Robert Glenister

{{Short description|English actor (born 1960)}}

{{EngvarB|date=November 2017}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Robert Glenister

| image =

| caption = Glenister in 2013

| birth_name = Robert Lewis Glenister

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1960|03|11|df=y}}

| birth_place = Watford, Hertfordshire, England

| education =

| occupation = Actor

| years_active = 1979–present

| known_for = Hustle

| spouse = {{plainlist|

  • {{marriage|Amanda Redman|1984|1992|end=divorced}}
  • {{marriage|Celia de Wolff
    |1999}}

}}

| children = 2

| parents = John Glenister (father)

| relatives = Philip Glenister (brother)

}}

Robert Lewis Glenister (born 11 March 1960) is an English actor. He is best known for his television roles as Ash "Three Socks" Morgan in the crime drama series Hustle (2004–2012) and Nicholas Blake in the spy drama series Spooks (2006–2010).

Early life

Glenister was born in Watford on 11 March 1960.{{Cite web |title=Robert Glenister - Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/robert_glenister |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}} He is the son of Joan Fry Lewis and television director John Glenister, and the older brother of actor Philip Glenister. Until the age of eight he had a slight speech impediment. After starting school, he began to show a talent for acting. He decided to pursue a professional acting career after being encouraged by his father and leaving Harrow Weald Grammar School. He started his career by taking several theatre roles.{{Cite web |last=Christie |first=Darnell |date=2021-09-14 |title=Philip Glenister's famous older brother who was in The Bill, Spooks & Only Fools |url=https://www.mylondon.news/whats-on/bbc-richard-osmans-house-games-21568549 |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=MyLondon |language=en}}

Career

Glenister made his television debut in the BBC sitcom Sink or Swim, which ran from 1980 until 1982.{{Cite news |last=Greenstreet |first=Rosanna |date=2022-07-23 |title=Robert Glenister: 'I wish I wasn't quite as arrogant when I got successful' |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/jul/23/robert-glenister-i-wish-i-wasnt-quite-as-arrogant-when-i-got-successful |access-date=2023-03-25 |issn=0261-3077}} He has also appeared in shows such as Soldier Soldier,{{Cite web |title=BBC - Drama - Hustle - Ash Morgan (Robert Glenister) |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/hustle/ash_morgan.shtml |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=www.bbc.co.uk}} Only Fools and Horses (as Myles the millionaire garden centre owner and chairman of the SWANS committee),{{Cite web |last=Quinn |first=Angie |date=2022-06-13 |title=Sherwood star Robert Glenister is unrecognisable in Only Fools and Horses |url=https://www.mylondon.news/news/tv/bbc-sherwood-star-robert-glenister-24217540 |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=MyLondon |language=en}} A Touch of Frost{{Cite web |title=A Touch of Frost Season 8 |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/programme/b-3i28pb/a-touch-of-frost-season-8/ |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=Radio Times |language=en}} and Inspector George Gently{{Cite web |title=The Burning Man (2008) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8cc2cf4e |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803100544/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8cc2cf4e |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 August 2020 |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=BFI |language=en}} as well as several films.

He had a starring role in the BBC drama Hustle as Ash Morgan, a high-level con-man who has to convincingly play various roles or characters to pull off a con and lure a 'mark'. He is the only actor who has appeared in every episode of the series. He has also had regular starring roles in the BBC drama Spooks and appeared in Spartacus.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2010-04-19 |title=Hustle: Robert Glenister |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/showbiz/hustle-robert-glenister-906601 |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=Manchester Evening News |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Spartacus (2008) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8c913787 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025062146/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8c913787 |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 October 2020 |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=BFI |language=en}} He appeared as an Irish-American mob boss in Ben Affleck's crime drama Live by Night, which was released in December 2016.{{Cite web |date=2017-11-11 |title=Hustle actor 'breaks down' on stage midway through West End performance |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/news/robert-glenister-london-west-end-play-break-down-on-stage-glengarry-glen-ross-theatre-hustle-spooks-playhouse-a8049406.html |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=The Independent |language=en}} He has been cast twice in Doctor Who, playing Salateen in The Caves of Androzani (1984) (opposite his Sink or Swim co-star Peter Davison) and Thomas Edison in "Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror" (2020).{{Cite web |title=Doctor Who announces ER's Goran Višnjić and Hustle's Robert Glenister for new guest roles |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-series-12-goran-visnjic-robert-glenister/ |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=Radio Times |language=en}}

