Neil Roberts (actor)
Encyclopedia
Neil Roberts is an English
actor
, known for portraying Rex Buckland
in Charmed
, Gavin Arnold in Family Affairs
and Richard in Life Bites
.
between 1983 and 1986. He is of Welsh
descent.
, Winnie the Pooh, and the pantomime
s Robin Hood and Beauty and the Beast.
Roberts' first television job was playing Jeremy Bamber
in The White House Farm Murders. His other British
television credits include Love Soup
, Mayo
, The Impressionists
and Doctors. In 2001 he joined the regular cast of Channel 5 soap opera
Family Affairs
, playing Gavin Arnold. Roberts also appeared as cardiothoracic specialist Dr Philip Lawlor in three episodes of Holby City
, and as Richard, aka Dad, in the Disney Channel series Life Bites
.
Roberts moved to Los Angeles
, despite not having any roles lined up, after seeing how successful fellow English actor Hugh Grant
had become. During his time working in the US
, he appeared in shows including Party of Five
, Sliders
, Beverly Hills, 90210
and Babylon 5
. He also played the recurring role of Rex Buckland in six episodes of the first season of Charmed
.
Discussing his time in Los Angeles, Roberts said: "Everything I went up for was an American character that could be played English ... there would be ten people auditioning for a role who were all American, and then little ol' me. I found a real niche."
On the differences between working in British and American television, he said: "It's much quicker working on things in America ... there’s lots of energy and enthusiasm there and people are always ready to tell you that you’re the best thing since sliced bread, even if perhaps you aren’t really."
Roberts' other credits include secret agent
Max Meltus in the television commercial
s for cough medicine
Meltus, and a 1998 commercial for Nescafé
Gold Blend, opposite Simone Bendix
. He has also lent his voice to the Doctor Who
audio drama
Kingdom of Silver, and the Stargate Atlantis
audio drama The Kindness of Strangers.
, Hertfordshire
, with his wife and two sons.
He is a director of a communications training
company.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, known for portraying Rex Buckland
Rex Buckland
Rex Buckland is a fictional character masquerading as the boss of Prue Halliwell and a Warlock teamed with nasty-girl warlock Hannah Webster on a mission to destroy her and her sisters that appeared as the first regular repeating adversaries of the Charmed Ones during the first half-season of the...
in Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
, Gavin Arnold in Family Affairs
Family Affairs
Family Affairs was a British soap opera broadcast on Five, from 1997 to 2005. It was the second programme to be broadcast on the channel on 30 March 1997, the channel's launch night...
and Richard in Life Bites
Life Bites
Life Bites is a British adaptation of the Disney Channel Italy Original Series Life Bites - Pillole di Vita on Disney Channel Italy. It premiered on 6 September 2008. The show series looks at the everyday adventures of Chloe and Harvey, who are brother and sister and their relationships with family...
.
Background
Roberts trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre SchoolBristol Old Vic Theatre School
The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, opened by Laurence Olivier in 1946, is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, an organisation securing the highest standards of training in the performing arts, and is an associate school of the Faculty of Creative Arts of the University of the...
between 1983 and 1986. He is of Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
descent.
Acting career
Roberts spent the first seven years of his professional career working in theatre. His stage credits include the title role in HamletHamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, Winnie the Pooh, and the pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
s Robin Hood and Beauty and the Beast.
Roberts' first television job was playing Jeremy Bamber
Jeremy Bamber
Jeremy Nevill Bamber was convicted in England in 1986 of murdering five members of his adoptive family—his father, mother, sister, and her six-year-old twin sons—at his parents' home at White House Farm, Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex, in the early hours of 7 August 1985...
in The White House Farm Murders. His other British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television credits include Love Soup
Love Soup
Love Soup is a British television comedy-drama produced by the BBC and first screened on BBC One in the autumn of 2005. It stars Tamsin Greig as Alice Chenery and Michael Landes as Gil Raymond . The series is written by David Renwick of One Foot in the Grave fame, and was produced by Verity Lambert...
, Mayo
Mayo (TV series)
Mayo was a comedy detective drama television series made by the BBC and starring Alistair McGowan, Jessica Oyelowo, Huw Rhys and Loo Brealey. The series is based on a popular series of Gil Mayo mysteries books by Marjorie Eccles. It was filmed on location in and around Leamington Spa. The series...
, The Impressionists
The Impressionists (BBC drama)
The Impressionists: Painting and Revolution is a 4 part factual drama from the BBC, which reconstructs the origins of the Impressionist art movement.-Narrative:...
and Doctors. In 2001 he joined the regular cast of Channel 5 soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Family Affairs
Family Affairs
Family Affairs was a British soap opera broadcast on Five, from 1997 to 2005. It was the second programme to be broadcast on the channel on 30 March 1997, the channel's launch night...
