He played the Archbishop of Canterbury in both Bertie and Elizabeth (2002) (TV) and Johnny English (2003). In the former, he portrayed the real life Cosmo Lang, who served as Archbishop from 1928 to 1942, while in the latter, he played a fictional, unnamed character.
He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1990 (1989 season) for Best Actor in a New Play for Racing Demon.
He was nominated for a 2004 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role of 2003 for his performance in Absolutely! (perhaps) at the Wyndham's Theatre.
He was not available to shoot his scenes as Sio Bibble in Italy for Star Wars Episode II, so when George Lucas filmed the factory scenes in England, he spent a day with him on Blue Screen filming his shots, and then put them together to make him look like he was there in the naboo palace with all the other actors.