John Le Mesurier appeared in well over a hundred films across his career, almost always in supporting roles — typically mild-mannered authority figures undone by their own diffidence. He found his most enduring role as the languid, unflappable Sergeant Arthur Wilson in Dad's Army (1968–1977), whose genteel bewilderment played perfectly off Arthur Lowe's blustering Captain Mainwaring. His single major award came for a very different kind of role, winning the 1971 BAFTA for Best Television Actor for Dennis Potter's play Traitor. He remained devoted throughout his career to understated, generous character work rather than leading parts.