Cast & creator
Ian Roberts
Best known for The Wild, The Play on One, Reyka
Ian Roberts is a South African actor, playwright and singer best known to television viewers for his roles in the drama series Arende and Snitch, and as the character Boet in a series of long-running advertisements for Castrol motor oil. Roberts was born in Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape and raised on a citrus farm near the town. He attended St. Andrew's Preparatory School and St. Andrew's College in Grahamstown. After completing high school he performed his compulsory national service in the South African Army, which he completed in 1971. After a variety of different jobs and a course in photography at the Port Elizabeth Technical College from 1973 to 1975, Roberts enrolled at Rhodes University in 1976 for a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Speech, Drama and Social Anthropology. Ian Roberts has built up an extensive acting career in theatre, television and film. Roberts was married to South African actress Michele Botes, but the couple divorced in 1999. They have two children.
43
film credits
13
television credits
55
1982–2025 · acting roles
6.4
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (56)
Showing 56 of 56 credits
The Wild
Karel van Reenen
2011
The Play on One
Joseph
1988
Reyka
John Tyrone
2021
Mia and the White Lion
John's Father
2018
King Solomon's Mines
Sir Henry
2004
The Power of One
Hoppie Gruenewald
1992
Musiekpaniek
Self
2020
Arende
Sloet Steenkamp
1989
Erfsondes
Pote du Toit
2007
Onder Draai Die Duiwel Rond
Thys Tredoux
1997
Tremors 5: Bloodlines
Den Bravers
2015
Tsotsi
Captain Smit
2005
I Dreamed of Africa
Mike Donovan
2000
Cape Town
Gerbrand Vos
2016
Sweepers
Yager
1998
Tarzan and the Lost City
Captain Dooley
1998
Appels en Tee
Jakkals Boshoff
2025
Daisy de Melker
Sid de Melker
1993
Cry, the Beloved Country
Evans
1995
Jane and the Lost City
Carl
1987
Arsenaal
Jack Degenaar
2002
The Fourth Reich
Johannes van der Walt
1990
Paljas
Frans
1998
Kalahari Harry
Kalahari Harry Morgan
1994Kalahari Harry
Screenplay
1994
3 Needles
Hallyday, the Plantation Owner
2005
Askari
Ripshaw
2001
Dancing in the Forest
Thor
1988
Mandela and de Klerk
Kobie Coetsee
1997
A Kind of Madness
Dan Hart
2025
Red Dust
Piet Müller
2004
Cyborg Cop III
Sheen
1995Wasted Spring
Hermaans Cronjé
1983
Inside
Guard Moolman
1996
Stuur Groete Aan Mannetjies Roux
Frans
2013
Bakgat!
Basjan du Preez
2008
In a Time of Violence: The Line
Lt. Danie Visser
1994
Musiek Vir Die Agtergrond
Chris
2013
A Reasonable Man
Chris Van Rooyen
1999
You Must Be Joking! Too
Various
1987
Van der Merwe
Oupa Van der Merwe
2017
The Race-Ist
Noel Oosthuizen
2010
Wild Maneuvres
Corp. White
1985Number 10
Marius Kramer
2006
The Windmill
Doctor Rossouw
2014
Bakgat 3
Basjan
2013
Bakgat 2
Basjan du Preez
2010
Night of Fear
Steve Vosloo
1986Eternity
Professor Tevis Shapiro
2010
Babalas
Boet
2013The Horse Smuggler
1982
Pusha Pressa Phanda
2021The Crossing
1988Anna Meintjies
1983Heroes
Hendrik 'Hennie' du Preez
1986
Cape Rebel
Sloet Steenkamp
1989