Rob Heyland (born 2 April 1954) is an Anglo-Irish

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

and

landscape designer Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and garde ...

Early life and education

Heyland was born in London to Irish parents and brought up in Kent where his father was a GP. He was educated at The King’s School, Canterbury and studied acting at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

in London (1976-9).

Career

Landscape Design

At Central, with a child to support, Rob created ''Gaylord and Merriweather – Good Gardeners of Hampstead'', a landscape company. Over the following ten years he built gardens for

Charles Dance Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. His most notable film roles include Sardo Numspa in '' The Golden Child'' (1986), Dr. Jonathan Clemens in '' ...

Alfred Brendel Alfred Brendel KBE (born 5 January 1931) is an Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer, and lecturer who is known particularly for his performances of Mozart, Schubert, Schoenberg, and Beethoven.Stephen Plaistow"Brendel, Alfred" ''G ...

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin ...

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

Janet Suzman Dame Janet Suzman, (born 9 February 1939) is a South African-born British actress who enjoyed a successful early career in the Royal Shakespeare Company, later replaying many Shakespearean roles, among others, on TV. In her first film, ''Nicho ...

Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre p ...

and many others. Employees included Joe Swift and

Nick Franglen Nick Franglen (born 1965 in Westminster, London) is a British musician, record producer and installation artist. He is best known as a founding member of the electronic music duo Lemon Jelly. Music composition and production A classically trained ...

Acting

On leaving Central, Rob and his wife Victoria were involved in the setting up of

Burgh House Burgh House is a historic house located on New End Square in Hampstead, London, that includes the Hampstead Museum. The house is also listed as Burgh House & Hampstead Museum. Brief history Burgh House was constructed in 1704 during the r ...

arts and community centre in Hampstead and became the centre's first administrators (1979-1984). At the same time Rob started his acting career as a founder member of The Kick Theatre Company with

Deborah Warner Deborah Warner (born 12 May 1959) is a British director of theatre and opera, known for her interpretations of the works of Shakespeare, Bertolt Brecht, Benjamin Britten and Henrik Ibsen. Early life Warner was born in Oxfordshire, England, ...

. Heyland and Warner took over the running of the

New End Theatre The New End Theatre, Hampstead, was an 80-seat fringe theatre venue in London, at 27 New End in the London Borough of Camden which operated from 1974 until 2011. It was founded in 1974 by Buddy Dalton in the converted mortuary of the now-defun ...

in Hampstead. They opened with

Anthony Minghella Anthony Minghella, (6 January 195418 March 2008) was a British film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was chairman of the board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007. He won the Academy Award for Best Directo ...

’s Whale Music. They commissioned

Steven Berkoff Steven Berkoff (born Leslie Steven Berks; 3 August 1937) is an English actor, author, playwright, theatre practitioner and theatre director. As a theatre maker he is recognised for staging work with a heightened performance style eponymously ...

to write

Decadence The word decadence, which at first meant simply "decline" in an abstract sense, is now most often used to refer to a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, honor, discipline, or skill at governing among the members ...

, with

Linda Marlowe Linda Virginia Marlowe (née Bathurst, born 26 July 1940) is an Australian-born British film, theatre, and television actress. She is noted for her association with Steven Berkoff, performing in many of his theatrical works, creating a one-woma ...

, which had its premier at the theatre. They also brought

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

and her husband Michael Williams in their final performance together in

Village Wooing ''Village Wooing, A Comedietta for Two Voices'' is a play by George Bernard Shaw, written in 1933 and first performed in 1934. It has only two characters, hence the subtitle "a comedietta for two voices". The first scene takes place aboard a lin ...

. Heyland established a thriving late night review spot at the theatre, which hosted, amongst others, the

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

award winning

Cambridge Footlights Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University. History Footlights' inaugural ...

team of

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starrin ...

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she has received numerous accolades throughout her four-decade-long career, including two Academy Awards, two British A ...

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in a ...

and

Tony Slattery Tony Declan James Slattery (born 9 November 1959) is an English actor and comedian. He appeared on British television regularly from the mid-1980s, most notably as a regular on the Channel 4 improvisation show '' Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' His ...

in their first

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

performances. They also established The Wow Show, a rolling revue involving up-and-coming comedians. Heyland began his professional acting career playing Policeman in a 1982 episode of '' The Professionals'' entitled '' Cry Wolf''IMDb filmography
‘’

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, p ...

’’, retrieved 2020-08-09 His only line of dialogue was: “Grub up Miller”. He had two lines in ''

Reilly, Ace of Spies ''Reilly, Ace of Spies'' is a 1983 British television programme dramatizing the life of Sidney Reilly, a Russian-born adventurer who became one of the greatest spies ever to work for the United Kingdom and the British Empire. Among his exploits, ...

'' (1983) and then went on to land the lead role of Donald Turner in the prime time

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

TV series '' One By One'' – (three series - 1984–1987) (Viewing figures reached 15 million) .TV Listings
''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territo ...

