Sir Timothy John Robert Whyte Ackroyd, 3rd Baronet (born 7 October 1958), known as Timothy Ackroyd, is an English actor. Ackroyd was born on 7 October 1958 to Sir John Robert Whyte Ackroyd, 2nd Baronet, and Jennifer Eileen McLeod Bishop. Early career Ackroyd's career began in 1976 when he was nominated as Most Promising Newcomer in the West End Theatre Awards for his performance as Clytemnestra in Aeschylus's Agamemnon. His London début was in Bryan Forbes' controversial and hugely successful Macbeth at The Old Vic; his West End debut was starring opposite Peter O'Toole and Joyce Carey as Ricki-Ticki-Tavy in George Bernard Shaw's Man and Superman. Other appearances in the West End include closing down the long-running farce No Sex Please, We're British, Pygmalion with John Thaw, The Rivals playing Sir Anthony Absolute and Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell appearing beside Peter O'Toole and Tom Conti. He has also served as a National Theatre player and appeared in weekly repertory at Southwold, Chichester, Harrogate, Farnham, Newbury, Glasgow and Leatherhead. After writing and playing William Hogarth in The Compassionate Satirist in collaboration with Brian Sewell and Peter O'Toole, he decided to take a break from the stage in 2007. Sir Timothy was generally considered one of the more enigmatic actors of his generation and refused to be interviewed. Peter O'Toole called him "The last of the roaring boys, nothing will hold him at his best, and nothing will wish to hold him at his worst. A throwback certainly, maverick, I could use all the senses used for me, yet at moments here we have genius. A man who lives at times in the darkest recesses of the human condition." Ackroyd is known to have a deep loathing of the cult of celebrity, chat-shows, contemporary comedy and politicians; In 2003 he represented The British Forces at a service of reconciliation between the Zulu and The British, at the one hundred and twenty fifth anniversary of the Anglo-Zulu War. Ackroyd made a deep and lasting friendship with Prince Shange who spoke on behalf of The Zulu Nation. Director He has directed three plays in London; Iphigenia at Aulis by Euripides and Red Lanterns by Alecos Galanos, both adapted and produced by Costas Charalambos Costa as well as Cocteau's Les Parents terribles directed by Sir Timothy himself and designed by Tracey Emin. Charities He established the African wildlife charity Tusk Trust in 1989. Tusk is