, playing Gavin Arnold. Roberts also appeared as cardiothoracic specialist Dr Philip Lawlor in three episodes of Holby City
Holby City
Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
, and as Richard, aka Dad, in the Disney Channel series Life Bites
Life Bites
Life Bites is a British adaptation of the Disney Channel Italy Original Series Life Bites - Pillole di Vita on Disney Channel Italy. It premiered on 6 September 2008. The show series looks at the everyday adventures of Chloe and Harvey, who are brother and sister and their relationships with family...
.
Roberts moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, despite not having any roles lined up, after seeing how successful fellow English actor Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
had become. During his time working in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, he appeared in shows including Party of Five
Party of Five
Party of Five is an American teen drama television series that aired on Fox for six seasons, from September 12, 1994, until May 3, 2000.Critically acclaimed, the show suffered from low ratings and after its first season was slated for cancellation...
, Sliders
Sliders
Sliders is an American science fiction television series. It was broadcast for five seasons, beginning in 1995 and ending in 2000. The series follows a group of travelers as they use a wormhole to "slide" between different parallel universes. The show was created by Robert K. Weiss and Tracy Tormé...
, Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
and Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
. He also played the recurring role of Rex Buckland in six episodes of the first season of Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
.
Discussing his time in Los Angeles, Roberts said: "Everything I went up for was an American character that could be played English ... there would be ten people auditioning for a role who were all American, and then little ol' me. I found a real niche."
On the differences between working in British and American television, he said: "It's much quicker working on things in America ... there’s lots of energy and enthusiasm there and people are always ready to tell you that you’re the best thing since sliced bread, even if perhaps you aren’t really."
Roberts' other credits include secret agent
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
Max Meltus in the television commercial
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
s for cough medicine
Cough medicine
A cough medicine is a medicinal drug used in an attempt to treat coughing and related conditions. For dry coughs, treatment with cough suppressants may be attempted to suppress the body's urge to cough...
Meltus, and a 1998 commercial for Nescafé
Nescafé
Nescafé is a brand of instant coffee made by Nestlé. It comes in the form of many different products. The name is a portmanteau of the words "Nestlé" and "café". Nestlé's flagship powdered coffee product was introduced in Switzerland on April 1, 1938 after being developed for seven or eight years...
Gold Blend, opposite Simone Bendix
Simone Bendix
Simone Bendix is a Danish actress.Bendix trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.1995 Kelle Junkersen in Den kroniske uskyld, 1993 [TV Series] Maria The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, 1993 [TV Series] Club Barmaid Between the Lines, 1994 [TV Series] Au Pair in The Tomorrow People, Elena...
. He has also lent his voice to the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
audio drama
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
Kingdom of Silver, and the Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself...
audio drama The Kindness of Strangers.
Personal life
Roberts lives in RickmansworthRickmansworth
Rickmansworth is a town in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire, England, 4¼ miles west of Watford.The town has a population of around 15,000 people and lies on the Grand Union Canal and the River Colne, at the northern end of the Colne Valley regional park.Rickmansworth is a small town in...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, with his wife and two sons.
He is a director of a communications training
Communications Training
Communications training develops necessary skills for individuals to be effective in business. Effective communication is vital for the success of personal interactions and for organizational communication. Communication skills are particular to various situations...
company.
Television
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Crime Story: The White House Farm Murders | Jeremy Bamber Jeremy Bamber Jeremy Nevill Bamber was convicted in England in 1986 of murdering five members of his adoptive family—his father, mother, sister, and her six-year-old twin sons—at his parents' home at White House Farm, Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex, in the early hours of 7 August 1985... |
Television film |
| 1994 | A Breed of Heroes | Lieutenant Philip Lamb | Television film |
| 1996 | Party of Five Party of Five Party of Five is an American teen drama television series that aired on Fox for six seasons, from September 12, 1994, until May 3, 2000.Critically acclaimed, the show suffered from low ratings and after its first season was slated for cancellation... |
Gary Prescott - Not So Fast (1996) |
Teen drama Teen drama A teen drama is a dramatic television series with a major focus on teenage characters. The genre was relatively non-existent for the first 45 years of television; it came into prominence in the early 1990s... |
| Sliders Sliders Sliders is an American science fiction television series. It was broadcast for five seasons, beginning in 1995 and ending in 2000. The series follows a group of travelers as they use a wormhole to "slide" between different parallel universes. The show was created by Robert K. Weiss and Tracy Tormé... |
Ted Bernsen - Season's Greedings (1996) |
Sci-fi drama Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a... |
|
| 1997 | Baywatch Nights Baywatch Nights Baywatch Nights was an American police and science fiction drama series that aired in syndication from 1995 to 1997. Created by Douglas Schwartz, David Hasselhoff, and Gregory J. Bonann, the series is a spin-off from the popular television series, Baywatch.-Synopsis:The original premise of the show... |
John - Mobius (1997) |
Drama Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a... |
