Robert Lindsay (actor)

Robert Lindsay Stevenson (born 13 December 1949), known professionally as Robert Lindsay, is an English actor. He has appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company and in musical theatre, and is the recipient of a British Academy Television Award, a Tony Award, and two Laurence Olivier Awards.

Lindsay's most notable roles on television were playing Wolfie in ''Citizen Smith'' (1977–1980) and Ben Harper in '' My Family'' (2000–11). His other screen credits include ''That'll Be The Day'' (1973), ''Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' (1976), '' Get Some In!'' (1975–1977), ''Twelfth Night'' (1980), ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1981), ''King Lear'' (1983), ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1984), '' Bert Rigby, You're a Fool'' (1989), '' Strike It Rich'' (1990), '' G.B.H.'' (1991), '' Fierce Creatures'' (1997), '' Divorcing Jack'' (1998) '' Hornblower'' (1998–2003), ''Oliver Twist'' (1999), ''Wimbledon'' (2004), ''Jericho'' (2005), '' Friends and Crocodiles'' (2006), '' Gideon's Daughter'' (2006), '' Absolutely Fabulous'' (2006), '' Extras'' (2006), '' The Trial of Tony Blair'' (2007), '' Grace of Monaco'' (2010), '' Spy'' (2011), '' Galavant'' (2016), ''Genius'' (2017), '' Maleficent: Mistress of Evil'' (2019), and '' McDonald & Dodds'' (2020).

Early life

Lindsay was born 13 December 1949, in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, to Joyce ( Dunmore) and Norman Stevenson, a joiner. He was one of three children and his father was a World War II veteran, having been on a minesweeper.

Lindsay attended Gladstone Boys' School, in Ilkeston, then enrolled in the drama department of Clarendon College in Nottingham. His friends at Nottingham Playhouse encouraged him to apply to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), and in 1968, and he was accepted there with the aid of a government grant. He graduated in 1970 with an Acting (RADA Diploma).

Career

Lindsay's early career included roles in British films such as ''That'll Be The Day'' (1973), '' Three for All'' (1975), and ''Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' (1976). He came to prominence as the cockney Teddy Boy Jakey Smith in the ITV comedy series '' Get Some In!'' (1975–1977), that was based on National Service life in the RAF. In 1977, he landed the starring role as delusional revolutionary Wolfie Smith in the BBC sitcom ''Citizen Smith'' (1977–1980). He had now become a television star watched by 24 million people.

Lindsay won roles in the BBC Television Shakespeare series, including Lysander in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1981), Fabian in ''Twelfth Night'' (1980), and Benedick in ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1984). He played Edmund in the Granada Television production of ''King Lear'' (1983).

He played the role of Bill Snibson alongside Emma Thompson in the 1984 London revival of ''Me and My Girl'', for which he won an Olivier Award, which subsequently transferred to Broadway, earning him a Tony Award.

He played the starring role in the film '' Bert Rigby, You're a Fool'' (1989), and appeared in the James Scott-directed '' Strike It Rich'' (1990), alongside Molly Ringwald and John Gielgud. He continued to have success on television, and played the leading role in Alan Bleasdale's dark comedy serial '' G.B.H.'' (1991), winning the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for his performance as Michael Murray.

Lindsay was also in Bleasdale's ''Jake's Progress'' (1995), the tale of a couple played by Lindsay and Julie Walters who were struggling to cope with a 'difficult' child (Barclay Wright). Both Bleasdale serials were screened by Channel 4, as was the surreal Channel 4 sitcom '' Nightingales'' (1990–93), which also featured David Threlfall and James Ellis. In 1996, Lindsay played the title role of '' Becket'', the play by Jean Anouilh, opposite Derek Jacobi as King Henry II for which was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor. In 1997, Lindsay played the role of Fagin in Cameron Mackintosh's London revival of ''Oliver!'' at the London Palladium, for which he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

Lindsay appeared alongside John Cleese, Michael Palin and Jamie Lee Curtis in the comedy film '' Fierce Creatures'' (1997). In 1998 he appeared in '' Divorcing Jack'' (1998). The same year, he was cast in the recurring role of Captain Pellew in the ITV mini-series '' Hornblower'', based on the novels by C.S. Forester which ran until 2003.

He later appeared as Fagin in the 1999 ITV ''Oliver Twist'' miniseries. His longest-running role has been Ben Harper in the popular BBC sitcom '' My Family'' (2000–11), playing the role for over a decade.

In October 2005, he starred in ITV drama series ''Jericho'' about a Scotland Yard detective investigating murder and kidnapping in London's Soho in the 1950s. In January and February 2006, he was the only actor (as Sneath) to appear in two loosely linked Stephen Poliakoff dramas, '' Friends and Crocodiles'', and '' Gideon's Daughter'', shown on BBC One.

