Quick Facts
Biography
Paul Seed (1947) is a British television director and former actor.
Early life
Seed was born on 18 September 1947, in Bideford in Devon, England.
Career
Seed started off as an actor in the early 1970s and switched to direction in early 1980s.
Television
Sed made his acting debut in 1972, appearing as a sentry in the episodes "The Last Battle" and "Into Battle" of adventure/drama television series, Pretenders. In 1974, he was seen as "Frank Orchard" in four episodes of the television series, The Double Dealers. The following year, in 1975, he was seen in the role of "Ingram" in the TV series, Z Cars.
His big break came in 1978, when he was cast as "Graff Vynda-K" in the hit television series, Doctor Who. He was seen in the series' four episodes in 1978.
As an actor, he was last seen in 1982 in "Blue Marigold" episode of the series, Tales of the Unexpected.
Stage
In 1977-1978, Seed acted in Richard Cottrell's translation of the French writer, Georges Feydeau's play, "The Birdwatcher," at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre in Bristol, England. The play was directed by John Elvery and Michael Joyce, with Mary Miller, Peter John, Jenny Galloway, Stuart Fox, Phillip Manikum, June Barrie, and Ian Price in the cast.
Direction
Seed took the BBC Directors' course, following which he directed numerous TV plays, series and serials during the 1980s.
He made his directorial debut in 1983 with the TV film, Belles. The same year, he directed the TV film, Across the Water. The film was written by David Rudkin and had Liam Neeson and Wendy Morgan in lead roles.
Seed's best work at the time came in 1990s, when he got a chance to direct four episodes of hit mini-series, House of Cards, in 1990 and of To Play the King, in 1993. The show was adapted by Andrew Davies from Michael Dobbs' novels, and had such notable actors as Ian Richardson, Susannah Harker, and Miles Anderson among others in lead roles.
In 1995, Seed directed the TV film, The Affair. The romance/drama was written by Venezuelan writer Pablo Fenjves, with New Zealand actress Kerry Fox, and American actor Courtney B. Vance in the lead roles.
In the following years, Seed directed the 1997 episode, "Penny for the Guy" of series, A Touch of Frost and the 1998 episode, "The Sport of Kings" of the series, Heat of the Sun.
In 2002, he directed all six episodes of the revival of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. In 2010, he directed the BBC adaptation of Just William.
His last public directorial works were in 2013, when he directed six episodes of BBC's Blandings, and five of ITV's Doc Martin.
Personal life
Seed is married to actress Elizabeth Cassidy. The couple lives in Torrington, Devon.