Pickup was born in Chester, England, the son of Daisy (née Williams) and Eric Pickup, who was a lecturer.[1] Pickup was educated at The King's School, Chester, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, and became an Associate Member of RADA. His television work began with an episode during the second series of Doctor Who in 1964, for which he was paid £30. Pickup worked with Laurence Olivier at the Royal National Theatre, most notably in Three Sisters and Long Day's Journey Into Night. In 1973, he starred in the BBC drama series The Dragon's Opponent, playing a World War II bomb disposal expert and also appeared in The Day of the Jackal. He played Lt. Harford in Zulu Dawn in 1979, portrayed Igor Stravinsky in Nijinsky in 1980, Prince John in Ivanhoe in 1982, and in 1983 he appeared opposite Penelope Keith in Moving, in 1988 in the BBC miniseries The Lion, the Witch…