In June 2022 he appeared as Detective Inspector Salisbury in Sherwood, a BBC serial written by James Graham.{{Cite journal |date=18-24 June 2022 |title=Sherwood |journal=Radio Times |pages=65, 66, 74, 76}} In 2024, he plays Tony, a cab driver in the Channel 5 thriller series The Night Caller.{{Cite web |date=2022-11-28 |title=Sherwood and Casualty stars to lead new thriller series Black Cab |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a42084112/black-cab-cast-suzanne-packer-robert-glenister/ |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=Digital Spy |language=en-GB}}

Personal life

Glenister married actor Amanda Redman in 1984; the couple had a daughter before they divorced in 1992.{{cite news |url=https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/whats-on/film-tv/amanda-redman-laughing-policemen-back-5219803 |title=Amanda Redman: The laughing policemen are back in New Tricks |last=Whiting |first=Kate |work=Chester Chronicle |date=13 July 2009 |access-date=25 November 2019}} He later married BBC Radio producer and director Celia de Wolff, with whom he has a son.{{cite news |url= https://www.irishnews.com/arts/2019/08/07/news/robert-glenister-on-brian-friel-hustle-and-working-with-brother-philip-one-day-1679268/ |title= Robert Glenister on Brian Friel, Hustle and working with brother Philip – one day |first=David |last=Roy |work=The Irish News |date=7 August 2019 |access-date=25 November 2019}}

In April 2019, it was reported that lawyers acting for a company owned by Glenister – Big Bad Wolff – had lost an appeal in a long-running battle with HM Revenue and Customs regarding liability for National Insurance contributions.{{cite news |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/actor-robert-glenister-on-losing-side-after-tribunal-tax-fight-38008517.html|title=Actor Robert Glenister on losing side after tribunal tax fight|publisher=Belfast Telegraph. 12 April 2019 | access-date=13 April 2019}} Glenister subsequently said that he would have to sell or remortgage his house as a result of the ruling, since he now faced a bill of £147,000 plus interest.{{cite news |url=https://www.itv.com/news/2019-04-21/tale-of-a-spooks-star-secret-police-and-a-150k-tax-bill/|title=Spooks actor Robert Glenister slams 'secret police' as he faces £150K tax bill|publisher=ITV News. 21 April 2019 | access-date=23 April 2019}}

Filmography

=Film=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

1979

| Birth of the Beatles

| Replacement Drummer

|

1981

| Strike: The Birth of Solidarity

| Jurek Borowczak

| Television film

1983

| The Campaign

| Jon Lansman

| Television film

1985

| Me and the Girls

| Harry

| Television film

1986

| Watching

| Tom Anderson

| Television film

1987

| Hyper Combat Unit Dangaioh

| Gil Berg

| Direct-to-video; Voice role; English version

1989

| Ending Up

| Keith

| Television film

1991

| Arslân Senki

| Gardeep / Zante

| Direct-to-video; Voice role; English version

1992

| Arslân Senki II

| Gardeep / Zante

| Direct-to-video; Voice role; English version

1993

| The Secret Rapture

| Jeremy

|

1995

| Aristophanes: The Gods Are Laughing

| Aristophanes

| Television film

2000

| You Can't Dance

|

| Short film

rowspan="2"|2001

| Just Visiting

| Earl of Warwick

|

Lover's Prayer

| Count Malevsky

|

2002

| Safe Conduct

| Captain Townsend

|

rowspan="2"|2003

| Eroica

| Gerhardt

| Television film

Victoria Station

| The Controller

| Short film

rowspan="2"|2004

| The Badness of King George IV

|

| Television film

Who Killed Thomas Becket?

| Narrator

| Television film; Voice role

2005

| Legless

| Simon Carter

| Television film

2006

| The Sally Lockhart Mysteries: The Ruby in the Smoke

| Samuel Selby

| Television film

2007

| Get Off My Land

| Farmer

| Short film

2009

| Creation

| Sir Henry Holland

|

2011

| Of Mary

| Peter

| Short film

rowspan="2"|2012

| We'll Take Manhattan

| Ted Shrimpton

| Television film

Worm

| Dad / Worm

| Short film

2014

| Cryptic

| Robert

|

2016

| Live by Night

| Albert White

|

2017

| Journey's End

| The Colonel

|

2019

| The Aeronauts

| Ned Chambers

|

rowspan="2"|2020

| Villain

| Roy Garrett

|

Spanish Pigeon

| Harry Gold

| Short film

2022

| National Theatre Live: The Seagull

| Pyotr Nikolayevich Sorin

|

=Television=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

1979

| Crown Court

| Kevin Laurence

| Episode: "Forever"

rowspan="2"|1980

| Escape

| Lorenzo

| Episode: "The Cartland Murders"