'', 18 May 1984, retrieved 2010-02-06 '' One By One'' led to him starring in Pepperami adverts, including “Venus Fly Trap” and “Piranha”. Latterly, not much liking working in front of the camera, Heyland focused on theatre. Theatre credits include Henry VIII in A Man For All Seasons at Birmingham Rep, with

Denys Hawthorne Denys Vernon Hawthorne (9 August 1932 – 16 October 2009) was an actor from Northern Ireland who was known for his work in theatre, film, television and radio. Life Denys Hawthorne was born into an upper middle-class Protestant family in Portad ...

as Sir Thomas More. A season with The Royal Shakespeare Company playing The Prince in

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

, with

Mark Rylance Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (born 18 January 1960) is a British actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Laurence ...

as Romeo, Cloten in Cymbeline and The Priest in Have. Heyland was Baron Tuzenbach in The Three Sisters at the Albery Theater in London’s West End with

Francesca Annis Francesca Annis (born 14 May 1945) is an English actress. She is known for television roles in ''Reckless'' (1998), '' Wives and Daughters'' (1999), '' Deceit'' (2000), and '' Cranford'' (2007). A six-time BAFTA TV Award nominee, she won the 19 ...

Susan Penhaligon Susan Penhaligon (born 3 July 1949) is a British actress and writer known for her role in the drama series '' Bouquet of Barbed Wire'' (1976), and for playing Helen Barker in the sitcom '' A Fine Romance'' (1981–1984). She appeared in the s ...

Ian Ogilvy Ian Raymond Ogilvy (born 30 September 1943) is an English actor, playwright, and novelist. Early life Ogilvy was born in Woking, Surrey, England, to Francis Fairfield Ogilvy, brother of advertising executive David Ogilvy, and actress Aileen ...

Hywel Bennett Hywel Thomas Bennett (8 April 1944 – 24 July 2017) was a Welsh film and television actor. He had a lead role in '' The Family Way'' (1966) and played the titular "thinking man's layabout" James Shelley in the television sitcom '' Shelley'' ( ...

, and

Ron Cook Ronald G. Cook (born 1948) is an English actor. He has been active in film, television and theatre since the 1970s. Early and personal life Cook was born in 1948 in South Shields, County Durham, England, the son of a school cook and a car w ...

. It was directed by Elijah Moshinsky, with

Sam Mendes Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes (born 1 August 1965) is a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was knighted in the 2020 New Years Honours List. That s ...

as assistant. Touring credits include: Trevor Tinsley in Funny Peculiar and Mellors in

Lady Chatterley’s Lover ''Lady Chatterley's Lover'' is the last novel by English author D. H. Lawrence, which was first published privately in 1928, in Italy, and in 1929, in France. An unexpurgated edition was not published openly in the United Kingdom until 1960, w ...

Script Writing

Heyland began his writing career in 1991, as part of the team that helped

Tony Garnett Tony Garnett (3 April 1936 – 12 January 2020) was a British film and television producer, and actor. Best known for his thirteen-year association with director Ken Loach, his work as a producer continued into the 21st century. Early life and ...

to create BBC’s hit series '' Between The Lines'' (1992-4), starring

Neil Pearson Neil John Pearson (born 27 April 1959) is a British actor, known for his work on television. He was nominated for the 1994 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor for '' Between the Lines'' (1992–1994). His other television roles include '' Drop the ...

. Heyland wrote 7 episodes over 3 seasons (BAFTA, Writers Guild, Broadcasting Press Guild.) Heyland developed, co-produced and wrote ''

Have Your Cake and Eat It ''Have Your Cake and Eat It'' is a British romantic drama mini-series which was broadcast every Saturday and Sunday on BBC1 from 15 to 23 March 1997. The four-episode series was directed by Paul Seed and co-produced by Dave Edwards and Eilee ...

''Rampton, James (1996)
Television & Radio: On the box
, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'', 16 August 1996, retrieved 2010-02-06 (1997) starring Sinead Cusack (Royal Television Award for Best Actress),

James Bolam James Christopher Bolam (born 16 June 1935) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Terry Collier in '' The Likely Lads'' and its sequel ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'', Jack Ford in ''When the Boat Comes In'', Roy F ...

Phillip Glenister Philip Haywood Glenister (born 10 February 1963) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as DCI Gene Hunt in the BBC series '' Life on Mars'' (2006–2007) and its sequel '' Ashes to Ashes'' (2008–2010). He also played DCI Willi ...

Rebecca Front Rebecca Louise Front (born 16 May 1964) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She won the 2010 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for '' The Thick of It'' (2009–2012).Jennifer Lipma"Bafta for Jewish actress Rebecca Front" ...

James Purefoy James Brian Mark Purefoy (born 3 June 1964) is an English actor. He played Mark Antony in the HBO series ''Rome'', Nick Jenkins in ''A Dance to the Music of Time'', college professor turned serial killer Joe Carroll in the series ''The Following ...

