{{Short description|New Zealand actor (1930–2020)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person |name = Bruce Allpress |image = Bruce Allpress 2000.jpg |caption = As Aldor at Helm's Deep, 2000 |birth_name = Bruce Robert Allpress |birth_date = {{birth date|1930|8|25|df=yes}} |birth_place = Dunedin, New Zealand |death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|4|23|1930|8|25|df=y}} |death_place = Auckland, New Zealand |occupation = Actor |years_active = |website = }} '''Bruce Robert Allpress''' (25 August 1930 – 23 April 2020) was a New Zealand actor.
==Biography== Allpress grew up in Dunedin, the second son of William and Gladys Allpress.<ref name="nzonscreen"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://notices.nzherald.co.nz/obituaries/nzherald-nz/obituary.aspx?n=bruce-robert-allpress&pid=196079625 |title=Bruce Allpress death notice |date=27 April 2020 |work=New Zealand Herald |accessdate=30 April 2020}}</ref> He began performing in the 1960s in a vaudeville minstrel show called the Cheeseman Singer Series.<ref name="nzonscreen">{{cite web |title=Bruce Allpress |url=https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/bruce-allpress/biography |website=NZ On Screen |accessdate=25 April 2020}}</ref> He began working in television drama with a role in the series ''Hunter's Gold'', then spent several years as a regular character on the late 1970s soap opera ''Close to Home''.<ref name="nzherald">{{cite news |title=Kiwi actor Bruce Allpress who starred in Close to Home dies aged 89 |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=12327578 |accessdate=25 April 2020 |work=The New Zealand Herald |date=25 April 2020 |language=en-NZ}}</ref>
He appeared in many television dramas and also presented on television and radio productions. In the mid-1980s, he was a regular on ''The Billy T. James Show'',<ref name="nzonscreen"/> as well as featuring alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the pirate adventure film ''Nate and Hayes''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Savage Islands |url=https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/savage-islands-1983/overview |website=NZ On Screen |access-date=2 October 2023 |language=en}}</ref> He also played the role of a blind piano tuner in ''The Piano'' (1993) directed by Jane Campion.<ref name="Independent">{{cite news |title=Lord of the Rings actor Bruce Allpress, who played a pivotal role in The Two Towers, has died aged 89 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/brue-allpress-death-lord-of-the-rings-the-piano-age-cause-a9484491.html |access-date=3 October 2023 |work=The Independent |date=26 April 2020 |language=en}}</ref> His most known role is Aldor, archer of Rohan that accidentally shot the first Uruk-hai from their army in the 2002 film ''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers''.<ref name="nzherald"/>
Allpress died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at the age of 89 on 23 April 2020.<ref name="stuff">{{cite news |title='Icon' Kiwi actor Bruce Allpress who 'fought to the end' dies aged 89 |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/121275446/kiwi-actor-bruce-allpress-dies-aged-89 |accessdate=25 April 2020 |work=Stuff }}</ref>
==Awards== In 1981 and 1983, Allpress was awarded the Feltex Television Award for Best Actor in the series ''Jocko''.<ref name="nzherald" />
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1981|| ''Beyond Reasonable Doubt'' || Detective Sam Keith || |- |1981|| ''Bad Blood'' || Inspector Calwell || |- |1982|| ''The Scarecrow'' || Uncle Athol || |- |1983|| ''Nate and Hayes'' || Mr. Blake || |- |1985|| ''Came a Hot Friday'' || Don's Dad || |- |1985|| ''Should I Be Good?'' || Neville Oswald || |- |1987|| ''Erebus: The Aftermath'' || Peter Grundy || TV miniseries |- |1990|| ''The Shrimp on the Barbie'' || Mr. Ridley || |- |1993|| ''The Piano'' || Blind Piano Tuner || |- |2002|| ''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' || Aldor || |- |2006|| ''Ozzie'' || Charles "Charlie" Foster || |- |2007|| ''The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep'' || Jock McGowan || |- |2008 |''Power Rangers Jungle Fury'' |Master Phant | |- |2011|| ''No Rest for the Wicked'' || Mr. Maxwell || |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|id=0021600|name=Bruce Allpress}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Allpress, Bruce}} Category:1930 births Category:2020 deaths Category:New Zealand male television actors Category:Deaths from motor neuron disease in New Zealand