Robert Lindsay Stevenson (born 13 December 1949), known professionally as Robert Lindsay, is an English actor. He has appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company and in musical theatre, and is the recipient of a British Academy Television Award, a Tony Award, and two Laurence Olivier Awards.
Lindsay's most notable roles on television were playing Wolfie in Citizen Smith (1977–1980) and Ben Harper in My Family (2000–11). His other screen credits include Get Some In! (1975–1977), Much Ado About Nothing (1984), Bert Rigby, You're a Fool (1989), G.B.H. (1991), Hornblower (1998–2003), Jericho (2005), Friends and Crocodiles (2006) and Gideon's Daughter (2006).
Early life
Lindsay was born 13 December 1949, in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, He was one of three children and his father was a World War II veteran, having been on a minesweeper.
Lindsay attended Gladstone Boys' School, in Ilkeston, then enrolled in the drama department of Clarendon College in Nottingham. He graduated in 1970 with an Acting (RADA Diploma).
Career
Lindsay's early career included roles in British films such as That'll Be The Day (1973), Three for All (1975), and Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1976). He came to prominence as the cockney Teddy Boy Jakey Smith in the ITV comedy series Get Some In! (1975–1977), that was based on National Service life in the RAF. In 1977, he landed the starring role as delusional revolutionary Wolfie Smith in the BBC sitcom Citizen Smith (1977–1980).
Lindsay won roles in the BBC Television Shakespeare series, including Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1981), for which he won an Olivier Award, He continued to have success on television, and played the leading role in Alan Bleasdale's dark comedy serial G.B.H. (1991), In 2003, he appeared in an episode of Absolutely Fabulous, In 2009, he played the protagonist, Maddox, from the Radio 4 comedy Electric Ink by Alistair Beaton. He played the same role in Grace of Monaco.
In 2016, Lindsay recurred on the second season of the ABC fairy tale-themed musical comedy series Galavant as Chester Wormwood, an evil wizard/wedding planner.
In 2017, Lindsay played Hermann Einstein in the National Geographic TV series Genius. He also played Jack Cardiff in Prism at the Hampstead Theatre. In 2020, he appeared in the series McDonald & Dodds.
Personal life
In 1974, Lindsay married Cheryl Hall, who later appeared opposite him in Citizen Smith. They divorced in 1980, when he started a long-term relationship with actress Diana Weston, with whom he has a daughter, Sydney Laura Stevenson, and who co-starred with him in three episodes of My Family. He married English actress, dancer, and television presenter Rosemarie Ford on 31 December 2006.
Lindsay is known for his left-wing political beliefs, usually describing himself as a staunch socialist, and has marched in support of miners. He is a passionate supporter of the Labour Party, but an outspoken critic of then Prime Minister Tony Blair's controversial decisions to go to war in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2001 and 2003, saying that he was "furious" and feeling disillusioned with mainstream politics: "You see those images of Iraq and Afghanistan and Lebanon, don't you? And I suspect somewhere, when he goes home at night and the kids are in bed, he must go, 'Jesus, what have I done?'"
In 2011, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which was treated surgically.
Lindsay has suffered from depressive episodes and symptoms of seasonal affective disorder in winter months for most of his life. He has spoken publicly about his positive experiences with light therapy and counselling, saying that "they really do work".
Credits
{| class="wikitable"
|+Key
| style="background:#FFFFCC;"|
|Denotes works that have not yet been released
|}
Film
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1973
|That'll Be the Day
|Terry
|
|-
|1975
|Three for All
| rowspan="2" |Tom
|
|-
|1976
|Adventures of a Taxi Driver
|
|-
|1989
|Bert Rigby, You're a Fool
|Bert Rigby
|
|-
|1990
|Strike It Rich
|Ian Bertram
|
|-
|1993
|Genghis Cohn
|Otto Schatz
|
|-
|1996
|Goodbye My Love
|Derek Humphry
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1997
|Fierce Creatures
|Sydney Small Mammals
|
|-
|Remember Me?
|Jamie
|
|-
|1998
|Divorcing Jack
|Michael Brinn
|
|-
|2004
|Wimbledon
|Ian Frazier
|
|-
|2014
|Grace of Monaco
|Aristotle Onassis
|
|-
|2019
|Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
|King John
|
|-
|2022
|A Midsummer Night's Dream
|Oberon
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1973
| Love Story
| Colin
| Episode: "Finders Keepers"
|-
| The Roses of Eyam
| Francis Thornley
| Television film
|-
| ITV Sunday Night Theatre
| Sam
| Episode: "A Question of Everything"
|-
| 1974
| rowspan="2" | Centre Play
| Toby
| Episode: "Hurt Hawks"
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1975
| Ken
| Episode: "Letter from a Soldier"
|-
| Thriller
| Policeman at roadblock
| Episode: "The Crazy Kill"
|-
| Doctor on the Go
| Harrison
| Episode: "What's Op Doc?"
|-
| Whodunnit?
| Dave
| Episode: "Pop Goes the Weasel"
|-
| 1975–1977
| Get Some In!
| Jakey Smith
| Series regular. Series 1–4; 27 episodes
|-
| 1977
| The Good Life
| Reform School Youth
| Episode: "Our Speaker Today"
|-
| 1977–1980
| Citizen Smith
| Wolfie Smith
| Series regular. Series 1–4; 30 episodes
|-
| 1980–1984
| BBC Television Shakespeare
| Various roles
| 4 episodes
|-
| 1981–1982
| Seconds Out
| Pete Dodds
| Series regular. Series 1 & 2; 13 episodes
|-
| 1983
| King Lear
| Edmund
| Television film
|-
| 1983–1984
| Give us a Break
| Micky Noades
| Series regular. Series 1 & 2; 8 episodes
|-
| 1984
| Jackanory
| Storyteller
| 5 episodes: "The Kitchen Warriors: Parts 1–5"
|-
| 1989
| Confessional
| Thomas Kelly
| Mini-series; 4 episodes
|-
| 1990–1993
| Nightingales
| Carter
| Series regular. Series 1 & 2; 13 episodes
|-
| 1991
| G.B.H.
| Michael Murray
| Mini-series; 7 episodes
|-
| 1994
| The Wimbledon Poisoner
| Henry Farr
| Mini-series; 2 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1995
| Strange Landscape
| The Divine Comedy
| Episode: "The Circles of Light"
|-
| Jake's Progress
| Jamie Diadoni
| Mini-series; 8 episodes
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1996
| The Office
| Norman Platt
| Television film
|-
| Tales from the Crypt
| Glynn Fennell
| Episode: "Ear Today... Gone Tomorrow"
|-
| Brazen Hussies
| Billy Bowmans
| Television film
|-
| 1996–2000
| Brambly Hedge
| rowspan="2" | Narrator
| 8 episodes (UK version)
|-
| 1998
| In Your Dreams
| 1 episode
|-
| 1998–2000
| The Canterbury Tales
| Harry Bailey (voice)
| Animated version; 2 episodes
|-
| 1998–2003
| Hornblower
| Captain Sir Edward Pellew
| Series regular; 8 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1999
| Oliver Twist
| Fagin
| Mini-series; 3 episodes
|-
| Secrets of the Ancients
| Narrator
| Docuseries; 5 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2000
| Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings
| Various characters
| Television Special
|-
| Jack the Ripper: An On-Going Mystery
| Narrator
| Television documentary film
|-
| 2000–2011
| My Family
| Ben Harper
| Series regular. Series 1–11; 118 episodes
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2001
| Hawkins
| Luke Hawkins
| Television film
|-
| Don't Eat the Neighbours
| Rabbit
| rowspan="2" | (unknown episodes)
|-
| Eddy and the Bear
| Bear (voice)
|-
| 2002
| Out of Eden
| rowspan="2" | Narrator
| Television documentary film
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2003
| Seven Wonders of the Industrial World
| Docuseries; 7 episodes
|-
| Absolutely Fabulous
| Pete
| Episode: "Schmoozin'"
|-
| rowspan="6" | 2005
| Friends and Crocodiles
| William Sneath
| Television film
|-
| Space Race
| Narrator
| Docuseries; 2 episodes
|-
| A Very Social Secretary
| Tony Blair
| rowspan="2" | Television film
|-
| Gideon's Daughter
| Sneath
|-
| Jericho
| D.I. Michael Jericho
| Mini-series; 4 episodes
|-
| Unsolved History
| Narrator
| Docuseries; episode: "Unstoppable Wave"
|-
| 2006
| Extras
| Himself
| Episode: "Jonathan Ross"
|-
| 2007
| The Trial of Tony Blair
| Tony Blair
| rowspan="3" | Television film
|-
| 2010
| The One... Ronnie
| Animal Agent
|-
| 2011
| George and Bernard Shaw
| George
|-
| 2011–2012
| Spy
| The Examiner
| Series regular. Series 1 & 2; 17 episodes
|-
| 2012
| Falcón
| Pablo Ortega
| Mini-series; episode: "The Silent and the Damned"
|-
| 2013–2015
| Atlantis
| Daedalus
| 6 episodes
|-
| 2015
| Bull
| Rupert Bull
| 3 episodes
|-
