Skip to main content
Robert Hardy

Robert Hardy

Actor · 1925 – 2017 · Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, UK

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.

Movies24

  • Movie8.0
  • Movie7.7
  • Movie7.8
  • Movie7.7
  • Movie7.4

    Sense and Sensibility

    1995 · 1.9K votes

  • Movie6.4

    Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1994 · 1.4K votes

  • Movie7.1
  • Movie6.4

    Lassie

    2005 · 148 votes

  • Movie5.7

    The Gathering

    2003 · 206 votes

  • Movie7.0

    The Barber of Siberia

    Сибирский цирюльник

    1998 · 161 votes

  • Movie3.5

    Thunderpants

    2002 · 93 votes

  • Movie5.5

    Dark Places

    1973 · 37 votes

  • Movie6.2

    The Lost World

    2001 · 76 votes

  • Movie7.3

    10 Rillington Place

    1971 · 222 votes

  • Movie5.7

    Berserk!

    1967 · 47 votes

  • Movie10.0

    The Woman He Loved

    1988 · 1 votes

  • Movie6.1

    Torpedo Run

    1958 · 29 votes

  • Movie5.6

    How I Won the War

    1967 · 39 votes

  • Movie6.2

    Young Winston

    1972 · 54 votes

  • Movie7.0

    The Master Blackmailer

    1992 · 28 votes

  • Movie5.7

    Mrs. Dalloway

    1997 · 76 votes

  • Movie5.0
  • Movie6.3

    Northanger Abbey

    1987 · 10 votes

  • Movie7.3

    Le Silencieux

    The Silent One

    1973 · 54 votes

Series24

  • TV7.5

    Midsomer Murders

    1997 · 374 votes

  • TV6.1

    Great Performances

    1971 · 25 votes

  • TV8.2

    Sherlock Holmes

    1984 · 269 votes

  • TV6.0
  • TV7.7

    Spooks

    2002 · 147 votes

  • TV7.8

    Agatha Christie's Marple

    2004 · 149 votes

  • TV7.1

    Screen Two

    1985 · 7 votes

  • TV7.8
  • TV7.9

    Foyle's War

    2002 · 111 votes

  • TV7.4

    The Saint

    1962 · 136 votes

  • TV7.4

    Natural World

    1983 · 31 votes

  • TV7.2

    Theatre 625

    1964 · 5 votes

  • TV7.6

    Lewis

    2007 · 123 votes

  • TV7.9

    Inspector Morse

    1987 · 146 votes

  • TV4.5
  • TV5.2

    The Wednesday Play

    1964 · 5 votes

  • TV7.0

    ITV Playhouse

    1967 · 3 votes

  • TV7.0

    Playhouse

    1974 · 1 votes

  • TV7.8

    Upstairs, Downstairs

    1971 · 32 votes

  • TV4.3

    Thirty-Minute Theatre

    1965 · 8 votes

  • TV7.0
  • TV7.0
  • TV7.3

    The Troubleshooters

    1965 · 3 votes

  • TV