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Denis Lawson

Denis Lawson is a Scottish screen and stage actor who won international recognition for playing the lead role of John Jarndyce in the British TV miniseries "Bleak House." Lawson trained in theatrical arts at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and began his stage career on London's West End, appearing in a minor role in a 1969 production of "The Metamorphosis." In the 1970s Lawson played numerous supporting roles on British TV dramas, most notably as Launcelot Gobbo in the 1973 film version of "The Merchant of Venice." After appearing as X-wing pilot Wedge Antilles in all three films in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, he returned to stage acting in the late '80s and '90s, making occasional guest appearances on TV comedies and dramas. He also gained notice for his supporting role as the innkeeper Gordon Urquhart in Bill Forsyth's sly Scottish comedy "Local Hero." But Lawson's greatest success came in 2005 when he was cast as the male lead in the BBC critically acclaimed miniseries adaptation of Charles Dickens's "Bleak House." The series garnered numerous critical accolades both in the U.K. and abroad, with Lawson himself earning an Emmy nomination for his performance as the kindly John Jarndyce.