Anecdotes

Played the captain of the HMS Prince of Wales in Coulez le Bismarck! (1960). Ironically, it was while serving aboard the real Prince of Wales during her fight with the Bismarck that he was injured in an explosion, resulting in the loss of one eye and almost losing the other.

Michael Powell said of his first seeing Esmond, "... a sulky, handsome young man with a mane of black hair and magnetic eyes, almost too romantically handsome to be true. Then one day I saw him giggling with one of the sound engineers and I realised that it was all a pose and he had a sense of humour."

Suffered from a stuttering problem, which he continually had to overcome with speech exercises, and usually suffered from a huge case of stage fright just before going on.

Father of Rosalind Knight.

Remained close friends with his first wife Frances Clare after their divorce. Frances in fact attended his funeral alongside wife Nora Swinburne.

He appeared in four of the five films that Laurence Olivier directed: Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1948), Richard III (1955) and Le prince et la danseuse (1957). The only film that Oliver directed in which he did not appear was Les trois soeurs (1970). The only actor to appear in all five of Olivier's films as director was Olivier himself.

He appeared in four films directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger: A Canterbury Tale (1944), Le narcisse noir (1947), Les chaussons rouges (1948) and La Renarde (1950). He also appeared in four films that Powell directed on his own: Someday (1935), Espionne à bord (1940), Le voyeur (1960) and The Boy Who Turned Yellow (1972).

Cousin of Phillip Glasier.

He died five months prior to the release of his final film Superman IV (1987).

Appeared in four Best Picture Oscar nominees: Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1948), Les chaussons rouges (1948) and Anne des mille jours (1969). Hamlet won.

It is often reported that he died in Cairo, Egypt. In fact (as his daughter confirms), he came back from working in Egypt and died the next day in his flat in Chelsea.

Along with John Laurie and Russell Thorndike, he is one of only three actors other than Laurence Olivier himself to appear in all three Shakespearean films that Olivier directed: Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1948) and Richard III (1955).

Cousin of Jean Knight.

Father-in-law of Michael Elliott.

Nephew of C.W.R. Knight.

Grandfather of Susannah Elliott-Knight and Marianne Elliott.

His first film role since being blinded in Second World War naval action was in P.H. contre Gestapo (1943).