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Kenneth Colley (7 December 1937 — 30 June 2025) was an English actor. A long-time character actor, he came to wider prominence through his role as Admiral Piett in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
Colley was born in Manchester. He played Jesus (very briefly indeed) in Life of Brian (1979), having also appeared in the earlier Python-related production Ripping Yarns episode "The Testing of Eric Olthwaite" alongside Michael Palin. As a Shakespearean actor, he played the Duke of Vienna in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of Measure for Measure (also 1979).
Colley also held an important role in the Clint Eastwood film Firefox, as a Soviet Colonel tasked with the protection of the Firefox and its secrets. Colley portrayed SS-Standartenführer Paul Blobel in the World War II drama War and Remembrance. His character was charged with hiding the evidence of the Holocaust, and putting dead victims through "Economic Processing".
The roles that explain the career.
45 credits across 2 departments.
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out | Admiral Piett (voice) | Film |
| 2005 | Like Father Like Son | Rawsthorne | Film |
| 1999 | Hold Back the Night | Uncle Bob | Film |
| 1998 | Shadow Run | Larcombe | Film |
| 1996 | Brassed Off | Greasley | Film |
| 1996 | Robert Rylands' Last Journey | Archdale | Film |
| 1995 | Solomon & Sheba | Nathan | Film |
| 1993 | Unnatural Causes | Inspector Gerry Reckless | Film |
| 1992 | The Secret Life of Arnold Bax | John Ireland | Film |
| 1992 | La Vie de Bohème | Street Sweeper | Film |
| 1991 | Prisoner of Honor | Capt. Dreyfus | Film |
| 1990 | I Hired a Contract Killer | The Killer | Film |
| 1990 | The Last Island | Nick | Film |
| 1990 | The Plot to Kill Hitler | Wilhelm Keitel | Film |
| 1989 | The Rainbow | Mr. Brunt | Film |
| 1988 | A Summer Story | Jim | Film |
| 1987 | Casanova | Le Duc | Film |
| 1986 | The Whistle Blower | Bill Pickett | Film |
| 1984 | Return to Waterloo | The Traveller | Film |
| 1983 | The Scarlet and the Black | Capt. Hirsch | Film |
| 1983 | Return of the Jedi | Admiral Piett | Film |
| 1982 | I Remember Nelson | ice-Adm. Horatio Viscount Nelson | TV |
| 1982 | Firefox | Colonel Kontarsky | Film |
| 1980 | The Empire Strikes Back | Admiral Piett | Film |
| 1979 | Measure for Measure | Duke Vincentio | Film |
| 1979 | Life of Brian | Jesus | Film |
| 1978 | Les Misérables | Police Prefect | Film |
| 1978 | Pennies from Heaven | The Accordion Man | TV |
| 1977 | Jabberwocky | 1st Fanatic | Film |
| 1975 | Flame | Tony Devlin | Film |
| 1975 | Lisztomania | Frederic Chopin | Film |
| 1974 | Juggernaut | Detective Brown | Film |
| 1974 | Mahler | Krenek | Film |
| 1973 | Hitler: The Last Ten Days | Boldt | Film |
| 1972 | The Triple Echo | Provo Corporal | Film |
| 1971 | The Boy Friend | King in fantasy sequence (uncredited) | Film |
| 1971 | The Devils | Legrand | Film |
| 1971 | The Music Lovers | Modeste Tchaikovsky | Film |
| 1970 | Dance of the Seven Veils | Film | |
| 1970 | Performance. | Tony Farrell | Film |
| 1968 | The Blood Beast Terror | James | Film |
| 1967 | How I Won the War | 2nd Replacement | Film |
| 1967 | The Jokers | De Winter | Film |
| 1966 | Macbeth | Macbeth's servant | Film |
| 1965 | Three Clear Sundays | Nick | Film |
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