David Soul

Birthday: 28 August 1943, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Birth Name: David Richard Solberg

Height: 184 cm

David Soul achieved pop icon status as handsome, blond-haired, blue-eyed Detective Kenneth Hutchinson on the cult "buddy cop" TV series Starsky and Hutch (1975), Soul also had a very successful singing career recording several albums, with worldwide number one hit singles including "Silver Lady" & "Don't Give Up on Us Baby".Born in Chicago, Illinois, David Soul is the son of a minister who was at one time serving as the religious affairs advisor to the U.S. High Commission in Berlin. At 24 years of age, young Soul joined a North Dakota musical revue, was noticed by a keen-eyed talent scout, and signed to a studio contract. He went on to study acting with the Irene Daly School of The Actors Company, and with the Columbia Workshop in Hollywood. He first appeared on TV in small roles in shows including I Dream of Jeannie (1965), Flipper (1964) and All in the Family (1971). Regular TV work kept coming in for Soul including making masked appearances on The Merv Griffin Show (1962), as the popular singer known only as "The Covered Man."In 1973, Soul was fortunate enough to be cast as one of the corrupt motorcycle cops in the Clint Eastwood thriller Magnum Force (1973), where his talents came to the attention of several TV execs who were looking for someone to play one of the lead roles in the upcoming Starsky and Hutch (1975) TV series. After four seasons, the show came to an end, yet Soul's talents were still in demand. He quickly went on to appear as the meek writer turned terrified vampire hunter Ben Mears in the chilling television mini-series Salem's Lot (1979), and then as Jake in the interesting television movie Homeward Bound (1980).Several undemanding movies and TV series appearances followed for Soul. However in 1988 he scored rave reviews for his portrayal of real life, cold-blooded cop killer Michael Lee Platt in In the Line of Duty: The F.B.I. Murders (1988). It was considered highly controversial for its intense level of violence in a made for TV production.David Soul remained very busy throughout the 1990's and beyond, in both film and on stage productions. He has toured internationally in several theater productions, including playing the narrator in the critically-acclaimed production of Willy Russell's Blood Brothers, plus a successful UK tour performing in Ira Levin's Deathtrap. Fans of the original TV series were glad to see Soul back with Paul Michael Glaser doing a cameo appearance in the big-budget movie version of Starsky & Hutch (2004).Throughout his life, Soul has continually championed social causes often utilizing his own funds to raise awareness on issues including the impact of the Vietnam War, the shutdowns in the US steel industry, animal welfare, world hunger and HIV education. Soul has for several years made his home in the United Kingdom, where he has appeared at the Edinburgh Festival, on several British TV shows and has become a keen soccer fan supporting English club, Arsenal FC. Show less «

A job is a very healthy thing to do.

Paul and I were both struggling actors. One night he would serve me in a restaurant, and the next ni...Show more »

Paul and I were both struggling actors. One night he would serve me in a restaurant, and the next night I would serve him. It was what out of work actors did. Show less «

Once in a while I'll get moved to do some exercise. It's something I long for but the biggest proble...Show more »

Once in a while I'll get moved to do some exercise. It's something I long for but the biggest problem is bending down and putting my tennis shoes on. Once I go out I'm OK. Show less «

Nobody teaches you to be a father. Nobody teaches you to be a husband. Nobody teaches you how to be ...Show more »

Nobody teaches you to be a father. Nobody teaches you to be a husband. Nobody teaches you how to be a star. You have to learn to work with the tools. Show less «

My father was my main influence. He was a preacher, but he was also a history and political science ...Show more »

My father was my main influence. He was a preacher, but he was also a history and political science teacher, and since he was my hero, I wanted to follow in his footsteps and become a teacher. Show less «

One of my beliefs is that there are certain institutions within a community which stand for the spir...Show more »

One of my beliefs is that there are certain institutions within a community which stand for the spirit and heart of that community, there's the church, the local football team, the local pub and the theatre. Show less «

Yes, your home is your castle, but it is also your identity and your possibility to be open to other...Show more »

Yes, your home is your castle, but it is also your identity and your possibility to be open to others. Show less «

I was born into a family of preachers.

I like to eat and I love the diversity of foods.

[on Starsky & Hutch (2004)] In a word, I thought it sucked.

I went into acting because I had to make a good living. I had a child now and I had to support him a...Show more »

I went into acting because I had to make a good living. I had a child now and I had to support him any way I could... I wasn't happy, but I wasn't unhappy. I was just doing what I had to do to survive. Show less «

Music always came first. I never set out to be an actor.

It's only when gravity starts to take over you begin to think about your body.

To deal with the stark reality of having hit or hurt a woman or child, to deal with the initial resp...Show more »

To deal with the stark reality of having hit or hurt a woman or child, to deal with the initial responsibility you have not to do that and the knowledge you did do it, can be incredibly hard. Show less «

Being on the move all the time is draining, but the rewards make up for it.

The most important thing is story-telling. It's as singular and old-fashioned as that.

It's important to move the theatre into the 21st Century.

People thought me a bit strange at first; a blond haired, blue-eyed Norwegian who sang Mexican folk ...Show more »

People thought me a bit strange at first; a blond haired, blue-eyed Norwegian who sang Mexican folk songs, but I used it to my advantage and got a job. And so the music became my ticket to education. Show less «

I was never jailed. The fact is that I was arrested, but I went into a diversion programme, and by t...Show more »

I was never jailed. The fact is that I was arrested, but I went into a diversion programme, and by that time I'd already begun working in what was called anger management. It was a painful and awful moment. Show less «

If these theatres didn't exist, the tradition of British theatre would cease to exist.

I was an accidental actor. I was never formally trained.

I believe that a parent's role is to provide a path or opportunity for their children.

Sometimes I feel an obligation to be accessible as a personality, but for me the driving force since...Show more »

Sometimes I feel an obligation to be accessible as a personality, but for me the driving force since the beginning has always been good work, taking risks, trying new things. If the door opens, go through it. Always go forwards. Show less «

At only 20 years old I got married. I was still a kid myself, but in those times, if you got someone...Show more »

At only 20 years old I got married. I was still a kid myself, but in those times, if you got someone pregnant, you had no choice but to get married. So I left school and the only thing I could do was sing. Show less «

David Soul

David Soul's FILMOGRAPHY

David Soul'S roles

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