Edward James de Souza was born in Hull, Yorkshire, to Annie Adeline Swift (née Calvert) and Edward Valentine De Souza Jr., parents of British and Portuguese-Indian descent.
As a classical theatre enthusiast, de Souza has appeared in numerous plays for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, the Bristol Old Vic, the Globe, and the Theatre Royal.
A 1957 graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA),de Souza made his screen debut the same year in the BBC adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities, playing the role of Charles Darnay alongside Peter Wyngarde.
On the airwaves, de Souza succeeded Valentine Dyall as BBC4's The Man in Black from 1988 to 1992.
On the big screen, he is perhaps best known for his role in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) as the Bedouin Sheikh Hosein, a friend and ally of Roger Moore's James Bond.
Earlier in his career, he had starred in two Hammer horror productions: as impresario Harry Hunter in The Phantom of the Opera (1962) and as the obligatory hero Gerald Harcourt in The Kiss of the Vampire (1963).
More consistently employed in television, de Souza had an early leading role alongside Richard Briers and Prunella Scales in the sitcom The Marriage Lines (1961).
He also starred in the Doctor Who (1963) episode 'Mission to the Unknown' as Space Security Agent Marc Cory who endeavours to warn Earth of an impending Dalek attack.
Very much at home in period drama, De Souza has portrayed Maximilian Morrell, a valiant friend of The Count of Monte Cristo (1964),Napoleon's older brother Joseph Bonaparte, in the miniseries Napoleon and Love (1974),and Portuguese diplomat (and friend of the king) Marquês Luis de Soveral in Edward the King (1975).
Between 2008 and 2009, he had a regular role on the soap Coronation Street (1960) as the rapacious gambler and womanizer Colin Grimshaw.
He has also made guest appearances on The Saint (1962),The Avengers (1961),Department S (1969),Rumpole of the Bailey (1978) (as solicitor Bonny Bernard),Sapphire & Steel (1979),One Foot in the Grave (1990),and The Borgias (2011).
Edward de Souza has been married since 1960 to English actress and long-time Play School (1964) presenter Miranda Connell.
