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Robert Stephens

1931 – 1995

English actor

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About Robert Stephens

Lived 1931 – 1995 (aged 64). Robert Stephens was a British stage actor, film actor, television actor and actor.

Sir Robert Graham Stephens (14 July 193112 November 1995) was an English actor in the early years of Britain's Royal National Theatre.

Stephens appeared in two versions of Epitaph for George Dillon on Broadway during the 1958–59 season for which he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.

Stephens's early films included A Taste of Honey (1961),

Stephens played Atahuallpa in the original 1964 National Theatre production of The Royal Hunt of the Sun. He and Smith appeared together on stage and in film, notably in The Recruiting Officer at the Old Vic and the film version of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1969.

Although Stephens continued to work on stage (notably in the National Theatre's The Mysteries in 1986), film (The Fruit Machine (1988), and as the Master of an Oxford college in an episode of Inspector Morse). He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1993 for Best Actor, for his performance as Falstaff.

Stephens provided the voice of Aragorn in the 1981 BBC Radio serialisation of The Lord of the Rings. In 1985, he directed the British premiere production of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea by John Patrick Shanley at the Gate Theatre, London.

Stephens was knighted as a Knight Bachelor in the 1995 New Years Honours List "For services to Drama".

Personal life and death Stephens was married four times: 1951: to Nora Ann Simmons; they had one child and divorced in 1952 1956: to Tarn Bassett; they had one child and divorced in 1967 a little under a year after having been knighted. 1966 Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment Charles Napier Raymond Chandler TV arts series, 1 episode, dramatised readings -1990 House of Cards Urquart BBC 1990 The Storyteller: Greek Myths Hades 1 episode 1994–1995 99-1 Commander Oakwood 7 episodes

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Important facts

Birth century
Awards
Laurence Olivier Awards; Knight Bachelor
Also known as
Sir Robert Graham Stephens

Family & relationships

Child
Chris Larkin
Child
Toby Stephens

People in Robert Stephens's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Robert Stephens's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Robert Stephens?

English actor (1931–1995)

When was Robert Stephens born?

Robert Stephens was born on 14 July 1931 in Bristol.

When did Robert Stephens die?

Robert Stephens died on 12 November 1995 in London.

What was Robert Stephens's occupation?

Robert Stephens was a stage actor, film actor, television actor and actor.

What nationality was Robert Stephens?

Robert Stephens was British.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Robert Stephens

· Wikidata: Q691648

· DBpedia: Robert Stephens

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Robert Stephens. https://biography.guide/robert-stephens-stage-actor/

MLA: "Robert Stephens." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/robert-stephens-stage-actor/.

Chicago: "Robert Stephens." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/robert-stephens-stage-actor/.

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