Lindsay portrayed Prime Minister Tony Blair in the Channel 4 satires ''A Very Social Secretary'' and '' The Trial of Tony Blair''. In 2003, he appeared in an episode of '' Absolutely Fabulous'', playing the character of Pete, an old musician boyfriend of Edina Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders), and narrated the BBC documentary series '' Seven Wonders of the Industrial World'' (2003).

He appeared in the 8th Ricky Gervais Video Podcast, in which Gervais announced that Lindsay would be in the second series of '' Extras'', appearing in the last episode of the 2006 series as an arrogant, mean-spirited version of himself. Lindsay also appeared in the romantic comedy ''Wimbledon'', as the tennis club manager who hires Peter Colt. In 2007 at the Old Vic Theatre, Lindsay played Archie Rice in John Osborne's '' The Entertainer'', a role first performed by Olivier in 1957. In 2009, he played the protagonist, Maddox, from the Radio 4 comedy '' Electric Ink'' by Alistair Beaton.

In 2010, Lindsay starred in the title role of Derby Live's production of '' Onassis'' before its transfer to London's West End. He played the same role in '' Grace of Monaco''. In November 2011, he starred as Henry in a revival of '' The Lion in Winter'' by James Goldman at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, London, a production which also featured Joanna Lumley as Eleanor, and was directed by Trevor Nunn. In 2011, he starred as The Examiner in the British sitcom '' Spy'',

In 2012, Lindsay appeared in the Sky detective series ''Falcón'', episode "The Silent and the Damned", as Pablo Ortega. In 2014, Lindsay starred as Lawrence in the UK première production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Savoy Theatre London, directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell.

In 2016, Lindsay recurred on the second season of the ABC fairy tale-themed musical comedy series '' Galavant'' as Chester Wormwood, an evil wizard/wedding planner.

In 2017, Lindsay played Hermann Einstein in the National Geographic TV series ''Genius''. He also played Jack Cardiff in ''Prism'' at the Hampstead Theatre.

In 2019, Lindsay played supporting role of King John in Disney's '' Maleficent: Mistress of Evil''. The film starred Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and was released on 18 October 2019. In 2020, he appeared in the series '' McDonald & Dodds''.

Lindsay starred as Moonface Martin in a revival of '' Anything Goes'', directed by Kathleen Marshall, at the Barbican Theatre from July to November 2021. He received his fourth Olivier Award nomination, which was his third for Best Actor in a Musical, in 2022.

Personal life

In 1974, Lindsay married Cheryl Hall, who later appeared opposite him in ''Citizen Smith''. They divorced in 1980, when he started a long-term relationship with actress Diana Weston, with whom he has a daughter, Sydney Laura Stevenson, and who co-starred with him in three episodes of ''My Family''. He married English actress, dancer, and television presenter Rosemarie Ford on 31 December 2006.

On 13 September 2006, Lindsay researched his family tree in the third series of '' Who Do You Think You Are?'' He travelled to his hometown and to Turkey, where his grandfather, Raymond Dunmore, had taken part in the Gallipoli campaign during World War I.

Lindsay is a lifelong supporter of Derby County F.C., which he revealed in a short section on the CBBC programme '' Newsround'' entitled "My Team".

Lindsay is known for his left-wing political beliefs, usually describing himself as a staunch socialist, and has marched in support of miners. He is a passionate supporter of the Labour Party, but an outspoken critic of then Prime Minister Tony Blair's controversial decisions to go to war in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2001 and 2003, saying that he was "furious" and feeling disillusioned with mainstream politics: "You see those images of Iraq and Afghanistan and Lebanon, don't you? And I suspect somewhere, when he goes home at night and the kids are in bed, he must go, 'Jesus, what have I done?'"

In 2011, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which was treated surgically.

Lindsay has suffered from depressive episodes and symptoms of seasonal affective disorder in winter months for most of his life. He has spoken publicly about his positive experiences with light therapy and counselling, saying that "they really do work".

Credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

BAFTA TV Awards

Olivier Awards

Tony Awards

Other awards

References

External links

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Biography on BBC siteRobert Lindsay on ''Who Do You Think You Are?''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsay, Robert
1949 births
Living people
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Best Actor BAFTA Award (television) winners
Drama Desk Award winners
English male film actors
English male Shakespearean actors
English male television actors
English male voice actors
English socialists
Labour Party (UK) people
Laurence Olivier Award winners
Male actors from Derbyshire
People from Ilkeston
People with mood disorders
Royal Shakespeare Company members
Tony Award winners