Robert Hardy: Harry Potter and All Creatures Great and Small star dies

[sandensea]

The actor Robert Hardy, star of TV series All Creatures Great and Small, has died aged 91, his family has said.

Hardy, they said, had a "tremendous life" and "a giant career in theatre, television and film spanning more than 70 years".

He was also known for numerous portrayals of Winston Churchill. In more recent years, he appeared as Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, in four of the Harry Potter films.

Hardy, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, started his acting career at the age of 24 with the Shakespeare Memorial Company in Stratford, later the Royal Shakespeare Company

With his instantly recognisable voice and British bulldog manner, Robert Hardy enjoyed a distinguished acting career which spanned seven decades.

By the time he endeared himself to television audiences in the BBC's All Creatures Great and Small in 1978, he had already carved out a reputation as one of Britain's most versatile actors.

At: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-40818839

Robert Hardy, 1925-2017

[Phoenix61]

1. Awe, I loved All Creatures Great and Small

Sounds like he had a long, wonderful life.

[shenmue]

2. Rest in peace

[LeftishBrit]

3. RIP

[Matilda]

4. I remember him from way, way back

in a marvellous BBC production of the Shakespeare Wars of the Roses plays.

He was a very good Henry V to my teenage eyes, and I recall that his Katherine was a very young Judi Dench. And Hotspur was played by Sean Connery, who had just also done his first James Bond. He was really superb. I can't recall anyone else from the series; those were for me the most memorable performances.

I loved Robert Hardy from then on, and one thing I noticed over the years was that he never did rubbish. If he had even a smallish role in something, you knew it would be good, because he didn't waste his time on anything that was poor-quality.

[Ken Burch]

5. He's probably the only actor who ever played both Churchill and FDR

And at Oxford, he studied under C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

In some respects he was the real-life "Most Interesting Man In The World".

[The King of Prussia]

6. Growing up we loved that show

He was a wonderful actor. The outside scenes for "Darrowby" were filmed in Askrigg, which is beautiful. We actually stayed in "Skeldale House" which is now a lovely B&B - the interior is nothing like the TV show of course.