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.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

7.7

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

8.0

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

7.8

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

7.7

Sense and Sensibility

7.4

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

6.4

Midsomer Murders

7.5

The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

7.1

The 10th Kingdom

7.6

Sherlock Holmes

8.1

10 Rillington Place

7.3

The Gathering

5.5

The Barber of Siberia

7.1

Lassie

6.4

Inspector Morse

7.8

Spooks

7.6

Agatha Christie's Marple

7.6

The Saint

7.3

Gulliver's Travels

7.1

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

6.9

Lewis

7.6

Foyle's War

7.8

The Slap

6.7

Thunderpants

3.5

Psychomania

5.6

Mrs. Dalloway

5.6

The Lost World

6.0

Demons of the Mind

5.4

Young Winston

6.2

Berserk!

5.5

The Silent One

7.2

All Creatures Great and Small

7.7

How I Won the War

5.5

Shackleton

7.0

War and Remembrance

7.9

Dark Places

5.5

Upstairs, Downstairs

7.6

Natural World

7.1

Torpedo Run

5.9

The Shooting Party

6.6

The Master Blackmailer

7.2

Elizabeth R

7.4

Countdown

5.8

Great Performances

5.4

The Stalls of Barchester

6.2

Middlemarch

7.8

The Lost World

7.6

Paris by Night

4.5

The Duchess of Duke Street

7.8

The Far Pavilions

7.5

Edward the Seventh

6.9

A Feast at Midnight

6.1

Bertie and Elizabeth

5.6

Supernatural

7.1

An Ideal Husband

6.5

Hallmark Hall of Fame

8.7

Hot Metal

5.8

Gawain and the Green Knight

4.6

Margaret

5.8

Northanger Abbey

5.7

The Falklands Play

7.4

The Veil

7.6

The BBC Television Shakespeare

5.2

Screen Two

6.8

Thirty-Minute Theatre

3.8

Armchair Theatre

5.8

The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood

5.3

Narnia's Lost Poet: The Secret Lives and Loves of C.S. Lewis

6.1

The Buccaneers

5.5

The Adventures of Sir Lancelot

6.5

Mystery and Imagination

5.5

Death in Holy Orders

7.1

Bramwell

4.2

A Ghost Story for Christmas

7.4

The Wednesday Play

4.5

Testament: The Bible in Animation

6.0

The Gathering Storm

7.0

Nancherrow

6.0

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

6.5

Twelfth Night

6.7

Making Waves

6.0

Raffles

8.0

The Alan Titchmarsh Show

3.7

An Age of Kings

4.7

Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years

5.0

Manhunt

6.5

Bill Brand

6.3

General Electric Theater

6.0

Castle Ghosts of Wales

6.0

Bomber Harris

6.8

Othello

8.5

The Tichborne Claimant

8.0

Yellow Dog

2.2

Goodbye Mr Snuggles

7.0

In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton

6.0

The Cleopatras

3.0

Nancherrow

7.5

Sunday Night Theatre

3.5

Jenny's War

5.5

Castle Ghosts of England

6.0

Castle Ghosts of Ireland

5.0

Caesar and Claretta

1.0

Jenny's War

6.0

The Woman He Loved

10.0

Joseph's Reel

5.0

The Dark Island

4.0

Shoulder to Shoulder

5.0

Playhouse

7.0

The Morecambe and Wise Show

9.0

Le Grand Charles

10.0

Strange Report

6.0

The Troubleshooters

5.0

James Mason: The Star They Loved to Hate

0.0

Snapshot Wedding

0.0

Ghosts in the Machine

0.0

The Incredible Robert Baldick: Never Come Night

0.0

Speed King

0.0

Make and Break

0.0

Paying Guests (Part 1)

0.0

Paying Guests (Part 2)

0.0

Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair

0.0

Old Man's Fancy

0.0

Warm Feet, Warm Heart

0.0

Lucky Jim

0.0

Black Legend

0.0

Churchill: 100 Days That Saved Britain

0.0

The Death of the Heart

0.0

Fothergill

0.0

The Demon Lover

0.0

Son of Man

0.0

Victorian Scandals

0.0

Look at the State We're In!

0.0

The Spread of the Eagle

0.0