Sir Robert Graham Stephens (14 July 193112 November 1995) was an English actor in the early years of Britain's

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

Early life

Stephens was born in Shirehampton,

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, in 1931, the eldest of three children of shipyard labourer and costing surveyor Reuben Stephens (19051985) and chocolate-factory worker Gladys Millicent (née Deverill; 19061975). When aged 18, he won a scholarship to Esme Church's Bradford Civic Theatre School in Yorkshire, where he met his first wife Nora, a fellow student.

Career

Stephens's first professional engagement was with the Caryl Jenner Mobile Theatre, which he followed in 1951 by a year of more challenging parts in

repertory A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom ...

at the Royalty Theatre, Morecambe, followed by seasons of touring and at the Hippodrome, Preston. London director

Tony Richardson Cecil Antonio Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director, producer and screenwriter, whose career spanned five decades. He was identified with the "angry young men" group of British directors and play ...

saw a performance at the Royalty; this led to an offer of a place in the "momentous" first season of English Stage Company at the Royal Court in 1956. Stephens appeared in two versions of '' Epitaph for George Dillon'' on Broadway during the 1958-59 season for which he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. Stephens's early films included '' A Taste of Honey'' (1961), ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

'' (1963) and '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' (1969) with his then wife

Maggie Smith Dame Margaret Natalie Smith (28 December 1934 – 27 September 2024) was a British actress. Known for her wit in both comedic and dramatic roles, she had List of Maggie Smith performances, an extensive career on stage and screen for over seve ...

. He also had a minor role as Prince Escalus in Franco Zeffirelli's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' (1968), as well as a starring role in

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...

's '' The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'' (1970) and the gothic horror film '' The Asphyx'' (1972). Stephens played Atahuallpa in the original 1964 National Theatre production of '' The Royal Hunt of the Sun''. He and Smith appeared together on stage and in film, notably in '' The Recruiting Officer'' at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

and the film version of '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' in 1969. However, following his departure from the National Theatre in 1970 and the break-up of their marriage in 1973, he suffered a career slump, not helped by heavy drinking and a breakdown. Although Stephens continued to work on stage (notably in the National Theatre's'' The Mysteries'' in 1986), film ('' The Fruit Machine'' in 1988—titled ''Wonderland'' in the US—and

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...

's '' Henry V''), and television (notably in the role of Abner Brown in the 1984 BBC TV dramatisation of the children's classic '' The Box of Delights'' and as the Master of an Oxford college in an episode of ''

Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...

''), it was not until the 1990s that he re-established himself at the forefront of his profession, when the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

invited him to play Falstaff in '' Henry IV'' for director Adrian Noble (opening April 1991), the title roles in ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

'' (director Steven Pimlott) later in the year and then ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'', again for Noble, in May 1993. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1993 for Best Actor, for his performance as Falstaff. Stephens provided the voice of Aragorn in the 1981

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

serialisation of ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

''. In 1985, he directed the British premiere production of ''Danny and the Deep Blue Sea'' by John Patrick Shanley at the

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochla ...

, London. Stephens was knighted as a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the 1995 New Years Honours List "For services to Drama".

Personal life and death

Stephens was married four times: *1951: to Nora Ann Simmons; they had one child and divorced in 1952 *1956: to Tarn Bassett; they had one child and divorced in 1967 *1967: to

; they had two sons, the actors Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens and divorced in 1975 *1995: to

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

-born Patricia Quinn Following years of ill health, Stephens died on 12 November 1995, aged 64, due to complications during surgery, a little under a year after having been knighted.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

Bibliography

* Stephens, Robert; Coveney, Michael. (1995). ''Knight Errant.'' Hodder and Stoughton * Stevens, Christopher. (2010). ''Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams.'' John Murray * McFarlane, Brian. (2005). ''The Encyclopaedia of British Film.'' Methuen, 2nd edition

External links

* * *
Portraits of Stephens at the National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Robert 1931 births 1995 deaths 20th-century English male actors Actors awarded knighthoods English male film actors English male radio actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male voice actors Knights Bachelor Laurence Olivier Award winners Male actors from Bristol People from Shirehampton Royal Shakespeare Company members