Robert Hardy
Acting
🎂 1925-10-29
One of England's most successful and enduring character actors, with a prolific screen career on television and in films, Robert Hardy was acclaimed for his versatility and the depth of his performances. Born in Cheltenham in 1925, he studied at Oxford University and, in 1949, he joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon. Television viewers most fondly remember him as the overbearing Siegfried Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small (1978) but his most critically acclaimed performance was as the title character of Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981). His portrayal of Britain's wartime leader was so accurately observed that, in the following years, he was called on to reprise the role in such productions as The Woman He Loved (1988) and War and Remembrance (1988). Unlike some British character actors, Hardy was not a Hollywood name and his work in films was therefore restricted to appearances in predominantly British-based productions such as The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) and Sense and Sensibility (1995). However, in the 21st century, Hardy came to the attention of a whole new generation for his performances in the hugely successful Harry Potter films, while also continuing to make regular appearances in British television series. His co-star from All Creatures Great and Small (1978), Peter Davison, quite simply described Hardy as an "extraordinary" actor who would "never do the same thing twice" when he was acting with him. He was awarded the CBE for services to acting. He died in August 2017.
Cast credits(141)
The Official
1965
Self
1971
Robert Cavendish
1997
Siegfried Farnon
1978
Nick Prockter
1964
Pontius Pilate
1964
John Fothergill
1974
Sir Malcolm Campbell
1974
General Tilney
1985
Walter Faber
1962
Self
2007
Narrator
1983
Winston Churchill
2004
Sir Toby Belch
1978
Charles Augustus Milverton
1984
Henry Beaumont
2002
Sir Arnold Raeburn
2007
Chancellor Griswold
2000
Sir John Barry
2002
Orsino
1950
Admetus
1950
William Herndon
1950
Archdeacon Haynes
1971
Alec Stewart
1965
Sir Guy Paynter
1971
Cornelius Fudge
2005
Cornelius Fudge
2002
Abwehr Sergeant Gratz
1970
Lord Hinch
1956
Clayton
1979
Andrew Baydon
1987
Cornelius Fudge
2004
Cornelius Fudge
2007
Dr. Parnell
1996
1966
The Commandant
1984
Abraham (voice)
1996
Joachim von Ribbentrop
1951
Sir Rupert
1956
Arthur Brooke
1994
Doctor Michael Sanders
1969
1977
Robert Dudley
1971
Henry, Prince of Wales
1960
Henry V
1960
1986
1958
Father Martin
2003
Julius Caesar
1983
1977
1962
Caius Martius Coriolanus
1963
Sir Herbert Hamilton
1995
Sir Herbert Hamilton
1995
Mr. Marples
1976
Judge Sutcliffe
1995
Sir James Caird
2002
1999
Albert Purvis
1956
1953
Sir John Middleton
1995
1976
Asquith
1974
1982
Winston Churchill
1988
Professor Illingworth
2001
Prof. Krempe
1994
Franklin D. Roosevelt
2006
1975
1976
Dick Carlton
1965
Forsten
1998
Winston Churchill
1981
Judge Murray
2005
Sir Anthony Parsons
2002
Prof. Illingworth
2001
General Tilney
1987
Bishop
2003
Malcolm Morris
1971
Assistant
1973
Sir William Bradshaw
1997
Klein
1985
Doctor
2002
1975
Lt. Redley
1958
Chief Inspector Hesseltine
1973
Detective Superintendent Brooks
1967
Prep School Headmaster
1972
British General
1967
Zorn
1972
Robert Dickinson
1974
Doctor Sir Robert Baldick
1972
Self - Interviewee
2013
Charles Augustus Milverton
1992
Sir Bertilak
1973
Lord Rivers
1998
Self
1988
King Richard
1984
Willie Whitelaw
2009
President Roosevelt
2002
Edward Foster / Andrew Marr
1973
Major Brutt
1987
Adam Gillvray
1989
Winston Churchill
1988
Joachim von Ribbentrop
1974
Professor Neddy Welch
2003
Bob, Lord Lilburn
1985
Sir Toby Belch
1980
Winston Churchill
2015
Narrator
2009
Klein
1985
Lord Bob Lilburn (archive footage) (uncredited)
1984
John Fothergill
1981
Jason
1965
Old Joseph
2015
Benito Mussolini
1975
Viscount Berryan
1999
Colonel Chase
1986
Pontius Pilate
1969
John Garrard
1987
Headmaster
1994
Dr. Price
1988
Mr. Stiles
2006
Winston Churchill
1989
Alexander
1973
Dorothy Campbell
1979
Cassio
1955
Father Parry
2004
Colonel Chase
1986
Lord Caversham
1999
William Drover
1986
Narrator
1970
Self
2007
Archdeacon Haynes
1971
Narrator (voice)
1980
Donald
2017
Self
1996
Mad Thomas
1949
Self
1997
Self
1995
Albert Purvis
1970
