Roy Marsden

Roy Marsden (born Roy Anthony Mould; 25 June 1941) is an English actor who portrayed Adam Dalgliesh in the Anglia Television dramatisations (1983–1998) of P. D. James's detective novels, and Neil Burnside in the spy drama The Sandbaggers (1979–1980).

Early life and education

Marsden was born on 25 June 1941, as Roy Anthony Mould. Marsden attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and spent four terms there, and while there, he attempted to unionise the students (but was thwarted). After one argument he poured a bottle of urine down the front of the director's suit; Marsden recalled, "Two weeks later, he phoned me up and asked if I'd got a job or an agent. I said no, so he arranged for me to start work at a theatre in Nottingham, and who should be the student assistant manager there but Anthony Hopkins. I persuaded him to go to RADA."

Acting career

Stage In the early 1960s, Marsden worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and began to accumulate an extensive list of theatrical credits that include everything from Anton Chekhov and Henrik Ibsen to contemporary Soviet playwright Alexander Vampilov. His preference was for the alternative experimental theatres of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cambridge and Birmingham over London's commercial theatre.

His appearances include Crispen in The Friends, 1970; Casca and Lucilius in Julius Caesar, 1972; Paul Schippel in Schippel, 1974; Heinrich Krey in The Plumber's Progress, 1975. He also played Long John Silver in Treasure Island at London's Mermaid Theatre around Christmas for two years and Henry Higgins in Pygmalion at the Albery Theatre. In 2008, Marsden appeared in two productions, Murder on Air and Happy Jack at the Theatre Royal, Windsor.

Television His prominent television roles include George Osborne in a 1967 adaptation of Vanity Fair and the title role of Arthur Chipping in 1984's Goodbye Mr. Chips. Marsden has also appeared in guest roles in episodes of The New Avengers (episode "The Tale of the Big Why"), Space: 1999, Only Fools and Horses (episode "Little Problems"), and Tales of the Unexpected (episode "Proof of Guilt").

Marsden starred in Yorkshire Television's 1978–1980 Cold War espionage series The Sandbaggers. He played Neil Burnside, the dour and fiercely protective director of operations for the Secret Intelligence Service, whose character spent as much time infighting with his superiors in Whitehall and his own department as he did battling the KGB. The show ran for three series and 20 episodes.

In 1982, Yorkshire Television cast him in Airline, a series in which he played Jack Ruskin, a scrappy Second World War pilot trying to start his own post-war airline against establishment opposition. It also starred his wife, Polly Hemingway, who was pregnant with their first child during most of the filming. In an interview, Marsden said "It was one of the most enjoyable programmes I ever made. Learning to fly those old DC-3s was terrific. And I enjoyed playing Ruskin enormously because he had hope. Of course, he was a pain up the tushie most of the time, but then you'd see that youthful desire to actually get out and triumph against enormous odds. I identified with that character the most."

Marsden's portrayal of Adam Dalgliesh in Anglia TV's P. D. James series spanned fifteen years. The series began as adaptations played out in serials of five or six one-hour episodes each, which were, unusually for the time, recorded on outside broadcast videotape as opposed to film:

Death of an Expert Witness (1983); Shroud for a Nightingale (1984); Cover Her Face (1985); The Black Tower (1985); A Taste for Death (1988); Devices and Desires (1991).

After producer John Rosenberg died in early 1991 (during the transmission run of Devices and Desires), the format of the adaptations changed. Initially, Anglia followed the trend made popular by the Inspector Morse series, condensing the next two adaptations into two-hour filmed TV films.

Unnatural Causes (1993); A Mind to Murder (1995).

The final two adaptations were filmed in three one-hour episodes:

Original Sin (1997); A Certain Justice (1998).

The Dalgliesh role was taken by Martin Shaw when the BBC took over the rights to James's novels and produced its own series.

In 1993, Marsden appeared in The Last Vampyre, a feature-length episode of Sherlock Holmes.

In 2006 he played Ted Cartwright, a veterinarian, in "Bad Blood", in the fourth season of Foyle's War.

Marsden presented a nine-part crime documentary series Roy Marsden's Casebook for ITV West in 2007. He also appeared in the 2007 Doctor Who episode "Smith and Jones" as Mr Stoker, a medical consultant.

In 2008, he appeared in the ITV series The Palace as King Richard's private secretary, Sir Iain Ratalick. That same year he played Sir Charles Marlow in the television film adaptation She Stoops to Conquer; Polly Hemingway appeared in the film as Mrs. Hardcastle, the first time the two formerly married actors had appeared in the same production since 1982's Airline.

Marsden reprised his Only Fools and Horses role in 2009 as one of the Driscoll brothers in the spin-off series, The Green Green Grass. He also appeared in the television film Margaret (2009) as Norman Tebbit.

In 2010 Marsden appeared in an episode of New Tricks, and in 2011 in an episode of Silent Witness.

He played Commander Haydock in the 2016 adaptation of Agatha Christie's N or M?, a three-episode part of the BBC's Partners in Crime serial.

Film His film credits include Toomorrow (1970), a small part as a Gestapo officer in The Eagle Has Landed (1976), The Squeeze (1977), and Oberon in Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God (2005).

Personal life Roy Marsden was just his subject's stage name, until April 2005 when it also became his legal name (replacing his birth name, Roy Anthony Mould).

