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 Sir Robert's career fell into two distinct parts. In the '60s, he was widely regarded as the heir of Laurence Olivier. But, after his departure from Britain's National Theatre in 1970 and the breakup of his marriage with Maggie Smith three years later, he suffered a slump made worse by heavy drinking. In the '90s, the Royal Shakespeare Company invited him to play first Falstaff in "Henry IV" and then Lear in "King Lear", and this re-established Stephens's career. He was knighted early in 1995.Sir Robert Stephens was a flamboyant, award-winning Shakespearean actor who called himself 'knight errant.' One of his three ex-wives was the actress Maggie Smith with whom he acted in the 1960s and 1970s on stage and on film. Sir Robert faded from view for most of the late 1970s and 1980s, resurfacing in recent years to give fine Shakespearean performances. He was the recipient of the 1993 Olivier award.Sir Robert Stephens, knighted in 1995, was a leading actor in the formative years of Britain's National Theatre and won fresh acclaim as a major Shakespearean performer late in his career.His career fell into two distinct parts. In the 1960s he was regarded as the heir of Sir Laurence Olivier. After his departure from the company in 1970, he went into a slump that was made worse by heavy drinking. Not until the 1990s, when the Royal Shakespeare Company invited him first to play Falstaff in "Henry IV" and then the title role in "King Lear", did he re-establish himself at the forefront of his profession. Maggie Smith was his third wife, the couple having performed together since at least 1965.
Bio:
Sir Robert's career fell into two distinct parts. In the '60s, he was widely regarded as the heir of Laurence Olivier. But, after his departure from Britain's National Theatre in 1970 and the breakup of his marriage with Maggie Smith three years later, he suffered a slump made worse by heavy drinking. In the '90s, the Royal Shakespeare Company invited him to play first Falstaff in "Henry IV" and then Lear in "King Lear", and this re-established Stephens's career. He was knighted early in 1995.
Sir Robert Stephens was a flamboyant, award-winning Shakespearean actor who called himself 'knight errant.' One of his three ex-wives was the actress Maggie Smith with whom he acted in the 1960s and 1970s on stage and on film. Sir Robert faded from view for most of the late 1970s and 1980s, resurfacing in recent years to give fine Shakespearean performances. He was the recipient of the 1993 Olivier award.
Sir Robert Stephens, knighted in 1995, was a leading actor in the formative years of Britain's National Theatre and won fresh acclaim as a major Shakespearean performer late in his career.His career fell into two distinct parts. In the 1960s he was regarded as the heir of Sir Laurence Olivier. After his departure from the company in 1970, he went into a slump that was made worse by heavy drinking. Not until the 1990s, when the Royal Shakespeare Company invited him first to play Falstaff in "Henry IV" and then the title role in "King Lear", did he re-establish himself at the forefront of his profession. Maggie Smith was his third wife, the couple having performed together since at least 1965.
Tivia:
Father of actors Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin.Provided the voice of Aragorn in the acclaimed 1981 BBC Radio serialization of "The Lord of the Rings".He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1993 (1992 season) for Best Actor for his performance as Falstaff in "Henry IV, Parts I & II" at the Royal Shakespeare Company.Was nominated for Broadway's 1959 Tony Award as Best Actor (Dramatic) for "Epitaph for George Dillon."Appeared with his then-wife, Maggie Smith, in Much Ado About Nothing (1967), which was, at least, the second film based on a William Shakespeare play, featuring a real-life husband and wife, that was later remade with another real-life husband and wife. The Taming of the Shrew (1929) starred then-husband-and-wife, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, and was remade in 1967 with then-husband-and-wife Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. The Taming of The Shrew (1967) was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, who also directed the stage "Much Ado" with Stephens and Smith which was adapted for television in the same year, with only one recorded change from the stage cast. The 1993 remake of "Much Ado" starred Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson. Stephens worked jointly with Branagh and Thompson in Fortunes of War (1987) and Henry V (1989), while Smith worked with them both separately in the "Harry Potter" films. He and Smith also appeared opposite Laurence Olivier in (possibly separate) productions of "Othello", in which they played "Iago" and "Desdemonda", respectively. In the 1943 American production, those roles were played by then husband-and-wife Jos�� Ferrer and Uta Hagen.He was made a Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 1995 Queen's New Years Honours List for services to drama.One of eight actors profiled by Roger Lewis in his 1989 book, "Stage People": the interview with Stephens takes place in the Dirty Duck pub in Stratford-on-Avon.Variety Club of Great Britain Stage Actor Award for 1965 for his performances at the National Theatre, notably in Royal Hunt of the Sun and Trelawney of the Wells.Father-in-law of Anna-Louise Plowman.Stepfather of Quinn Hawkins.Ironic that in Fortunes of War (1987), his character (Bill Castlebar, a famous poet) dies during surgery for a perforated intestine, as Stephens himself later died from complications during surgery.Lived with Patricia Quinn from 1974 until they married in 1995.Robert Stephens acted with the Highbury Theatre in Manchester then moved to the National Theatre where he was appointed an associate director in 1967. He appeared in a number of films including The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.Considered for the roles of Dr. Hans Fallada, Dr. Bukovsky, Sir Percy Heseltine and Dr. Armstrong in Lifeforce (1985).In his early days he acted with a theatre company in Manchester then moved to The National Theatre where he was appointed an Associate Director in 1967.He had a son Michael born 1951 from his marriage to Nora Simmonds and a daughter born 1961from his marriage to Tarn Bassett, his 3rd marriage to actress Maggie Smith ended in divorce in 1975,. |
