Beginning his career as an organist and choir director in Edinburgh, Scotland, Finlay Currie joined a theater company and immigrated to the U.S in the 1890's. He performed on-stage alongside his wife Maud Courtney. Currie’s first film role was in 1931's The Old Man when he was fifty-three. While never a leading man, he carved a niche for himself playing kindly authority figures with his distinctive Scottish burr. Late in his life he became a respected antiques dealer, specializing in coins and precious metals. Currie’s final role was as dying mafiso boss Don Pasquale in The Saint which was released posthumously in 1969.
He is best known for his roles as Abel Magwich in Great Expectations (1946), Billy Bones in Treasure Island (1950), St. Peter in Quo Vadis, and Balthalzar in Ben-Hur (1959)
Partial Filmography
Film Roles
- 1931: The Old Man as Rennett
- 1943: Undercover as Priest
- 1945: Don Chicago as Bugs Milligan
- 1946: Great Expectations (1946) as Abel Magwitch
- 1950: The Mudlark as John Brown
- 1950: People Will Talk as Shunderson
- 1950: Treasure Island (1950) as William "Billy" Bones
- 1952: Ivanhoe as Cedric the Saxon
- 1954: Rob Roy the Highland Rogue as Hamish MacPherson
- 1956: Around the World in 80 Days (1956) as Andrew Stuart
- 1957: Saint Joan as the Archbisop of Rheims
- 1959: Solomon and Sheba as King David
- 1959: Ben-Hur (1959) as Balthazar
- 1960: Kidnapped as Cluny MacPherson
- 1961: Francis of Assisi as Pope Innocent III
- 1962 The Fall of the Roman Empire as Senator
- 1963: Cleopatra as Titus
