Robert Hardy
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Template:Otherpeople Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy (born October 29, 1925) is one of Britain's best-known and most popular actors, and also an acknowledged expert on the longbow. He was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire and began his career as a classical actor, appearing as Shakespeare's Henry V on stage and in television's An Age of Kings (1960), and subsequently played Coriolanus for the BBC.
It was while playing Henry V that Hardy developed an interest in medieval warfare, and he later wrote and presented an acclaimed television documentary on the subject of the Battle of Agincourt. He was one of the experts consulted by the archaeologists responsible for raising the Mary Rose.
Over the years, Hardy has played a huge range of parts on television and film, but has never become widely known outside the UK. His most successful roles were Siegfried Farnon in the long-running All Creatures Great and Small (1978 - 1990), and Winston Churchill in several productions, including Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981). He also played Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester in Elizabeth R, and Prince Albert in Edward the Seventh (aka Edward the King). He took a leading role in the 1995 film version of Sense and Sensibility. His most recent role was Cornelius Fudge in the Harry Potter movies.
His performance as the voice of Robin Hood in Tale Spinner's Robin Hood, an LP from the 1960s is considered one of the best Robin Hood renditions of all time.
He is the son-in-law of the late Gladys Cooper.