Robert Hardy
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.
145 acting credits
Acting · 145
Midsomer Murders
1997
Great Performances
1971
The Saint
1962
Spooks
2002
Agatha Christie's Marple
2004
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
2002
Sherlock Holmes
1984
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2005
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2004
Natural World
1983
Playhouse
1974
Inspector Morse
1987
Foyle's War
2002
Lewis
2007
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2007
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
1979
Screen Two
1985
ITV Playhouse
1967
Theatre 625
1964
The Wednesday Play
1964
All Creatures Great and Small
1978
The Alan Titchmarsh Show
2007
Upstairs, Downstairs
1971
Sunday Night Theatre
1950
The Buccaneers
1956
Churchill's People
1974
Drama 61-67
1961
Mystery and Imagination
1966
ScreenPlay
1986
Thirty-Minute Theatre
1965
Bramwell
1995
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
1969
The Duchess of Duke Street
1976
War and Remembrance
1988
The Troubleshooters
1965
Sense and Sensibility
1995
A Ghost Story for Christmas
1971
The Adventures of Sir Lancelot
1956
The 10th Kingdom
2000
An Age of Kings
1960
Manhunt
1970
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
Middlemarch
1994
Gulliver's Travels
1996
Raffles
1977
Bill Brand
1976
Testament: The Bible in Animation
1996
Shackleton
2002
Elizabeth R
1971
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
1994
Strange Report
1969
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
1981
General Electric Theater
1953
Supernatural
1977
Countdown
1982
The Veil
1958
The Far Pavilions
1984
Victorian Scandals
1976
Look at the State We're In!
1995
Edward the Seventh
1975
The Cleopatras
1983
Armchair Theatre
1956
The Barber of Siberia
1998
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
1965
Death in Holy Orders
2003
Shades of Darkness
1983
Hot Metal
1986
Shoulder to Shoulder
1974
Lassie
2005
The Lost World
2001
Nancherrow
1999
10 Rillington Place
1971
Thunderpants
2002
The Lost World
2001
The Spread of the Eagle
1963
Mrs. Dalloway
1997
The Gathering
2003
Northanger Abbey
1987
The Dark Island
1962
The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood
1984
Le Grand Charles
2006
The Slap
1974
In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton
1988
Dark Places
1973
Yellow Dog
1973
Jenny's War
1985
Psychomania
1973
Torpedo Run
1958
Young Winston
1972
The Master Blackmailer
1992
The Woman He Loved
1988
Berserk!
1967
How I Won the War
1967
Demons of the Mind
1972
The Falklands Play
2002
Margaret
2009
Paris by Night
1989
Twelfth Night
1980
James Mason: The Star They Loved to Hate
1984
The Silent One
1973
European Heritage
1973
The Shooting Party
1985
Fothergill
1981
Gawain and the Green Knight
1973
The Tichborne Claimant
1999
Bertie and Elizabeth
2002
Othello
1955
Nancherrow
1999
Paying Guests (Part 1)
1986
The Gathering Storm
1974
Caesar and Claretta
1975
An Ideal Husband
1999
Elementary My Dear Viewer
2007
Ghosts in the Machine
2009
Son of Man
1969
The Incredible Robert Baldick: Never Come Night
1972
Jenny's War
1985
The Demon Lover
1986
Lucky Jim
2003
Paying Guests (Part 2)
1986
The Stalls of Barchester
1971
Blat
1987
Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair
1988
Bomber Harris
1989
A Feast at Midnight
1994
The Secret Agent
1975
Make and Break
1987
Joseph's Reel
2015
Marie Stopes: Sexual Revolutionary
1970
Churchill: 100 Days That Saved Britain
2015
Narnia's Lost Poet: The Secret Lives and Loves of C.S. Lewis
2013
Castle Ghosts of England
1995
Black Legend
1949
Warm Feet, Warm Heart
1970
The Death of the Heart
1987
Snapshot Wedding
2017
Old Man's Fancy
1965
Getting In
1971
Centenary: The BP Story
2009
Castle Ghosts of Ireland
1996
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
1980
Castle Ghosts of Wales
1997
Making Waves
2004
Goodbye Mr Snuggles
2006
Speed King
1979