Robert Stephens

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This article is about is about the English actor. For other uses, see Robert Stephens (disambiguation).

Sir Robert Stephens (14 July 1931 – 12 November 1995) was a leading actor in the early years of England's Royal National Theatre.

Stephens was born in Bristol, England, and rose to become one of the most respected actors of his generation. By the 1960s he was regarded as the natural successor to Laurence Olivier. He and his third wife, actress Maggie Smith appeared together on stage and in film, notably in the film version of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1969.

His other films in this period included the starring role in Billy Wilder's The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) and the science fiction film, The Asphyx (1973). However, following his departure from the National Theatre in 1970 and the breakup of his marriage in 1973 he suffered a career slump, not helped by heavy drinking.

Although he continued to work on stage (notably in the National Theatre'sThe Mysteries in 1986), film (The Fruit Machine (1988), a/k/a Wonderland (USA), and television, it wasn't until the 1990s that he re-established himself at the forefront of his profession, when the Royal Shakespeare Company invited him to play Falstaff in Henry IV, part 1 and then the title role in King Lear. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1993 for Best Actor, for his performance as Sir John Falstaff in Henry IV for the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was knighted in 1995.

Robert Stephens was also known for providing the voice of Aragorn in the acclaimed 1981 BBC Radio serialisation of The Lord of the Rings.

Stephens was married four times:

1951, to Nora Ann Simmonds; they had one child
1956, to Tarn Bassett; they had one child and divorced 1967
1967, to Maggie Smith their two sons are the actors Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin; they divorced in 1974
1995, to Belfast-born Patricia Quinn (aka Lady Stephens), who appeared with him in Fortunes of War.

He died from cancer 11 months after he was knighted, aged 64, following years of ill health.

Stephens was one of eight actors profiled in Roger Lewis' 1989 book Stage People.