| Name: |
Robert Stephens |
Type: |
Actor,Producer,Director (IMDB) |
| Area: |
All World |
Platform: |
IMDB |
| Category: |
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Business scope: |
Actor,Producer,Director |
| Products for sale: |
Actor,Producer,Director |
| Last update: |
2024-07-01 03:07:35 |
| Height: |
6' 1' (1.85 m) |
| Biography: |
Sir Robert\'s career fell into two distinct parts. In the \'60s, he was widely regarded as the heir of Laurence Olivier. But, after his departure from Britain\'s National Theatre in 1970 and the breakup of his marriage with Maggie Smith three years l |
| Trivia: |
Father of actors Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin.Provided the voice of Aragorn in the acclaimed 1981 BBC Radio serialization of "The Lord of the Rings".He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1993 (1992 season) for Best Actor for his performance as Falstaff in "Henry IV, Parts I & II" at the Royal Shakespeare Company.Was nominated for Broadway's 1959 Tony Award as Best Actor (Dramatic) for "Epitaph for George Dillon."Appeared with his then-wife, Maggie Smith, in Much Ado About Nothing (1967), which was, at least, the second film based on a William Shakespeare play, featuring a real-life husband and wife, that was later remade with another real-life husband and wife. The Taming of the Shrew (1929) starred then-husband-and-wife, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, and was remade in 1967 with then-husband-and-wife Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. The Taming of The Shrew (1967) was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, who also directed the stage "Much Ado" with Stephens and Smith which was adapted for television in the same year, with only one recorded change from the stage cast. The 1993 remake of "Much Ado" starred Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson. Stephens worked jointly with Branagh and Thompson in Fortunes of War (1987) and Henry V (1989), while Smith worked with them both separately in the "Harry Potter" films. He and Smith also appeared opposite Laurence Olivier in (possibly separate) productions of "Othello", in which they played "Iago" and "Desdemonda", respectively. In the 1943 American production, those roles were played by then husband-and-wife Jos�� Ferrer and Uta Hagen.He was made a Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 1995 Queen's New Years Honours List for services to drama.One of eight actors profiled by Roger Lewis in his 1989 book, "Stage People": the interview with Stephens takes place in the Dirty Duck pub in Stratford-on-Avon.Variety Club of Great Britain Stage Actor Award for 1965 for his performances at the National Theatre, notably in Royal Hunt of the Sun and Trelawney of the Wells.Father-in-law of Anna-Louise Plowman.Stepfather of Quinn Hawkins.Ironic that in Fortunes of War (1987), his character (Bill Castlebar, a famous poet) dies during surgery for a perforated intestine, as Stephens himself later died from complications during surgery.Lived with Patricia Quinn from 1974 until they married in 1995.Robert Stephens acted with the Highbury Theatre in Manchester then moved to the National Theatre where he was appointed an associate director in 1967. He appeared in a number of films including The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.Considered for the roles of Dr. Hans Fallada, Dr. Bukovsky, Sir Percy Heseltine and Dr. Armstrong in Lifeforce (1985).In his early days he acted with a theatre company in Manchester then moved to The National Theatre where he was appointed an Associate Director in 1967.He had a son Michael born 1951 from his marriage to Nora Simmonds and a daughter born 1961from his marriage to Tarn Bassett, his 3rd marriage to actress Maggie Smith ended in divorce in 1975,. |
| Quotes: |
[on "The Method"] I once asked two old Russian actors about the Method, because I'd seen American actors in New York use their version of it and it was so awful, amateur and inept and stupid. And they said to me, "If you have a copy of [Konstantin Stanislavski's] "My Life in Art" or "An Actor Prepares", just take it out and throw it in the river". If it was no use to them, it was certainly of no use to me.
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[on "Hamlet"] It is undoubtedly the greatest part ever written, but it's so complex. You can't really play it, you just give an opinion of it.
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One reason I've never chased after films is that once you become a film star, you can't really stop, because you have to be before the public's eye all the time. I wouldn't care for that. Also, in films the material can't be that good all the time. You have to make mostly bad films, or films that aren't frightfully good. That wouldn't interest me - not that I've ever been offered that opportunity.
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[on comedian Sonnie Hale] A gross, unfunny person offstage and someone, on the whole, to avoid.
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[on Tony Richardson] He convinced me (wrongly of course) that anyone can make a movie. All Tony Richardson ever did was come in and ask his cameraman what he should do . . . He was a useless, unpleasant creature. |
| Job title: |
Actor,Producer,Director |
| Others works: |
"Knight Errant" (autobiography)
He voiced the role of "Aragorn" in the BBC Radio production of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings", alongside Ian Holm and Michael Hordern 1981.
(June 1955) He acted in William Wych |
| Spouse: |
Patricia Quinn (January 1995 - November 12, 1995) (his death)Maggie Smith (June 29, 1967 - April 6, 1975) (divorced, 2 children)Tarn Bassett (April 27, 1956 - May 24, 1967) (divorced, 1 child)Nora Ann S |
| Children: |
Toby Stephens |
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