Robert Lindsay is an English actor whose career has spanned more than five decades, moving between sitcoms, political drama, Hollywood films, and the West End stage. Known to millions as the hapless father Ben Harper in My Family and the revolutionary Wolfie Smith in Citizen Smith, his work has earned him a Tony Award, two Olivier Awards, and a BAFTA.
Born Robert Lindsay Stevenson on 13 December 1949 in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before building a reputation as one of Britain’s most versatile performers. Whether playing a deluded Marxist, a cynical Tory MP, or a gangster in a musical revival, Lindsay has shown an unusual ability to shift between farce and serious drama.
His longevity in the industry is unusual. Few actors can claim a hit sitcom from the late 1970s, a BAFTA-winning drama from the early 1990s, a long-running BBC series in the 2000s, and a West End revival in the 2020s. Lindsay has done all of that and continues to take on new roles.
What TV series and movies is Robert Lindsay famous for?
- Lindsay is one of the few British actors to achieve iconic status in both sitcom (My Family) and serious drama (GBH).
- His stage career includes Olivier Award-winning performances for Me and My Girl and a Tony Award for the same production on Broadway.
- He played the deluded revolutionary Wolfie Smith in Citizen Smith (1977–1980) and the cynical Alan B’Stard in The New Statesman (1987–1992).
- His film work includes Fierce Creatures (1997) with John Cleese, Wimbledon (2004), and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019).
- He has performed on Broadway and in the West End, with five West End shows to his name.
- Recent work includes Sherwood (2024), Big Mood (2024), and the film The Good Soldier (in post-production).
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Robert Lindsay Stevenson |
| Date of Birth | 13 December 1949 |
| Spouse | Rosemarie Ford (married 2006) |
| Children | James Lindsay Stevenson and Sydney Stevenson |
| Notable TV | My Family (2000–2011), GBH (1991), The New Statesman (1987–1992), Citizen Smith (1977–1980) |
| Notable Film | Fierce Creatures (1997), Wimbledon (2004), Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) |
| Stage | Me and My Girl, Anything Goes, Big Mood (2024) |
| Awards | Tony Award, two Olivier Awards, BAFTA Best Actor |
Robert Lindsay’s sitcoms: My Family, Citizen Smith, The New Statesman
Lindsay’s first major television role came in the mid-1970s when he played Jakey Smith, a Teddy Boy in the ITV sitcom Get Some In! (1975–1977), a comedy set during RAF National Service. That role led directly to his breakthrough: the title role in Citizen Smith (1977–1980), a BBC sitcom about a young, would-be revolutionary who leads a tiny Marxist group called the Tooting Popular Front. Wolfie Smith’s catchphrase “Power to the people” became part of British popular culture.
In the late 1980s, Lindsay reinvented himself as Alan B’Stard, the ruthless Conservative MP in The New Statesman (1987–1992), a satire of Thatcher-era politics. The role showed a different kind of comedy — sharper, more cynical — and broadened his range. Then, from 2000 to 2011, he played Ben Harper, the long-suffering, financially anxious father in My Family, a BBC sitcom that became one of the network’s most-watched comedies and ran for eleven series.
Between these sitcoms, Lindsay also took on serious dramatic roles. In 1991 he played Michael Murray in Alan Bleasdale’s GBH, a dark political serial about a Labour council leader in a northern English town. The performance won him the BAFTA Best Actor award and proved that his talents extended well beyond comedy.
Key film roles: Fierce Creatures, Wimbledon, and others
Lindsay’s film career has been varied but less dominant than his television work. In 1989 he starred as Bert Rigby in Bert
James Morgan is Senior Reporter at readingwire.co.uk, covering breaking UK and world news, politics and current affairs.