Robert Bathurst

Infobox actor
name = Robert Bathurst


caption = Robert Bathurst records the DVD audio commentary for "Joking Apart" in January 2006
birthdate = 1958
birthplace = Ghana
occupation = Actor
yearsactive = 1980–present
spouse = Victoria Threlfall
(1987–present)
influences = Michael Gambon
website = http://www.robertbathurst.com

Robert Bathurst (born 1958) is a British actor. Bathurst was born in Ghana and raised in Ireland and England. He took up amateur dramatics while at boarding school and continued acting with the Cambridge Footlights at university, alongside reading for a degree in law. After finishing university he took up acting full time, appearing in Michael Frayn's "Noises Off", before joining the National Theatre. He supplemented his stage roles in the 1980s with minor appearances in "Red Dwarf" and "The Lenny Henry Show".

In the early 1990s he was cast as lead character Mark Taylor in Steven Moffat's semi-autobiographical sitcom "Joking Apart". Although only twelve episodes were made, the role remains Bathurst's favourite in his whole career. After "Joking Apart" concluded he was cast as David Marsden in "Cold Feet", a series that ran from 1998 to 2003. Since "Cold Feet" concluded he has portrayed a fictional prime minister in the childrens' series "My Dad's the Prime Minister", and Mark Thatcher in the fact-based drama "Coup!". He also returned to the theatre for the first time in many years, appearing in "The Three Sisters", "Whipping it Up" and "Alex".

Early life and education

Bathurst was born in Ghana in 1958 to a physiotherapist and a management consultant. He is the second of three children, having an older brother (Nicholas) and a younger sister (Charlotte). [cite web|title=BBC Drama Faces: Robert Bathurst|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/faces/robert_bathurst.shtml|work=bbc.co.uk|accessdate=2008-04-14] In 1966 his family moved to Dublin, Ireland and he and his brother were sent by their parents to an Anglican boarding school in County Meath. Bathurst recalled the time he and his brother, Catholics, spent at the school as "ghastly" and "very "Lord of the Flies". The family moved to England some years later and Bathurst transferred to the Worth Abbey boarding school in Sussex, remaining there until he was 18. At the age of 13 he took up minor acting but did not consider a career in the profession.cite news|author= Hagan, Angela|title= Why I'd never let my girls watch Cold Feet|work= Daily Mirror|date= 2000-12-02|pages= 4–5]

At the age of 18, Bathurst began studying law at the University of Cambridge, where he joined Footlights, appearing alongside Hugh Laurie, Rory McGrath and Emma Thompson, and eventually becoming Footlights President from 1978 to 1979. He graduated from Cambridge and took the Bar Vocational Course in London, which allowed him to go on to become a practising barrister. He did not continue with a career in law, however, instead spending a year touring Australia in "Botham, The Musical".

Career

1980s: Early career

Bathurst's first role for television came in 1982 when he appeared as Prince Harry in the unaired pilot episode of "Blackadder". The character was recast and downgraded when the series received a commission. Bathurst's professional stage debut came in the early 1980s when he joined the second cast of Michael Frayn's "Noises Off" at the Savoy Theatre. After a year at the Savoy he joined the National Theatre and appeared as a background artiste in "Saint Joan".cite web|author= Robins, Craig|title= In conversation with Robert Bathurst|url= http://www.jokingapart.co.uk/in_conversation/robert_bathurst_p1.htm|work= Joking Apart.co.uk|month= October | year= 2004|accessdate= 2007-12-08] He regards this as "the most demoralising" job he has ever had.cite web|last= Multiple contributors|title= Our chat with Cold Feet|url= http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/article-4006770-details/Our+chat+with+Cold+Feet/article.do|work= This is London (Evening Standard)|date= 2003-11-03|accessdate= 2007-09-16] He continued making minor appearances in television throughout the 1980s, and auditioned for the role of Dave Lister in the BBC North science fiction sitcom "Red Dwarf". The part eventually went to Craig Charles, but Bathurst was given the role of Frank Todhunter in the first episode of the series, "The End". The character was killed off in the first ten minutes. Ten years later Bathurst was invited to reprise the role when a storyline in the series allowed former characters to return, but filming commitments prevented him from appearing.cite web|author= Ellard, Andrew|title= Mr Flibble Talks To Robert Bathurst: Talented Todhunter|url= http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/features/interviews/robert-bathurst/index.cfm|work= Red Dwarf.co.uk|date= 2001-06-25|accessdate= 2008-03-30]

In 1989 Bathurst appeared in Malcolm Bradbury's "Anything More Would Be Greedy" for Anglia Television, playing Dennis Medlam MP. The programme was released on video in 1990, to little fanfare.

