Edward de Souza

Edward James de Souza is a British character actor and graduate of RADA with ethnic Portuguese Indian and English origins.

De Souza was the only child of Annie Adeline Swift (née Calvert) and Edward Valentine De Souza Jr. (Rangoon 1881-1947), a Cambridge Graduate of Portuguese Indian descent (his father originated from Goa). De Souza was raised primarily by his mother, as his father died when De Souza was just 14. It's not clear where he was born, in Hull or in Burma.

He is well known for the films The Phantom of the Opera and The Kiss of the Vampire, both made for Hammer Studios in 1962. Perhaps his most famous role, however, has been as The Man in Black for BBC Radio 4. He also appeared in the television version of After Henry, Farrington and, earlier, took the part of Soveral (the Portuguese Ambassador to Britain) in Edward the Seventh.

In 1965, he appeared as the lead in the Doctor Who story Mission to the Unknown - the only story ever broadcast in the series not to feature the Doctor in any capacity. 

From 1961 to 1966, he starred in the popular sitcom Marriage Lines, and in 1977 he played Sheik Hosein in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. He was solicitor "Bonny Bernard" in the first series of Rumpole of the Bailey. In 1982 he appeared in the final Sapphire & Steel adventure, credited only as "The Man". One of his less-known works, was his role in The Golden Compass, in 2007, playing the Second High Councillor.

He joined the British soap opera Coronation Street as Colin Grimshaw, where he made his first appearance on 12 December 2008. His character died in May 2009.