Robert Hardy
Known for: Acting
Born: October 29, 1925
Died: August 3, 2017
Place of birth: 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.
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Filmography
79 movies · 76 TV shows, newest first
4.0
Pamela's Garden of Eden
2022NR
Snapshot Wedding
2017
5.0
Joseph's Reel
2015
NR
Churchill: 100 Days That Saved Britain
2015
6.9
Narnia's Lost Poet: The Secret Lives and Loves of C.S. Lewis
2013NR
Ghosts in the Machine
2009
5.7
Margaret
2009
NR
Centenary: The BP Story
2009NR
Elementary My Dear Viewer
20074.5
The Alan Titchmarsh Show
2007
7.7
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2007
7.6
Lewis
2007
7.0
Goodbye Mr Snuggles
2006
10.0
Le Grand Charles
2006
6.4
Lassie
2005
7.8
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2005
7.8
Agatha Christie's Marple
2004
6.8
Making Waves
2004
8.0
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2004
6.9
Death in Holy Orders
2003
7.0
Lucky Jim
2003
5.6
The Gathering
2003
7.7
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
2002
7.9
Foyle's War
2002
6.7
Bertie and Elizabeth
2002
3.4
Thunderpants
2002
7.7
Spooks
2002
7.0
The Falklands Play
2002
7.2
Shackleton
2002
6.1
The Lost World
2001
7.5
The Lost World
2001NR
Justice in Wonderland
2000
7.6
The 10th Kingdom
2000
8.7
The Tichborne Claimant
1999
6.5
An Ideal Husband
1999
8.0
Nancherrow
1999
6.2
Nancherrow
1999
7.0
The Barber of Siberia
1998
7.0
Castle Ghosts of Wales
1997
5.7
Mrs. Dalloway
1997
7.5
Midsomer Murders
1997
7.0
Testament: The Bible in Animation
19966.7
Castle Ghosts of Ireland
1996
7.3
Gulliver's Travels
1996
7.4
Sense and Sensibility
19956.5
Castle Ghosts of England
1995NR
Look at the State We're In!
1995
4.2
Bramwell
1995
6.4
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
1994
6.2
A Feast at Midnight
1994
7.9
Middlemarch
1994
7.0
The Master Blackmailer
1992
7.8
Bomber Harris
1989
4.8
Paris by Night
1989
9.0
Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair
1988
7.9
War and Remembrance
1988
6.0
In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton
1988
10.0
The Woman He Loved
1988
NR
Blat
1987
8.5
The Death of the Heart
1987
6.3
Northanger Abbey
1987
7.9
Inspector Morse
1987
NR
Make and Break
1987
NR
Paying Guests (Part 2)
1986
NR
Paying Guests (Part 1)
19867.0
Sunday Premiere
1986
6.0
ScreenPlay
1986
7.0
The Demon Lover
1986
5.4
Hot Metal
1986
6.0
Jenny's War
1985
6.7
Jenny's War
1985
6.6
The Shooting Party
1985
7.1
Screen Two
1985
6.8
The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood
1984
8.2
Sherlock Holmes
1984
7.4
The Far Pavilions
1984
NR
James Mason: The Star They Loved to Hate
1984
7.4
Natural World
1983
7.7
Shades of Darkness
1983
3.8
The Cleopatras
1983
6.0
Countdown
1982
6.3
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
1981
NR
Fothergill
1981
7.0
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
1980
6.8
Twelfth Night
1980NR
Speed King
1979
7.0
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
1979
6.0
The BBC Television Shakespeare
1978
7.8
All Creatures Great and Small
1978
7.2
Supernatural
1977
8.4
Raffles
1977NR
The Velvet Glove
1977
8.0
The Duchess of Duke Street
1976
10.0
Victorian Scandals
1976
7.3
Bill Brand
197610.0
The Secret Agent
1975
4.0
Caesar and Claretta
1975NR
Private Affairs
1975
6.6
Edward the Seventh
1975
5.0
Churchill's People
1974
8.2
The Gathering Storm
1974
6.6
The Slap
1974
6.5
Shoulder to Shoulder
1974
7.0
Playhouse
1974
4.9
Yellow Dog
1973NR
European Heritage
1973
5.0
Gawain and the Green Knight
19739.0
Between the Wars
1973
5.5
Dark Places
1973
5.5
Psychomania
1973
7.3
The Silent One
1973
5.3
Demons of the Mind
1972
10.0
The Incredible Robert Baldick: Never Come Night
1972
6.2
Young Winston
1972
6.3
The Stalls of Barchester
1971
7.4
A Ghost Story for Christmas
19718.0
Getting In
1971
7.8
Upstairs, Downstairs
1971
7.5
Elizabeth R
1971
7.3
10 Rillington Place
1971
6.1
Great Performances
1971NR
Warm Feet, Warm Heart
1970NR
Big Brother
1970
NR
Marie Stopes: Sexual Revolutionary
1970
6.8
Manhunt
1970
7.7
Strange Report
1969
10.0
Son of Man
1969
7.0
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
1969
5.7
Berserk!
1967
5.6
How I Won the War
1967
7.0
ITV Playhouse
1967
5.8
Mystery and Imagination
1966
7.1
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
1965
4.3
Thirty-Minute Theatre
1965
7.3
The Troubleshooters
1965NR
Old Man's Fancy
1965NR
Thursday Theatre
1964
5.2
The Wednesday Play
1964
7.2
Theatre 625
1964
NR
The Spread of the Eagle
1963
7.4
The Saint
19626.5
The Dark Island
1962NR
Drama 61-67
1961
5.3
An Age of Kings
1960
6.1
Torpedo Run
1958
7.8
The Veil
1958NR
David Copperfield
1956
6.4
The Buccaneers
1956
7.0
The Adventures of Sir Lancelot
1956
6.0
Armchair Theatre
1956
8.7
Othello
1955
6.8
General Electric Theater
1953
8.8
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
3.5
Sunday Night Theatre
1950
NR
Black Legend
1949