Squire Hamley

Squire Hamley presides over his Hollingford estate with the stubborn pride of old money running thin. He is loud, sentimental, and fiercely attached to tradition, prouder still of his two sons than he'd ever admit aloud. Gruff with strangers and tender with his ailing wife, he distrusts anything that smells of change or fashion.

Gambon plays the bluster so heartily that the tenderness underneath sneaks up on you. The Squire could easily be a comic blowhard, all roars and prejudices, but Gambon lets you see the frightened, loving man inside the noise — a performance built on the gap between what he shouts and what he actually feels.