These talented stars are on the rise. How many do you recognize?

These Stars Are on the Rise

From popular franchises to brand new worlds of exploration, science fiction and fantasy stories are more popular than ever. Check out our list of the best and brightest new and upcoming movies and series.

New and Upcoming Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Discover some of the most anticipated sequels, prequels, and spin-offs coming to theaters and streaming.

New Sequels, Prequels, and Spin-Offs

Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, the light-haired, aristocratically handsome Simon MacCorkindale's first career choice was to follow in his Air Force pilot father Peter's bootsteps by joining the Air Training Corps., but his deteriorating eyesight forced him to choose an alternative vocation. Taking drama classes following high school graduation, he attended the highly prestigious Haileybury and Imperial Service College in Hertfordshire in the late 60s. He subsequently put in much time on the repertory theatre stage, which culminated in a West End debut appearance in the highly acclaimed production of "Pygmalion" with Alec McCowen and Diana Rigg in 1974. Simon later appeared in several heralded TV miniseries productions such as I, Claudius (1976) and Jesus of Nazareth (1977).

His major breakthrough in film came with the role of the charming and cunning shipboard suspect in the all-star whodunnit Death on the Nile (1978), with similar shady roles in such films as The Riddle of the Sands (1979) keeping the momentum going. Hollywood became an option for him in the 80s and he found his patrician good looks well suited for TV, with series roles ranging from soap operas (Falcon Crest (1981)) to adventures (Manimal (1983)). Since then, Simon has delved into stage projects featuring him as both director and actor, more notably in "Macbeth" and "The Merchant of Venice". Much of the last decade was spent starring as a doctor in the British TV series Casualty (1999).

Divorced during his early career from actress Fiona Fullerton, he subsequently married Brit actress Susan George and produced a few of her films. They also raised Arabian horses together. He focused for a time as a producer/director/writer on a variety of personal projects, but has since concentrated again on performing. Simon lost his over four-year-old battle with bowel cancer in October 2010.

His production company, &quot;Amy International&quot;, is named after the character that his wife, <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0001265/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Susan George</a>, played in <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0067800/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Straw Dogs (1971)</a>.

He was offered the role of Captain Jonathan Archer in <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0244365/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Star Trek: Enterprise (2001)</a> before <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0000836/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Scott Bakula</a> was cast. However, he turned it down, opting to play Harry Harper in <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0096555/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Casualty (1986)</a> instead.

In between marriages, he was romantically involved with actress
<a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0700909/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Linda Purl</a>. They worked together on TV and stage, where he directed her in the
play &quot;A Doll&#39;s House&quot; in Los Angeles.

Son of a Royal Air Force Group Captain, Peter Bernard MacCorkindale, OBE. MacCorkindale was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College before abandoning plans to follow his father into the air force due to declining eyesight. An early interest in theatre saw him first direct then act after attending Studio 68 at the Theatre Arts School in London.

He died two days before the death of his <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0081858/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Falcon Crest (1981)</a> co-star <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0156874/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Chao Li Chi</a>.

He married Susan George in Fiji in October 1984.

Trivia

Simon MacCorkindale

Contribute to this page

More from this person

More to explore

Recently viewed