| The Second Civil War The Second Civil War The Second Civil War is a satirical/comedy film made for the HBO cable television network and first shown on March 15, 1997.Directed by Joe Dante, the film is a satire about anti-immigrant sentiment in the melting pot that is the United States.... |
Tony Phillips | Television film | |
| Diagnosis Murder Diagnosis Murder Diagnosis: Murder is a mystery/medical/crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son, a homicide detective played by his real-life son Barry Van Dyke. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman... |
Dr Shurmur - Looks Can Kill (1997) |
Police drama Police procedural The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several... |
|
| Babylon 5 Babylon 5 Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262... |
Brother Michael - The Deconstruction of Falling Stars The Deconstruction of Falling Stars "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars" is the final episode of the fourth season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5. This was the final episode of Babylon 5 to air on PTEN.-Synopsis:... (1997) |
Sci-fi drama Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a... |
|
| 1998 | Beverly Hills, 90210 Beverly Hills, 90210 Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise... |
Jacob Wallenfels - The Wedding: Part One (1998) - The Wedding: Part Two (1998) |
Teen drama Teen drama A teen drama is a dramatic television series with a major focus on teenage characters. The genre was relatively non-existent for the first 45 years of television; it came into prominence in the early 1990s... |
| Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Alexander Goodwin Pierce | Television film | |
| Privates | Jim (2 episodes) | TV series | |
| Charmed Charmed Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M... |
Rex Buckland Rex Buckland Rex Buckland is a fictional character masquerading as the boss of Prue Halliwell and a Warlock teamed with nasty-girl warlock Hannah Webster on a mission to destroy her and her sisters that appeared as the first regular repeating adversaries of the Charmed Ones during the first half-season of the... - 6 episodes (1998–1999) |
Supernatural Supernatural The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature... drama Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a... |
|
| 1999 | The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax | Television film Television movie A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to... |
|
| 2000 | The Bill The Bill The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work... |
James Spiller - All Fall Down: Part Two (2000) |
Police drama Police procedural The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several... |
| 2001 | Family Affairs Family Affairs Family Affairs was a British soap opera broadcast on Five, from 1997 to 2005. It was the second programme to be broadcast on the channel on 30 March 1997, the channel's launch night... |
Gavin Arnold | Soap opera Soap opera A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,... |
| 2003 | Keen Eddie Keen Eddie Keen Eddie is an American action, comedy-drama television series that aired in 2003 on the Fox Network. The series follows a brash NYPD detective who goes to London when one of his cases goes sour and remains to work with New Scotland Yard... |
Nicholas Ritter - Achtung Baby (2003) |
Comedy-drama Comedy-drama Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy... |
| Doctors | Harry Mawer - An Early Frost (2003) |
Soap opera Soap opera A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,... |
|
| Holby City Holby City Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999... |
Duncan Lewis - Just Getting By (2003) |
Medical drama Medical drama A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the... |
|
| 2005 | Love Soup Love Soup Love Soup is a British television comedy-drama produced by the BBC and first screened on BBC One in the autumn of 2005. It stars Tamsin Greig as Alice Chenery and Michael Landes as Gil Raymond . The series is written by David Renwick of One Foot in the Grave fame, and was produced by Verity Lambert... |
Clive - There Must Be Some Way Out of Here (2005) - Death and Nurses (2005) |
Comedy-drama Comedy-drama Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy... |
| The Impressionists The Impressionists (BBC drama) The Impressionists: Painting and Revolution is a 4 part factual drama from the BBC, which reconstructs the origins of the Impressionist art movement.-Narrative:... |
Durranty | Docudrama Docudrama In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction.... |
|
| 2006 | Holby City Holby City Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999... |
Dr Philip Lawlor - Extreme Measures (2006) - Complications Ensue (2008) - On a Mission (2008) |
Medical drama Medical drama A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the... |
| 2007 | Doctors | Laurent Cohen - Ménage à Trois (2007) |
Soap opera Soap opera A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,... |
| 2008 | Life Bites Life Bites Life Bites is a British adaptation of the Disney Channel Italy Original Series Life Bites - Pillole di Vita on Disney Channel Italy. It premiered on 6 September 2008. The show series looks at the everyday adventures of Chloe and Harvey, who are brother and sister and their relationships with family... |
Richard (2008–2009) | Children's TV series Children's television series Children's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school... |
| 2010 | Doctors | James Forth - Legacy (2010) |
Soap opera Soap opera A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,... |
| I Shouldn't Be Alive I Shouldn't Be Alive I Shouldn't Be Alive is a documentary television series that airs on multiple networks in the United States, Canada, the U.K., Australia, India and Pakistan... |
Eddie - Boys Adrift (2010) |
Docudrama Docudrama In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction.... |
|
| New Tricks | Anthony Vernon - Left Field (2010) |
Crime drama |
Film
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Killing Me Softly Killing Me Softly (film) Killing Me Softly is an erotic thriller 2002 film directed by Chen Kaige and starring Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes. Based on the novel by Nicci French , it introduces several substantial changes to the story and focuses heavily on the intense sexual relationship between the two lead... |
Philip | Uncredited |
| 2007 | IntraVenus | James | Short film |