, and Honeysuckle Weeks. Other shows created by Heyland include ''

Bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

'' (ITV film, 2000), with

Mark Strong Mark Strong (born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia; 5 August 1963), is a British actor, best known for his film roles such as Prince Septimus in '' Stardust'' (2007), Archibald in ''RocknRolla'' (2008), Lord Henry Blackwood in ''Sherlock Holmes'' (20 ...

; ''

Promoted To Glory Promoted to Glory is a term used by The Salvation Army to describe the death of a Salvationist. Terminology and background Earliest printed usage of the term seems to be in late 1882 in ''The War Cry'', which included death announcements in the ...

'' (ITV film. 2003) with

Ken Stott Kenneth Campbell Stott (born 19 October 1954) is a Scottish stage, television and film actor who won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1995 in the play '' Broken Glass'' at Royal National Theatre. He portrayed t ...

Lesley Manville Lesley Ann Manville (born 12 March 1956) is an English actress known for her frequent collaborations with Mike Leigh, appearing in the films ''Grown-Ups'' (1980), '' High Hopes'' (1988), '' Secrets & Lies'' (1996), '' Topsy-Turvy'' (1999), ''A ...

and

Kevin Whately Kevin Whately (born 6 February 1951) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Neville "Nev" Hope in the British comedy drama '' Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'', Robert "Robbie" Lewis in the crime dramas '' Inspector Morse'' 1987–2000 a ...

;Enker, Debi (2006)
glory/2006/12/22/1166290725367.html Promoted to Glory
, '' Sydney Morning Herald'', December 25, 2006, retrieved 2010-02-06 ''

Ultimate Force ''Ultimate Force'' is a British television action drama series that was shown on ITV, which deals with the activities of Red Troop of the SAS (Special Air Service). The first episode was broadcast on 16 September 2002, and a total of four seri ...

'' (ITV series, 4 seasons – 2002–2007) with

Ross Kemp Ross James Kemp (born 21 July 1964) is an English actor, author, and television presenter. He rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. He is also known for his other roles as Graham Lodsworth in ...

;Macho Grant Is So Forceful
, ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ci ...

'', 19 September 2002, retrieved 2010-02-06 ''Whistleblower'' (RTE, two part film, 2008) with

Charlene McKenna Charlene Lee McKenna ( ga, Searlaoin Nic Chionaoith; born 26 March 1984) is an Irish actress. She became a household name in Ireland after starring as Jennifer Jackson in the miniseries '' Pure Mule'' (2005). She appeared on Irish television in ...

and

Adrian Dunbar Adrian Dunbar (born 1 August 1958) is a Northern Irish actor, director and singer, known for his television and his theatre work. Dunbar co-wrote and starred in the 1991 film ''Hear My Song'', nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the BAF ...

, (Best drama IFTA and Celtic Film Awards, IFTA). Other TV writing credits include: ''

Wycliffe Wycliffe (and other similar spellings) may refer to: People *John Wycliffe (and other spellings) (c.1320s – 1384), English theologian and Bible translator * Wycliffe (name), includes a list of other people with the name Places * Wycliffe, Count ...

'', ''

Thief Takers ''Thief Takers'' is a British television crime drama series, created by Roy Mitchell, and produced by Central Independent Television for the ITV network. The series depicts the work of a team of officers based in the Metropolitan Police Servi ...

'', ''

Kavanagh QC ''Kavanagh QC'' is a British television series made by Central Television for ITV between 1995 and 2001. All five series are available on DVD in both Region 1 and Region 2. Plot The series starred John Thaw as barrister James Kavanagh QC, ...

'', ''

Out Of Hours ''Out of Hours'' is a six-part British television medical drama series, first broadcast on BBC One on 20 May 1998. Set in the fictional city of Haventry in Birmingham, the series focuses on the lives of three "out of hours" GPs, Dr. Cathy Har ...

'', '' Heartbeat'', ''

The Scarlet Pimpernel ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' is the first novel in a series of historical fiction by Baroness Orczy, published in 1905. It was written after her stage play of the same title (co-authored with Montague Barstow) enjoyed a long run in London, having ...

'', '' Foyle’s War'', ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is de ...

'' and ''

Striking Out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who i ...

''. He is currently developing a French Revolution series with Sir

Simon Schama Sir Simon Michael Schama (; born 13 February 1945) is an English historian specialising in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a University Professor of History and Art History at Columbia University. He fi ...

Politics

Heyland was a founder member of the

Social Democrat Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

. He was on the policy committee and stood for election in Belsize ward in the local elections in

Camden Camden may refer to: People * Camden (surname), a surname of English origin * Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer * Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor Places Australia * Camden, New South Wales * Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...

. He was also a member of the 300 group, pushing for greater representation of women in parliament. He has spoken on platforms against consumerism and how it will destroy the planet. “A finite planet and a system of infinite growth are not compatible”.

Personal life

Heyland has been married to Victoria for 45 years. They have 4 children, Florence, Alfred, Lily and Clemency and 10 grandchildren and live in West Cork and South Devon.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heyland, Rob 1954 births Living people