| Gareth Armstrong | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 September 1948 Swansea, U.K. |
Gareth S. Armstrong (born 28 September 1948) is a British actor.
Armstrong was born on 28 September 1948 in Swansea, the son of a Presbyterian minister. He began his career by acting in school plays at the Bishop Gore School, Swansea. At the age of 16 he joined the National Youth Theatre; and went on from there to study drama at Hull University.
His television credits include: Z-Cars, Doctor Who (in the serial The Masque of Mandragora), Blake's 7, The Professionals, Terry and June, One Foot in the Grave, Casualty and EastEnders.
On stage he has appeared in many productions of Shakespeare, including the role of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. He has also toured internationally in his own one-man show Shylock, in which Shakespeare's principal Jewish character is seen from the viewpoint of Tubal, the Bard's only other Jewish character and Shylock's only friend in the original play. In 2004 he published his account of presenting this character, in A Case for Shylock - Around the World with Shakespeare's Jew.
Armstrong did the voice acting for the Japanese television series Journey to the West, released in English-speaking countries as Monkey.
On radio Armstrong has played three recurring roles in The Archers on Radio 4, including Sean Myerson, the publican of the Cat and Fiddle and the serial's first regular gay character.