Ioan Gruffudd

NOTES Wikipedia: Hornblower is a series of British historical fiction war television films based on three of C. S. Forester's ten novels about the fictional character Horatio Hornblower, a Royal Navy officer during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

The series ran from 7 October 1998 until 6 January 2003 (and) consists of eight television films.... In the US, the series was retitled Horatio Hornblower, and some of the films were known by different titles. The eight films cover the show more events of just three of the ten novels (Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, Lieutenant Hornblower, and Hornblower and the Hotspur), and various alterations and additions are made to the source material...

The Even Chance (U.S. title: The Duel v.1) (7 October 1998)
The Examination for Lieutenant (U.S. title: ...The Fire Ships v.2) (18 November 1998)
The Duchess and the Devil v.3 (24 February 1999)
The Frogs and the Lobsters (U.S. title: The Wrong War v.4) (2 April 1999)

Second set of 4 tv films not included in this set:
Mutiny (8 April 2001)
Retribution (15 April 2001)
Loyalty (5 January 2003)
Duty (6 January 2003) show less

13 hr 20 min/8

Horatio Hornblower is a fictional officer in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, the protagonist of a series of novels and stories by C. S. Forester. Hornblower is a captain on a secret mission to Central America in 1808. Stories fill out his career, starting with his unpromising beginning as a seasick midshipman. As the Napoleonic Wars progress, he steadily gains promotion as a result of his skill and daring, despite his initial poverty and lack of influential friends. After show more surviving many adventures in a wide variety of locales, he rises to become Admiral of the Fleet.
The name "Horatio" was inspired by the character in William Shakespeare's Hamlet and chosen also because of its association with contemporary figures such as Nelson. The surname "Hornblower" comes from Arthur Hornblow, a Hollywood producer who was a colleague and friend of Forester's.
Frederick Marryat has been identified as "the father of the seafaring adventure novel from which all others followed. Hornblower and the eponymous protagonist of Marryat's novel Peter Simple both start their careers rather unpromisingly and without influential friends, but advance through hard work, honesty, and bravery. Both fight duels before their careers have properly started and both are taken prisoner early in their careers. show less