Jeremy Brett was born Peter Jeremy William Huggins at Berkswell Grange in Berkswell, then in Warwickshire. His birthdate was actually on 3 November 1933 but it has also been stated as December 1933 or 1935, according to many sources, although this was probably a later vanity claim to reduce his public age. He was the son of Lieutenant Colonel Henry William Huggins, DSO, MC, DL (1890-1965), an Army officer, and Elizabeth Edith Cadbury Butler (of the confectionery dynasty). He had three older brothers: John, Patrick and Michael.
Stage and screen
Brett made his professional acting debut in rep at the Library Theatre in Manchester in 1954, and his London stage debut with the Old Vic company in Troilus and Cressida in 1956. He made his first appearance in a major film with War and Peace (1956), which starred Audrey Hepburn.  Also in 1956, he appeared on Broadway as the Duke of Aumerle in Richard II. In 1959, Brett had a singing role as the romantic lead of Archie Forsyth in the West End musical Marigold. Also in 1959, he played the part of Hamlet, however on reflection, in a BBC2 television documentary Playing the Dane, Brett later said that "I don't think I was very good as Hamlet. I think I was too young. I was too young intellectually. I was too young philosophically. I was Byronic. I was very handsome. I had qualities, but I'd much rather see other people's [version]. I wasn't convinced by me". The respected theatre critic Harold Hobson wrote of Brett's portrayal that "the incestuous bed was the centre of his performance". He played many classical roles on stage, including about a dozen Shakespearean parts at the Old Vic, in New York and four while Brett was a member of the National Theatre Company from 1967 to 1970.  From the early 1960s, Brett was often on British television. He starred in several serials, including as D'Artagnan in an adaptation of The Three Musketeers (1966). His highest profile film appearance was as Freddie Eynsford-Hill in My Fair Lady (1964), again with Audrey Hepburn. Although Brett could still sing, as he later demonstrated when he played Danilo in a BBC Television broadcast of The Merry Widow (Christmas Day 1968), his singing in the film was dubbed by Bill Shirley.  Some of his appearances were in classical comedic roles, such as Captain Absolute in a television version of The Rivals (1970) and Bassanio in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (1970) in a National Theatre Company production directed by Jonathan Miller, which also featured Laurence Olivier (as Shylock) and Joan Plowright (as Portia). This was adapted for television in 1973 with the same three leads. Brett joked that, as an actor, he was rarely allowed into the 20th century and never into the present day. He did though appear in a few contemporary guest roles, in a couple of the ITC series such as The Baron (1967) and The Champions (1969), wherein he was cast as swarthy, smooth villains. Brett also appeared in The Incredible Hulk ("Of Guilt, Models and Murder", 1977) and starred as Maxim in the 1979 adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca opposite Joanna David.  Jeremy Brett's final, posthumous film appearance was an uncredited bit part as the artist's father in Moll Flanders, a 1996 Hollywood feature film starring Robin Wright Penn in the title role. The film (not to be confused with the 1996 ITV adaptation starring Alex Kingston) was released nearly a year after Brett's death.

Q: was he an actor?
A: Brett made his professional acting debut in rep at the Library Theatre in Manchester in 1954,
what shows was he in?
Also in 1956, he appeared on Broadway as the Duke of Aumerle in Richard II.
Also in 1956, he appeared on Broadway as the Duke of Aumerle in Richard II.