Trivia

He adopted his acting name after seeing the obituary of another actor, Maurice Colbourne, with whom he also shared the same birthday (September 24).

He had a daughter, Clara (b. 1980), with wife Chan Lian Si.

Before becoming an actor, he worked as a fairground roustabout and ghost train operator in Manchester. In London, he made ends meet waiting on tables, until a chance encounter with star Tom Courtenay encouraged him to audition for a spot at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

He spent three years at the Central School of Speech and Drama before beginning the nomadic life of a repertory actor in Leicester and Birmingham repertory theatres.

He helped to form the Half Moon Theatre in London which was near a street and pub with the same name.

While training he studied the work of such as John Osbourne rather than Shakespeare.