John Bindon
Actor · Died October 10, 1993, aged 50 · London, England, UK
John 'Biffo' Bindon was a British actor and bodyguard (most notoriously for Led Zeppelin on their 1977 US tour, which he was subsequently sacked from for violent behaviour) with close links to the London underworld and a celebrated party trick; "I'd hang five half-pint beer glasses on me manhood. Everyone would ask how it's done beforehand so I'd put them out of their misery and thread my old chap through the handles of the glasses". The son of a London cab driver, Bindon was sentenced to Borstal twice in his youth and gained his nickname 'Biffo' from his propensity for starting fights. Spotted by Ken Loach in a London pub, Bindon got his acting break with the 1967 film Poor Cow. Roles in classic British films like Performance, Get Carter and Quadrophenia would follow, with Bindon often typecast as a gangland heavy. In 1968, Bindon met Vicki Hodge, a baronet's daughter turned model and actress, who introduced him to British aristocracy. This led to close and controversial links with Princess Margaret and her holiday hideaway of the Caribbean island resort of Mustique. Bindon and his alleged relationship with Princess Margaret is a major plot element in the 2008 crime film The Bank Job. Also in 1968, Bindon was awarded the Queen's Award for Bravery for diving off Putney Bridge into the River Thames to rescue a drowning man - although some said he had pushed the man in and only rescued him when a policeman appeared. In 1979, Bindon stood trial for the murder of London gangster John Darke. Bindon's successful defence (bolstered by a character witness appearance from actor Bob Hoskins) argued that Darke's death was in self-defence, saying Bindon was in fear of his life as he was being blackmailed about losing drug money and cocaine worth thousands of pounds. Despite being acquitted, Bindon struggled to find work in the entertainment industry as his reputation was now tarnished. He died of an AIDS-related illness in 1993, having spent the later years of his life as a virtual recluse in Belgravia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- October 4, 1943
- October 10, 1993 (aged 50)
- London, England, UK
- Actor
- 13 on MovieCove · 22 credits in all
What are John Bindon's films like?
Across a limited sample of 3 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3
Light 0 · Serious 0 · Dark 3
A split, not a type: Grounded 2 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 1
Gentle 0 · Charged 0 · Intense 3
Steady 1 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 3
Resolved 0 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 2
Roles they play
- Shapeshifteras Tom in Poor Cow (1967)
Moods and endings
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch John Bindon's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 13 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (3).
Subscription and free streaming for John Bindon's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
22 credits, 13 with a MovieCove page.
Jake's End (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Quadrophenia(1979)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
A Dirty Knight's Work(1976)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films
Barry Lyndon(1975)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
11 Harrowhouse(1974)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
Juggernaut(1974)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
Dead Cert (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
Playhouse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
Her Majesty's Pleasure (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
The MacKintosh Man(1973)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
Six Days of Justice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Man in the Wilderness(1971)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all filmsThe Ten Commandments (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
Get Carter(1971)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Play for Today (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Performance(1970)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
Department S (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Inspector Clouseau(1968)
Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
Poor Cow(1967)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Public Eye (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Career shape
Star power in the 90th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 22 titles from 1965 to 1982; peak year 1974.
Biggest box office
Performance (1970)
Highest rated
Performance (1970)
Most popular right now
Poor Cow (1967)
Film career
Peak 1974 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1967Screen debut· Poor Cow
- 1975Career best· Barry Lyndon
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.
How do John Bindon's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 65th percentile, the median of all 13; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 75th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up3
- 50th to 74th6
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
None of their 13 titles divides audiences: 6 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Crowd Pleaser6
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the acting 81/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 88, detractors 45. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.