Brian Blessed

According to Trix, Brian Blessed played Augustus in I, Claudius. (PROSE: The Gallifrey Chronicles) He also played Rassilon in a BBC version of Remote media in Samantha Jones' subconscious. (PROSE: Interference - Book One)

Behind the scenes
The real-world Brian Blessed (born 9 October 1936 ) once guest starred in Doctor Who as King Yrcanos in Mindwarp. He was later cast as "Odin" in The Girl Who Died, but had to drop out of filming due to illness. He was also considered to play the Second Doctor.

A popular UK character actor known for his bombastic, larger-than-life demeanour both on film and in person, Blessed rose to stardom in the early 1960s as PC "Fancy" Smith in police procedural Z-Cars. He played Porthos in a pair of TV series based upon The Three Musketeers, but his best known TV role was probably that of Augustus in I, Claudius.

He played King Richard IV in the first season of and guest starred in series such as, Space: 1999,  and. His best-known film role was that of King Vulcan in the 1980 version of Flash Gordon. His other big screen roles included the film version of the popular sitcom and Kenneth Branagh's film of.

Away from the screen, Blessed is known for leading a life of adventure, including several widely publicised attempts to climb Mount Everest (he is reportedly the oldest man to reach as high up the mountain as he has); during preparation for one of his ascents, he met and befriended the Dalai Lama.

He is the father of Rosalind Blessed.