Hugh Quarshie


Hugh Anthony Quarshie is a Ghanaian-born British actor. Some of his best-known roles include his appearances in the films Highlander, The Church, , and the Doctor Who episodes "Daleks in Manhattan" and "Evolution of the Daleks" as well as his long-running role as Ric Griffin in the BBC medical drama Holby City. Quarshie has played the role of Ric for 18 years and is the longest serving cast member in Holby City.

Early and personal life

Quarshie is of mixed Ghanaian, English and Dutch ancestry. He was born in Accra, Ghana, to Emma Wilhelmina and Richard Quarshie. His mother was of chiefly ancestry; her relatives currently serve as the chiefs of the Ghanaian village of Abii.
Hugh emigrated with his family to the United Kingdom at the age of three. He was educated at Bryanston School in Dorset and Dean Close School in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, before reading PPE at Christ Church, Oxford.

Career

Quarshie had considered becoming a journalist before taking up acting. He is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and has appeared in many stage productions and television programmes, including the serial Behaving Badly with Judi Dench. He is well known for playing the roles of Sunda Kastagir in Highlander, Captain Panaka in ', and Ric Griffin on the television series Holby City. He attended the Star Wars fan event "Star Wars Celebration" in 1999. He portrayed Lieutenant Obutu in Wing Commander.
He appeared in the 2007 two-part Doctor Who episode "Daleks in Manhattan"/"Evolution of the Daleks" as Solomon, the leader of the shanty town Hooverville. He headed the cast of Michele Soavi's The Church as Father Gus, and played Aaron the Moor in the BBC Television Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus.
Quarshie has also narrated for television. His work includes the 2006 documentary Mega Falls of Iguacu, the 2009 adaptation of Small Island, and the 2010 BBC Wildlife series '. In September 2010, he featured in an episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, in which he traced his Ghanaian and Dutch origins. The episode revealed one of his ancestors to be Pieter Martinus Johannes Kamerling, a Dutch official on the Gold Coast, making Quarshie a distant relative of Dutch actor Antonie Kamerling.

Politics

Quarshie is a supporter of the Women's Equality Party.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre