Robert Lindsay

Actor
Birth Name: Robert Lindsay Stevenson
Birth Date: December 13, 1949
Age: 75 years old
Birth Place: Ilkeston, Derbyshire, England, UK
This dark-haired, pleasant-faced British actor is equally at home in musical comedy or drama. Often cast as working-class blokes, Robert Lindsay made a splash on both sides of the Atlantic in the mid-1980s starring in the revival of "Me and My Girl." The RADA-trained actor had already become known to his countrymen as the pub-bound, would-be revolutionary Wolfie Smith in the British sitcom "Citizen Smith" (BBC, 1977-80).
In 1970, shortly after completing his training, Lindsay debuted as Jesus in a London production of "Godspell." He alternated between TV and stage, joining the Royal Exchange Theatre Company in the late 70s, where he earned attention for playing "Hamlet" in 1983. Starring opposite Emma Thompson, he earned raves as the Cockney chap who proves to be of royal blood in "Me and My Girl." Thompson was not allowed to recreate her stage role in the USA (Maryann Plunkett inherited the part) but Lindsay was, earning numerous accolades including a Best Musical Actor Tony Award. Subsequent stage roles have included heralded portrayals of Henry II in "Becket" in 1991 and Fagin in a revival of "Oliver!" in 1996.
Before he landed his breakthrough stage role, Lindsay worked often on British TV. He was among the members of the RAF in the 1950s in the Thames TV sitcom "Get Some In!" (1975-78) before landing the role of "Citizen Smith." He perfected his Cockney accent as a pool hall denizen alongside Paul McGann in "Give Us a Break" (1983) before landing more prestigious parts like Edmund to Laurence Olivier's "King Lear" in 1984. Lindsay delivered a brilliant performance as a KGB saboteur posing as a priest in "Confessional" (Granada TV, 1990) and received a BAFTA Award as a ruthless politician in "GBH" (BBC, 1991). Lindsay also won much attention as a former SS officer being tormented by the ghost of a Jewish comedian (Antony Sher) killed in a concentration camp in "Gengis Cohn" (1993; aired in the USA on A&E).
Lindsay's film appearances have been rare. His talents were supposed to be showcased as a coal miner with showbiz aspirations in Carl Reiner's "Bert Rigby, You're a Fool" (1989), but the film did almost no box office. "Strike It Rich" (1990), an inferior remake of 1956's "Loser Takes All," teamed the actor with Molly Ringwald in a tale of a honeymooner in Monte Carlo who supposedly perfects a system for winning at roulette. More recently, he was among the zookeepers fighting for their jobs in the uneven "Fierce Creatures" and a smooth-talking businessman who revisits an old love in the comedy "Remember Me" (both 1997). Lindsay then co-starred with Julie Walters (who had played his mother in "GBH"!) as a married couple trying to change their fortunes by offering strip shows at their dingy pub in "Brazen Hussies" (lensed 1997).
Expand Bio▼Credits

My Brilliant Career

Artworks

Julie Walters at the BBC

Generation Z

Vermeer - The Greatest Exhibition

SherwoodStream

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Anything Goes: The Musical

The World's Most Beautiful Landscapes

Britain's Most Beautiful Landscapes

The World's Most Beautiful Landscapes

Des O'Connor: The Ultimate Entertainer

Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh

McDonald & DoddsStream

Maleficent: Mistress of EvilStream

Björnbärsstigen - Om sommaren och våren

Tate Britain's Great Art Walks

Zoe Ball on...

Bounty Hunters

Tate Britain's Great British Walks

GeniusStream

Walks with My Dog

The Marvellous World of Roald Dahl

Living in '66

Holocaust Memorial Day 2016

Bull

GalavantStream

Grace of MonacoStream

Plebs

Drama on 4

Spy

Pointless Celebrities

Electric Ink

Oliver Twist

Words and Music

The Trial of Tony Blair

The Trial of Tony Blair

The One Show

Tales From the Palaces

My Family Christmas Special

Jericho

ExtrasStream

A Very Social Secretary

Gideon's Daughter

Friends & Crocodiles

Who Do You Think You Are?

WimbledonStream

Horatio Hornblower: Loyalty

Horatio Hornblower: Duty

The Radio 4 Appeal

My Family

Hornblower: The Mutiny

Hornblower: Retribution

Horatio Hornblower: The Mutiny

Horatio Hornblower: Retribution

Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings

Hawkins

Oliver Twist

Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil

Horatio Hornblower: el Ascenso a Teniente

Horatio Hornblower: la Duquesa y el Demonio

Horatio Hornblower: Ingleses y Franceses

Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters

Horatio Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil

Horatio Hornblower

Hornblower: the Duchess and the Devil

Divorcing Jack

Hornblower: The Even Chance

Hornblower: The Examination for Lieutenant

Fierce Creatures

Remember Me?

The Office

Goodbye My Love

Brazen Hussies

Jake's Progress

Absolutely FabulousStream

El Envenenador de Wimbledon

Mandela: From Prison to President

Genghis Cohn

G.B.H.

Nightingales

Strike It Rich

Confessional

Tales From the Crypt

Bert Rigby, You're a Fool

Nineteen Ninety-Four

Give Us a Break

King Lear

Mystery!

Twelfth Night

The Shakespeare Plays

Albert and Me

Citizen Smith

Get Some In!

ThrillerStream

That'll Be the Day
