English character actor Patrick Godfrey, whose portrayal of Leonardo da Vinci in “Ever After: A Cinderella Story” charmed audiences and whose seven-decade career spanned everything from Merchant Ivory films to British television staples, died on June 4 at his home surrounded by family. He was 93.

His longtime talent agency, Markham Froggatt & Irwin, confirmed the death in a statement released on June 5. The agency did not disclose a cause.

“Paddy was an exceptionally talented actor and a remarkable individual, and we will miss him greatly,” the agency said in its statement.

From Finsbury Park to the BBC

Born Patrick Lindesay Archibald Godfrey in February 1933 in Finsbury Park, England, the actor known to friends and colleagues as “Paddy” launched his entertainment career in 1956 after winning the Carleton Hobbs Bursary Award. The honor secured him a six-month contract with the BBC’s Radio Drama Company, setting the stage for a performer whose voice and face would become recognizable across multiple mediums for decades.

Godfrey made his onscreen debut in a 1959 episode of “Sunday’s Child.” His early work included appearing as a house servant in a 1972 production of “Miss Julie” and taking on the role of Kulighin in Trevor Nunn’s acclaimed 1981 production of “The Three Sisters.”

A Resume That Spanned Genres

From the mid-1980s onward, Godfrey assembled one of the most consistent supporting-actor résumés in British cinema. He appeared in James Ivory’s 1986 adaptation of “A Room with a View” and that same year played a memorable role in the John Cleese comedy “Clockwise.” He returned to Merchant Ivory territory in “Maurice” and later “The Remains of the Day” in 1993.

His filmography reads like a tour through the literary canon: he appeared in the 2002 adaptation of “The Count of Monte Cristo,” joined the ensemble of Roman Polanski’s “Oliver Twist,” and was part of Tom Hooper’s Oscar-winning 2012 musical adaptation of “Les Misérables.” More recently, he lent his presence to Andy Serkis’s “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle.”

His television work was equally prolific. Over the decades, Godfrey turned up in some of British TV’s most enduring institutions, including “Compact,” “Dixon of Dock Green,” “Doctor Who,” “Z Cars,” “The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby,” “Blott on the Landscape,” “Screenplay,” “Dandelion Dead” and “Inspector Morse.” For viewers in the United Kingdom, his face was a fixture across generations of prestige drama.

A Memorable Turn as a Renaissance Master

For a generation of moviegoers, Godfrey will forever be remembered as Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian polymath he portrayed with twinkling charm in the 1998 romantic fantasy “Ever After: A Cinderella Story.” The film starred Drew Barrymore as Danielle, a spirited reimagining of Cinderella, and reimagined the fairy tale with a grounded, historical sensibility.

Godfrey’s gentle, sage portrayal of da Vinci provided the film with much of its whimsy and heart, as the legendary artist served as both confidant and matchmaker to Barrymore’s heroine. The cast also included Anjelica Huston as Danielle’s wicked stepmother, along with Dougray Scott, Megan Dodds, Melanie Lynskey, Timothy West and Judy Parfitt.

Though “Ever After” became his most internationally recognized work, it represented only a small slice of a career that touched virtually every corner of British and international film and television over nearly seven decades.

A Quiet Farewell

Though Godfrey was rarely a leading man, his presence elevated nearly every production he joined. Directors prized him as the kind of supporting player who could anchor a scene with a glance, deliver Shakespeare with ease, and bring warmth to even the smallest part. Audiences may not always have known his name, but they knew his face — and the comfort of seeing him appear in yet another stately drawing room or candlelit court.

From his earliest days at the BBC’s Radio Drama Company in 1956 to his final on-screen appearances, Patrick Godfrey embodied the British tradition of the consummate working actor — disciplined, generous and quietly indispensable. His Leonardo da Vinci, dispensing wisdom to a young woman in a French castle, will continue to charm audiences for years to come, a fitting legacy for a performer whose career was itself a kind of Renaissance.

Godfrey is survived by his actress wife Amanda Walker and their two children.