| 2016
| Galavant
| Chester Wormwood
| Series 2; 8 episodes
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2017
| Genius
| Hermann Einstein
| 2 episodes: "Einstein: Chapters One & Three"
|-
| Bounty Hunters
| Nigel Walker
| 4 episodes
|-
| The Secret Life of Owls
| Narrator
| Docuseries; 2 episodes
|-
| 2018
| Plebs
| Crassus
| Episode: "The Accident"
|-
| 2020
| McDonald & Dodds
| Max Crockett
| Episode: "The Fall of The House of Crockett"
|-
| 2022
| Dodger
| William Lamb
| Episode: "Christmas"
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2024
| Sherwood
| Franklin Warner
| Series 2; 6 episodes
|-
| Generation Z
| Morgan
| Series regular; 6 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2026
| Big Mood
| Mark
| Series 2; 2 episodes: "Leagues" & "Hands"
|-
| Missed Call
| Andrew Taylor
| 5 episodes
|}
Theatre
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Venue
|-
| 1977
| Leaping Ginger
| Ginger
| rowspan="2" | Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
|-
| rowspan="2"|1979
| The Three Musketeers
| D'Artagnan
|-
| The Changeling
| Antonio
| Riverside Studios, London
|-
| Rowspan="3"|1980
| The Cherry Orchard
| Peter Trofimov
| rowspan="2"|Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
|-
| The Lower Depths
| Vassilly Pepic
|-
| Trelawny of the 'Wells
| Tom Wrench
| The Old Vic, London
|-
| rowspan="2"|1982
| The Beaux' Stratagem
| Archer
| rowspan="3"|Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
|-
| Philoctetes
| Neoptolemus
|-
| 1983
| Hamlet
| Hamlet
|-
| 1985
| rowspan="2"|Me and My Girl
| rowspan="2"|Bill Snibson
| Adelphi Theatre, London
|-
| 1986
| Marquis Theatre, Broadway
|-
| 1991
| Becket
| Henry II
| rowspan="2"|Theatre Royal Haymarket, London
|-
| 1992
| Cyrano de Bergerac
| Cyrano de Bergerac
|-
| 1996
| Oliver!
| Fagin
| London Palladium, London
|-
| 1999
| Richard III
| Richard III
| Savoy Theatre, London
|-
| 2003
| Power
| Nicolas Fouquet
| Royal National Theatre, London
|-
| 2007
| The Entertainer
| Archie Rice
| The Old Vic, London
|-
| 2008
| Aristo
| Aristotle Onassis
| Minerva Theatre, Chichester
|-
| 2010
| Onassis
| Aristotle Onassis
| Novello Theatre, London
|-
| 2011
| The Lion in Winter
| Henry II
| Theatre Royal Haymarket, London
|-
| 2014
| Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
| Lawrence Jameson
| Savoy Theatre, London
|-
| 2016
| A Christmas Carol: In Concert with the London Musical Theatre Orchestra
| Ebenezer Scrooge
| Lyceum Theatre, London
|-
| 2017
| Prism
| Jack Cardiff
| Hampstead Theatre, London and UK Tour (2019)
|-
| 2018
| In Praise of Love
| Sebastian Cruttwell
| Theatre Royal, Bath
|-
| 2021
| Anything Goes
| Moonface Martin
| Barbican Theatre, London
|-
| 2022
| The Fever Syndrome
| Richard Myers
| Hampstead Theatre, London
|-
| 2023
| Bleak Expectations
| Sir Philip “Pip” Bin
| Criterion Theatre, London
|-
| 2026
| Springwood
| Franklin D. Roosevelt
| Hampstead Theatre
|}
Awards and nominations
BAFTA TV Awards
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Category
! Work
! Result
|-
| align="center" | 1992
| rowspan="2" | Best Actor
|G.B.H.
|
|-
| align="center" | 1996
|Jake's Progress
|
|-
| align="center" | 2002
| Best Comedy Performance
|My Family
|
|}
Olivier Awards
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Category
! Work
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| align="center" | 1985
| Best Actor in a Musical
|Me and My Girl
|
|
|-
| align="center" | 1997
| rowspan="2" |Best Actor in a Musical
| Oliver!
|
|