Stefan Kalipha is a British film, television and stage actor originally from Trinidad who has been acting from around 1970. He played Ramon, the Cigar Factory Foreman in the 1979 film Cuba, Daoud on The Curse ofKing Tut's Tomb, and Fat Larry in Babylon, both released in 1980. He also may be familiar to James Bond fans as Hector González, the Cuban hit man in the 1981 filmFor Your Eyes Only. Kalipha's other film roles include Wali Dad in the 1991 film of The Crucifer of Blood and Buldeo in the 1994 filmThe Jungle Book. His television roles include Quiller, episode: "Objective Caribbean" and Tales of the Unexpected, episode: "The Finger of Suspicion".
Background
Stefan Kalipha was born in Trinidad in 1940. He has been fortunate to work in film and television in the UK, doing better than others due to the limitation put on roles given to black actors.
Career
Television
In 1970, Kalipha played the part of Casey in an episode of Callan, entitled "Amos Green Must Live". The role was of a disenfranchised young black man in London who had reached a tipping point about working, even though he had "five A levels and five O levels". In 1977, Kalipha played the part of Reverend Henry Paul in a television series pilot called Meadowlark. It was a sitcom, based in Brixton, about a black married couple who were sharing their flat with an Irish woman. The 36-minute pilot, which also starred Oscar James, Joan Ann Maynard and Nina Baden-Semper, was never broadcast. In 1992, Kalipha had a recurring role as Jonathan Phelps in the series Prime Suspect. In 2015, he appeared as Tobias in The Bastard Executioner.
Film
Kalipha's character Hector Suarez in the 1981 James Bond filmFor Your Eyes Only masquerades as a plane pilot who has the intention of killing British agent Sir Timothy Havelock and his family. In 1983, Kalipha appeared as the Data School Instructor in Superman III. In 1989, he played the part of the Hatay tank gunner in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Stage
Kalipha appeared on stage in the 1998 production of Mustapha Matura's play Playboy of the West Indies.