1990s: "Joking Apart" and "Cold Feet"

In the early 1990s, Bathurst performed on "Up Yer News", a live topical programme broadcast on BSB. He noticed that a fellow performer on the show was also reading a script for an audition for a sitcom called "Joking Apart". Bathurst recalls that his colleague said he would break his legs if he got the part, a threat that seemed not to be "entirely jocular".Bathurst appeared as sitcom writer Mark Taylor in "Joking Apart". The show was punctuated by fantasy sequences in which his character performed his thoughts as a stand-up routine in a small club. In the commentary and the interview on the DVD, Bathurst says that he was told that they would be reshot after filming everything else, an idea abandoned because of the expense. He has an idea of refilming the sequences 'now', as his older self, to give them a more retrospective feeling. He has also said that he believes Mark was too "designery" and wishes that he had "roughened him up a bit". [cite news|author= Rai, Bindu|title= Bathurst toons in to finance|url= http://www.business24-7.ae/articles/2008/10/pages/10042008_0a38b428666144ca9ed827f35522152c.aspx|work= Emirates Business 24/7|publisher= Arab Media Group|date= 2008-10-04|accessdate= 2008-10-04] The role remains his favourite: he has described it as "the most enjoyable job I will ever do", and considers several episodes of the series to be "timeless, beautifully constructed farces which will endure". Bathurst is often recognised for his appearance in this series, mentioning that "Drunks stop me on public transport and tell me details of the plot of their favourite episode".cite news|author= Keal, Graham|title=New role suits Cold Feet star |url=http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/0300entertainment/onthebox/tm_objectid=15136398&method=full&siteid=50081&headline=new-role-suits-cold-feet-star-name_page.html|work= The Sunday Sun |date= 2005-01-30|accessdate=2007-12-08] As punishment for arriving late for the series one press launch at the Café Royal in Regent Street, London, writer Steven Moffat pledged to write an episode in which Mark is naked throughout. To a large extent, this vow is realised in the second series. [cite video |people= Bathurst, Robert; Steven Moffat|year2= 2008 |title= Joking Apart DVD commentary for Series 2, Episode 4|medium= DVD|publisher= Replay DVD ]

In 1996 Bathurst appeared in "The Rover" at the Salisbury Playhouse. During his stint he auditioned for "Cold Feet", a Granada Television pilot that had the possibility of becoming a series on ITV. He arrived at his audition "bearded and shaggy" and did not expect to be cast in the role of David Marsden, the upper-class management consultant. [cite book |author= Smith, Rupert|title=Cold Feet: The Complete Companion |year=2003 |publisher= Granada Media|location= London|page=p. 115 |isbn= 023300999X ] He got the part and played David in the series until 2003. The character was originally written in a one-dimensional way, with the only character note in the script relating to his high salary. Over the course of the series the character engaged in extramarital affairs and faced redundancy. Bathurst suggested a storyline for the third series in which David gets a Harley-Davidson motorbike, and the producers duly paid for him to take lessons.cite news|author= Sturges, Fiona|title= Robert Bathurst: Thingy out of Cold Feet|url= http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article146618.ece|work= The Independent|date= 2001-11-30|accessdate= 2007-12-08]