Strangers

| Student

| Episode: "Clowns Don't Cry"

1980–82

| Sink or Swim

| Steve Webber

| Series regular; 19 episodes

1981

| ITV Playhouse

| Billy

| Episode: "Little Girls Don't"

1982

| Panorama

| Kowalczyk

| Episode: "Two Weeks in Winter: How the Army Took Over Poland"

rowspan="2"|1984

| Doctor Who

| Salateen

| Story: "The Caves of Androzani"

The Lonelyhearts Kid

| Ken

| Series regular; 6 episodes

rowspan="3"|1985

| Cover Her Face

| Derek Pullen

| Miniseries; 4 episodes

Summer Season

| Peter

| Episode: "Long Term Memory"

Juliet Bravo

| Inspector Roger Beavers

| Episode: "Inspection"

1988

| The Bill

| Sam Rice

| Episode: "Blue for a Boy"

1989

| Megazone 23

| Bishop / Jacker

| Miniseries; Voice role; English version

rowspan="3"|1990

| Chancer

| Colin Morris

| Series regular; 11 episodes

Blood Rights

| Pete

| Miniseries; 3 episodes

Casualty

| Duncan

| Episode: "Salvation"

rowspan="2"|1991

| Kinsey

| Mike Hoskyns

| Recurring role; 4 episodes

Soldier Soldier

| Colour Sergeant Ian Anderson

| Recurring role; 7 episodes

rowspan="3"|1992

| The Bill

| D.I. Baker

| Episode: "Lost Boy"

Boon

| Mr. Richards

| Episode: "Whispering Grass"

Only Fools and Horses

| Myles

| Episode: "Mother Nature's Son"

1993

| Medics

| Steven Nelson

| Episode: "Series 3, Episode 5"

1993–95

| Arslân Senki II

| Gardeep / Zante

| Miniseries; Voice role; English version

rowspan="3"|1994

| Screen Two

| Brian Jessel

| Episode: "A Landing on the Sun"

Casualty

| Chris Wilson

| Episode: "Grand Rational"

Pie in the Sky

| D.C.I. Fields

| Episode: "An Innocent Man"

rowspan="4"|1995

| Kavanagh QC

| Clive Pendle

| Episode: "Heartland"

Screen Two

| Captain Harville

| Episode: "Persuasion"

Prime Suspect

| Chris Hughes

| Episode: "The Lost Child"

The Bill

| Paramedic

| Episode: "Good Intentions"

1996

| Bramwell

| Charles Sheldon

| Episode: "Series 2, Episode 7"

1997

| Drovers' Gold

| Markby

| Miniseries; 1 episode

rowspan="2"|2000

| Dirty Work

| Tubes

| Series regular; 6 episodes

My Fragile Heart

| Stephen 'Squeal' Blake

| Miniseries; 2 episodes

2001

| Midsomer Murders

| John Field

| Episode: "Dark Autumn"

2001–03

| A Touch of Frost

| D.S. Terrence Reid

| Recurring role; 4 episodes

rowspan="3"|2002

| Heartbeat

| Oliver Langley

| Episode: "The Shoot"

Murder

| Robert Weldon

| Miniseries; 4 episodes

Sirens

| D.I. Clive Wilson

| Miniseries; 2 episodes

rowspan="3"|2003

| Hitler: The Rise of Evil

| Anton Drexler

| Miniseries; 2 episodes

Roger Roger

| Dr. Geoff

| Episode: "Freedom's Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose"

Between the Sheets

| Clive Stevenson

| Miniseries; 6 episodes

2004–12

| Hustle

| Ash Morgan

| Series regular; 48 episodes

2005

| Class of '76

| Frank Thompson

| Miniseries; 2 episodes

2006

| Jane Hall

| Dave Searle

| Series regular; 6 episodes

2006–10

| Spooks

| Nicholas Blake

| Recurring role; 15 episodes

rowspan="2"|2008

| Heroes and Villains

| Marcus Licinius Crassus

| Episode: "Spartacus"

Inspector George Gently

| Empton

| Episode: "The Burning Man"

2009

| Law & Order: UK

| D.S. Jimmy Valentine

| Episode: "Honour Bound"

2009–14

| Law & Order: UK

| Narrator

| Series regular; Voice role; Uncredited

2010

| Moving On

| Frankie

| Episode: "Skin Deep"

2011

| Appropriate Adult

| Detective Superintendent John Bennett

| Miniseries; 2 episodes

rowspan="3"|2013

| Agatha Christie's Marple

| Father Brophy

| Episode: "Greenshaw's Folly"

The Café

| