Tim Pollard (born 23 February 1964) is an English

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 entertainer who has been appearing and performing as

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 ...

in and around his home town of

Nottingham, England Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robin H ...

for over 30 years. He lives and works in the legendary city as well as representing it nationally and internationally in his position as Nottingham's Official Robin Hood.

Early years

Before his career as an actor, Pollard worked in the

roleplaying Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing as ...

and

wargaming A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...

industry for many years as well as being a freelance graphic designer and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

. During this time, he became involved in

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and s ...

battle re-enactment and the first live-roleplaying company established in the UK,

Treasure Trap Treasure Trap was a live action role-playing game established at Peckforton Castle in Cheshire in April 1982. Various splinter groups broke from the original system, some retaining the Treasure Trap name, and helped to shape the later British L ...

(at

Peckforton Castle Peckforton Castle is a Victorian country house built in the style of a medieval castle. It stands in woodland at the north end of Peckforton Hills northwest of the village of Peckforton, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heri ...

in Cheshire), as well as performing with a number of local rock bands. He also studied medieval Japanese and 19th century

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

n history at

SOAS SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

, the prestigious School of Oriental and African Studies in

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 ...

Robin Hood

As Nottingham's Official

, Tim Pollard has represented the County and City of Nottingham nationally and internationally since 1996 – for example appearing in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

and several times in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

and

Hameln Hamelin ( ; german: Hameln ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Hi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

(home of the famous

Pied Piper The Pied Piper of Hamelin (german: der Rattenfänger von Hameln, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back to ...

with whom he keeps contact through their brotherhood ''Legion of Legends''. He also performs regularly at Nottingham Castle's annual Robin Hood

pageant Pageant may refer to: * Procession or ceremony in elaborate costume * Beauty pageant, or beauty contest * Latter Day Saint plays and pageants, run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or by members local to the area of the pageant * ...

and at medieval banquets, charity events and other shows throughout the

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Mercia, Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in ...

Television

Tim Pollard has also

choreograph Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

ed fight scenes or played roles in ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Te ...

'', '' The Oxford Road Show'', ''

Blind Date A blind date is a social engagement between two people who have not met, usually arranged by a mutual acquaintance. Structure A blind date is arranged for by a mutual acquaintance of both participants. The two people who take part in the blind ...

'', ''The Big Breakfast'', ''

Moll Flanders ''Moll Flanders'' is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1722. It purports to be the true account of the life of the eponymous Moll, detailing her exploits from birth until old age. By 1721, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, wi ...

'' and '' Common As Muck''. He appears regularly on local TV news and has also appeared as Robin Hood on TV shows such as Australia's Channel 9 'Getaway' travel show, 'Castles, Secrets and Legends' for the US Travel Channel and the BBC's 'Antiques Roadtrip'. In his role as Official Robin Hood of Nottinghamshire, he has appeared as an expert in local history on the Travel Channel television show "

Expedition Unknown ''Expedition Unknown'' is an American reality television series produced by Ping Pong Productions, that follows explorer and television presenter Josh Gates as he investigates mysteries and legends. The series premiered on January 8, 2015 and o ...

" Season 2 episode 'The Real Robin Hood'.

Film

Tim Pollard has appeared as the narrator character 'Lord Victor Fleming' in the horror films ''Dracula's Orgy of the Damned'' and ''Werewolf Massacre at Hell's Gate''. Fleming is an expert in occult lore and a collector of tales of eldritch curiosity.

DVD/Music

In 1985 he was a featured part of the stage show performing with psychedelic prog-rock band

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including ha ...

on their ''Chronicle of the Black Sword'' tour, and can be seen on the live concert DVD ''

The Chronicle of the Black Sword ''The Chronicle of the Black Sword'' is the fourteenth studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1985. It spent two weeks on the UK albums chart peaking at #65. The album is based upon the adventures of Elric of Me ...

''.

Gaming and role-playing

Pollard has also worked full and part-time in the gaming business since 1978. He was also employed in design at

Games Workshop Games Workshop Group (often abbreviated as GW) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are '' Warhammer Age of Sigmar'' and '' Warhammer 40,000''. Founded in 1975 by John Peake, ...

and

Citadel Miniatures Citadel Miniatures Limited is a company which produces metal, resin and plastic miniature figures for tabletop wargames such as ''Warhammer Fantasy Battle'' and ''Warhammer 40,000''. In the past Citadel Miniatures was a separate company but i ...

as a writer, editor, artist and art manager. He edited and produced the initial Flintloque line of table-top Napoleonic

fantasy games Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...

for

Alternative Armies Alternative Armies is a miniature gaming and modeling company located in Scotland. It produces a range of different games and model ranges, the most famous of which is the game of ''Flintloque''. Games Games based in the world of Valon Third Age o ...

, as well as co-writing the entry for

Shaka Zulu Shaka kaSenzangakhona ( – 22 September 1828), also known as Shaka Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that ...

Steve Jackson Games Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''. History Founded in 1980, six years after the c ...

GURPS The ''Generic Universal RolePlaying System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting. It was created by Steve Jackson Games and first published in 1986 at a time when most such systems ...

Who's Who''. He also contributed research on antique coins to the PC first-person action game '' The Operative: No One Lives Forever''.

References

External links

Nottingham city website

Legion of Legends
*

''Moll Flanders'' at www.imdb.com

''Dracula's Orgy of the Damned'' at www.imdb.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollard, Tim 1964 births Living people Actors from Nottingham English male actors Game artists Interactive fiction writers