2000s: Return to theatre

In 2001 he appeared alongside Caroline Quentin in "Goodbye Mr Steadman", playing a headmaster who has been declared dead after one of his pupils erases all computer records relating to him. After completing the final series of "Cold Feet" Bathurst went straight into filming "My Dad's the Prime Minister", a children's series in which he portrays Michael Philips, a British prime minister. The series was initially broadcast in a Sunday afternoon slot in the CBBC strand. A second series went out in 2005, this time moved to a Friday night timeslot to take advantage of the adult humour present in the programme. He watched debates in the House of Commons to prepare for the role, but did not base his portrayal on Tony Blair.cite news|last= Multiple contributors|title= A figure of ridicule: Oh, how we will miss him|url= http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2527732.ece|work= The Independent|date= 2007-05-10|accessdate= 2007-12-08 ]

From March to June 2003 he appeared alongside Kristen Scott Thomas and Eric Sykes in "The Three Sisters" at the Playhouse Theatre. The role marked his first time on stage in four years; after his previous performance, he had vowed never again to do a "theatre job". [cite news|author= O'Brien, Deirdre|title= Stars on Stage: West End Boys|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20030511/ai_n12867338|work= Sunday Mirror (at Find Articles)|date=2003-05-11|accessdate=2008-04-11] In 2005 he appeared in the ITV thriller "The Stepfather", playing a man whose daughter goes missing. He took the role to distance himself from his "Cold Feet" character, an "emotional cripple", and because he could relate to how a father would feel if his daughter went missing. Following this he planned to scale back the number of "suits" he played on television, intending to spend more time at the theatre to avoid being typecast. The same year he played Mr Sesseman in an adaptation of "Heidi", and Dottore Massimo in "The Thief Lord".The following year he played Mark Thatcher in "Coup!", about the Equatorial Guinea affair. In November 2006 he appeared in "Whipping it Up" at the Bush Theatre, alongside Richard Wilson. The production transferred to the New Ambassadors Theatre and went on a national tour from September to November 2007. To research his role as a government whip he watched more Commons debates, going back to Parliament more often than he did for "My Dad's the Prime Minister".

The tour coincided with his appearance as the titular character in "Alex", based on the comic in "The Daily Telegraph". The play, which ran at the Arts Theatre between October and November 2007, features Bathurst interacting with other characters that are projected onto a screen behind him. He was attracted to the role because of the "duplicity and guile" Alex uses to get himself out of tight situations.cite news|author= Lee, Marc|title= 'Alex is the Indiana Jones of corporate finance'|url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/10/06/btbath106.xml|work= The Daily Telegraph|date= 2007-10-06|accessdate= 2007-12-08] The role won him a nomination for Best Solo Performance at the What's on Stage Awards. [cite web|title= The 2008 Theatregoers' Choice Award Winners|url= http://awards.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=493|work= What's on Stage|year= 2008|accessdate= 2008-05-01] He continued his association with the character when he was quizmaster at the "Alex City Quiz" at the London Stock Exchange in April 2008. [cite news|author= Goodley, Simon|title= Capital team get cold feet|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/04/25/ccdiary125.xml|work= The Daily Telegraph|date= 2008-04-25|accessdate= 2008-04-26] Bathurst will reprise the role in an international tour from September 2008, [cite news|author= Shenton, Mark|title= Alex, Live Stage Version of Newspaper Cartoon, to Tour Prior to London Season|url= http://www.playbill.com/news/article/120844.html|work= Playbill|date= 2008-08-30|accessdate= 2008-08-30] and for a film adaptation that will mix animation and live-action. [cite news|author= Schreiber, Dominic|title= ITV makes BreakThru deal|url= http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117989363.html?categoryid=19&cs=1|work= Variety|publisher= Reed Business Information|date= 2008-07-23|accessdate= 2008-07-23]

Personal life

Bathurst met artist Victoria Threlfall in 1985 when they were lodging together with mutual friends in London. They married in 1987 and have four children: Matilda, Clemency, Oriel, and Honor.

Credits

tage

creen

References

External links

* [http://www.robertbathurst.com Official website]
* [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/153128 Robert Bathurst] at the British Film Institute
*imdb name|id=0061106|name=Robert Bathurst

Persondata
NAME = BATHURST, ROBERT
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = THEATRE AND TELEVISION ACTOR
DATE OF BIRTH = 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH = GHANA
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =