David Quilter is an English actor who has made numerous appearances in British television plays and series since the mid-1960s. He was born in Northwood, London, and attended Bryanston School, Dorset.

"My first inkling that it was possible to be a professional actor was when a boy at school got a scholarship to RADA," remembered Quilter. "I never did any acting at school, which I slightly regret, but seeing him actually go off and train to be an actor, it made me realise that it was what I wanted to do." Quilter trained at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in South Kensington and then joined weekly rep at Chesterfield in 1963.