Robert was born on the tenth of February, 1960 and grew up in a busy stable yard near Cirencester, Gloucestershire in England. After a brief spell as a professional polo-player and horse trainer followed by some time as an Estate Agent (that's Realtor to you guys) the lure of the stage won out and R set off on his very own Yellow Brick Road.

Acting at school had been little more than a way to avoid doing something else. Now it became the focus and the starting point was Michael Croft's National Youth Theatre in London. Two historically undistinguished seasons later (for R that is) came the call to audition for a new Richard Burton picture called 'Absolution'. So it set off, with only a brief period in the sidings at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the roller-coaster ride that is a show business career.

Amongst the ups were 'Excalibur', 'Robin of Sherwood' and 'Another Country'; the downs were more personal than professional and in 1989 after a surreal appearance in 'Red Dwarf' R dropped out of the picture.

The 'Intermission Years' were spent in the US, Spain and back in the UK. The sun finally came out again in December l 995 and the interrupted journey to Oz was back on course.

It was the playwright Chris Lambert who persuaded R into productions of his new plays through the summers of '95 and '96. The experience of touring these around the south of England playing to some tough audiences was just what R needed to rebuild his confidence for the next step. At the beginning of 1997 it was time to take on the Big Boys' in London. A lot of letters were written and a few friends found where it had been doubtful that any could be expected. With the help of those friends and, in particular, the faith of David Daly and his office, R is now back at work... .  sometimes.

On a more personal note R, who is now single, has been married and divorced three times and has three children. R is now living again in his 'native' Gloucestershire and spends his time reading, writing, worrying and spoiling the occasional walk in the country by taking a set of golf clubs. In a recent fit of desperation that probably has something to do with the approach of his fortieth birthday at the beginning of the New Millennium, R has been going to the gym five days a week. Oh, and what he doesn't know about diet and nutrition isn't worth knowing……Come on, you know you can't get to Oz without going through California.

VGP 17.ix 98