Cast & creator
Robert Hardy
Best known for Midsomer Murders, Great Performances, The Wednesday Play
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.
Also known as: Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy, Тимоти Сидни Роберт Харди, Robert Khardi
79
film credits
83
television credits
162
1949–2017 · acting roles
6.8
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (162)
Showing 162 of 162 credits
Midsomer Murders
Robert Cavendish
1997
Great Performances
Self
1971
The Wednesday Play
Nick Prockter
1964The Wednesday Play
Pontius Pilate
1964
Lewis
Sir Arnold Raeburn
2007
Screen Two
General Tilney
1985
The Saint
Walter Faber
1962
Spooks
Sir John Barry
2002
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Cornelius Fudge
2002
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Cornelius Fudge
2004
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Cornelius Fudge
2005
Sherlock Holmes
Charles Augustus Milverton
1984
ITV Playhouse
Ray Malcolm
1967
Natural World
Narrator
1983
Playhouse
John Fothergill
1974Playhouse
Sir Malcolm Campbell
1974
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Cornelius Fudge
2007
Agatha Christie's Marple
Winston Churchill
2004
Theatre 625
1964Theatre 625
Adriano
1964
Thirty-Minute Theatre
The Official
1965
Foyle's War
Henry Beaumont
2002
Inspector Morse
Andrew Baydon
1987The Alan Titchmarsh Show
Self
2007
All Creatures Great and Small
Siegfried Farnon
1978
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Christopher Moore
1969
ScreenPlay
Colonel Chase
1986
Sunday Night Theatre
Orsino
1950Sunday Night Theatre
Admetus
1950Sunday Night Theatre
William Herndon
1950
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Clayton
1979
Upstairs, Downstairs
Sir Guy Paynter
1971Thursday Theatre
Anatol
1964
The BBC Television Shakespeare
Sir Toby Belch
1978
Churchill's People
King Oswy
1974Drama 61-67
Adam Irwin
1961Drama 61-67
Philip Weathers
1961
The Troubleshooters
Alec Stewart
1965
War and Remembrance
Winston Churchill
1988
Sense and Sensibility
Sir John Middleton
1995
The Buccaneers
Lord Hinch
1956
The Duchess of Duke Street
George Duggan
1976
The Adventures of Sir Lancelot
Sir Rupert
1956
An Age of Kings
Henry, Prince of Wales
1960An Age of Kings
Henry V
1960
Bramwell
Sir Herbert Hamilton
1995Bramwell
Sir Herbert Hamilton
1995
A Ghost Story for Christmas
Archdeacon Haynes
1971
Manhunt
Abwehr Sergeant Gratz
1970
Countdown
1982
Mystery and Imagination
William Oke
1966
The 10th Kingdom
Chancellor Griswold
2000
Bill Brand
Mr. Marples
1976
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Joachim von Ribbentrop
1951
Elizabeth R
Robert Dudley
1971
Middlemarch
Arthur Brooke
1994
Gulliver's Travels
Dr. Parnell
1996
Testament: The Bible in Animation
Abraham (voice)
1996
Victorian Scandals
Arthur Munby
1976
Strange Report
Doctor Michael Sanders
1969
Supernatural
Adrian Gall
1977
Raffles
1977
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Prof. Krempe
1994
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
Winston Churchill
1981
Shackleton
Sir James Caird
2002
General Electric Theater
1953
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
Dick Carlton
1965
The Far Pavilions
The Commandant
1984
The Veil
1958
Armchair Theatre
Albert Purvis
1956
Edward the Seventh
Prince Albert
1975
The Spread of the Eagle
Caius Martius Coriolanus
1963Look at the State We're In!