Filmography

Film

Television Year Title Role Notes 1964 First Night Matthew Episode: "The Improbable Mr. Claybill"1965 No Hiding Place Gerry Moore Episode: "Wolves Get Eaten, Too" Riviera Police Jack Episode: "Duet for Two Guns" The Flying Swan Tony Hassall Recurring role; 3 episodes Danger Man H.Q. Policeman Episode: "The Man Who Wouldn't Talk"1966 The Liars Charles Ponsonby Episode: "Series 1, Episode 5" Theatre 625 Policeman Episode: "The Queen and Jackson" The Man in Room 17 Lieutenant David Stanton Episode: "The Standard" Mystery and Imagination Captain Battenburg Episode: "Carmilla"1967 The Dick Emery Show Episode: "Series 6, Episode 5" The Fellows Sherratt Recurring role; 2 episodes Escape Gordon Oliver Episode: "Nothing to Lose" Vanity Fair George Osborne Miniseries; 4 episodes 1968 The Jazz Age Gervase Kent-Cumberland Episode: "Winner Take All"1969 Comedy Playhouse Nigel Episode: "The Liver Birds - Pilot" The Elusive Pimpernel Sir Andrew Ffoulkes Miniseries; 9 episodes1970 Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width Mr. Jenkins Episode: "New Worlds for Old" Armchair Theatre Gerry Cartland Episode: "The Dolly Scene" The Adventures of Don Quick Sycamore Episode: "Paradise Destruct" 1972 Crown Court Peter MacLennon Recurring role; 3 episodes1973Late Night Theatre Gavin Episode: "Family Tree" Bright Episode: "The Death of Captain Doughty" Omnibus Jake Episode: "The Runaway" 1974 Z-Cars Tommy Episode: "Absence" 1975 The Legend of Robin Hood Military Prior Episode: "Part 4"1976 Space: 1999 Alien Invisible Episode: "The Rules of Luton" The New Avengers Frank Turner Episode: "The Tale of the Big Why" Dickens of London Stanfield Episode: "Angel"1977 Space: 1999 Crael Episode: "Devil's Planet" Playhouse Tom Episode: "Blind Love" Survivors The Captain Episode: "Long Live the King" Sister Dora Redfern Davies Episode: "Part 2" Target Mac Episode: "Hunting Parties" Drama Palace attendant Episode: "Oedipus Tyrannus by Sophocles"1978 BBC2 Play of the Week Sidney Frederick Haynes Episode: "Stargazy on Zummerdown" Do You Remember? Frank Episode: "Park People" 1978-80 The Sandbaggers Neil Burnside Series regular; 20 episodes 1979 Playhouse Reverend Thompson Episode: "Children of the Gods" 1980 Tales of the Unexpected Chief Inspector Walters Episode: "Proof of Guilt" 1982 Airline Jack Ruskin Series regular; 9 episodes 1983 Death of an Expert Witness Adam Dalgliesh Miniseries; 7 episodes1984 Goodbye, Mr. Chips Charles Edward 'Mr. Chips' Chipping Miniseries; 6 episodes Shroud for a Nightingale Adam Dalgliesh Miniseries; 5 episodes Tales of the Unexpected Gerald Overton Episode: "The Mugger"1985 Cover Her Face Adam Dalgliesh Miniseries; 6 episodes The Black Tower Adam Dalgliesh Miniseries; 6 episodes 1986 Inside Story John Bennet Miniseries; 6 episodes 1988 A Taste for Death Adam Dalgliesh Miniseries; 6 episodes 1989 Only Fools and Horses Danny Driscoll Episode: "Little Problems"1990 Theatre Night Agamemnon Episode: "Iphigenia at Aulis" The Play on One David Caesar Episode: "Yellowbacks" 1991 Devices and Desires Adam Dalgliesh Miniseries; 6 episodes 1993 The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes John Stockton Episode: "The Last Vampyre"1994 Frank Stubbs Promotes Blick Recurring role; 3 episodes Against All Odds Colonel Mark Cook Episode: "The Promise" 1995 Dangerous Lady Boyd-Templeton Miniseries; 1 episode 1997 Original Sin Adam Dalgliesh Miniseries; 3 episodes 1998 A Certain Justice Adam Dalgliesh Miniseries; 3 episodes 2004 King Solomon's Mines Captain Good Miniseries; 2 episodes 2005 Vincent Terry O'Connor Episode: "Series 1, Episode 2" 2005-09 The Green Green Grass Danny Driscoll Recurring role; 3 episodes2006 Foyle's War Ted Cartwright Episode: "Bad Blood" Eleventh Hour Drake Episode: "Miracle" Rebus Sir Vivian Kirkwood Episode: "Let It Bleed"2007 Doctor Who Mr. Stoker Episode: "Smith and Jones" Diamond Geezer Garovski Episode: "Old Gold"2008 The Palace Sir Iain Ratalick Series regular; 8 episodes Trial & Retribution Ray Harper Episode: "Tracks: Part 1"2010 New Tricks George Mackie Episode: "Where There's Smoke" Moving On Eddie Episode: "Trust" 2011 Silent Witness Professor Nigel Silverlake Episode: "A Guilty Mind" 2013 The Escape Artist Peter Simkins Miniseries; 3 episodes 2015 Partners in Crime Commander Haydock Miniseries; 3 episodes