force Admiral Morgan 2010 Centurion General Antoninus 2023 Falling Into Place John

Television Year Title Role Notes 1971 Doctor Who Prisoner/UNIT Soldier Episodes: "The Mind of Evil", Uncredited 1982 Nobody's Hero Dodge 5 episodes Saturday Night Thriller Ringer Episode: "Grass" 1983 Heather Ann Geoffrey TV movie Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime Rodriguez Episode: "The Ambassador's Boots" 1984 A Christmas Carol Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come TV movie 1986–2005 Taggart Jack Stobo/Sandy Russell 2 episodes 1991 One Man's War TV movieWriter Only 1992 Civvies Arnie 4 episodes1993 The Chief Thomas Setter Episode: "The Trust of Justice" The Bill Ronnie Gurman Episode: "Soft Touch" 1994 How High the Moon Miniseries 1995 The Tales of Para Handy Rankin Episode: "Para Handy's Piper" 1996 Call Red Philip Tulloch 1999 C15: The New Professionals Superintendent Episode: "Hostage" 2000–07 Rebus Rev John Carson/Joe Toal 2 episodes 2001–03 Two Thousand Acres of Sky Douglas Raeburn 13 episodes 2003 Seven Wonders of the Industrial World John Scott Russell Episode: "The Great Ship" 2004 Red Cap Maj. Gen. Guy Walpole Episode: "Betrayed" Rosemary & Thyme Professor Reeves Episode: "Swords into Ploughshares" 2005 Casualty Michael de Fraine 4 episodes 2006 Spooks Sir Maurice Clark Series 5 episode 10, Also known as MI-5 2012 Hunted Vincent Cage Episode: "Kismet" 2017 The Halcyon Wilfred Reynolds 2022 House of the Dragon Jaehaerys I Targaryen Episode: "The Heirs of the Dragon" 2023 The New Look Maurice Dior 2025 Death by Lightning James Frederick Joy

Video games Year Title Role 2009 Demon's Souls Biorr of the Twin FangsBlacksmith BoldwinBlacksmith Ed 2011 Dark Souls Hawkeye Gough

References

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External links

Michael Carter BFI Michael Carter Website