Judge Sutcliffe
1995
Shades of Darkness
William Drover
1983Big Brother
John Edge
1970
The Cleopatras
Julius Caesar
1983David Copperfield
David Copperfield
1956
Death in Holy Orders
Father Martin Petrie
2003Private Affairs
Benito Mussolini
1975
The Lost World
Professor Illingworth
2001
Shoulder to Shoulder
Asquith
1974
Le Grand Charles
Franklin D. Roosevelt
2006The Dark Island
1962
Hot Metal
Twiggy Rathbone / Russell Spam
1986Between the Wars
Col. Tonge
1973The Velvet Glove
Charles Bradlaugh
1977
The Barber of Siberia
Forsten
1998European Heritage
Narrator (voice)
1973
Lassie
Judge Murray
2005
10 Rillington Place
Malcolm Morris
1971Sunday Premiere
Sidney Tolland
1986
Thunderpants
Doctor
2002
The Gathering
Bishop
2003
The Lost World
Prof. Illingworth
2001
Demons of the Mind
Zorn
1972
How I Won the War
British General
1967
Nancherrow
1999
Northanger Abbey
General Tilney
1987
Young Winston
Prep School Headmaster
1972
The Woman He Loved
Winston Churchill
1988
The Slap
Robert Dickinson
1974
Mrs. Dalloway
Sir William Bradshaw
1997Speed King
Dorothy Campbell
1979
Jenny's War
Klein
1985
Berserk!
Detective Superintendent Brooks
1967
Bertie and Elizabeth
President Roosevelt
2002
Dark Places
Edward Foster / Andrew Marr
1973
The Master Blackmailer
Charles Augustus Milverton
1992
Torpedo Run
Lt. Redley
1958
The Tichborne Claimant
Lord Rivers
1999
James Mason: The Star They Loved to Hate
Lord Bob Lilburn (archive footage) (uncredited)
1984
The Falklands Play
Sir Anthony Parsons
2002
Gawain and the Green Knight
Sir Bertilak
1973
A Feast at Midnight
Headmaster
1994Justice in Wonderland
Mr. Justice Morland
2000
Yellow Dog
Alexander
1973Elementary My Dear Viewer
Self
2007
The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood
King Richard
1984
Paris by Night
Adam Gillvray
1989
The Death of the Heart
Major Brutt
1987
An Ideal Husband
Lord Caversham
1999
The Silent One
Assistant
1973
Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair
Dr. Price
1988
Marie Stopes: Sexual Revolutionary
Narrator
1970
Black Legend
Mad Thomas
1949
In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton
Self
1988
The Shooting Party
Bob, Lord Lilburn
1985Warm Feet, Warm Heart
Albert Purvis
1970
Churchill: 100 Days That Saved Britain
Winston Churchill
2015Getting In
Official
1971
Jenny's War
Klein
1985Ghosts in the Machine
Narrator
2009Old Man's Fancy
Jason
1965
Twelfth Night
Sir Toby Belch
1980
The Gathering Storm
Joachim von Ribbentrop
1974
Centenary: The BP Story
George Reynolds (voice)
2009
Paying Guests (Part 1)
Colonel Chase
1986
The Incredible Robert Baldick: Never Come Night
Doctor Sir Robert Baldick
1972
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Narrator (voice)
1980
Make and Break
John Garrard
1987
The Stalls of Barchester
Archdeacon Haynes
1971
The Demon Lover
William Drover
1986
Paying Guests (Part 2)
Colonel Chase
1986Snapshot Wedding
Donald
2017
Caesar and Claretta
Benito Mussolini
1975
Castle Ghosts of Ireland
Self
1996Castle Ghosts of England
Self
1995
Margaret
Willie Whitelaw
2009
Goodbye Mr Snuggles
Mr. Stiles
2006
Bomber Harris
Winston Churchill
1989
Nancherrow
Viscount Berryan
1999
Psychomania
Chief Inspector Hesseltine
1973
Narnia's Lost Poet: The Secret Lives and Loves of C.S. Lewis
Self - Interviewee
2013
Joseph's Reel
Old Joseph
2015The Secret Agent
The Assistant Commissioner
1975
Lucky Jim
Professor Neddy Welch
2003Castle Ghosts of Wales
Self
1997
Son of Man
Pontius Pilate
1969
Othello
Cassio
1955
Fothergill
John Fothergill
1981
Blat
Sidney Tolland
1987
Making Waves
Father Parry
2004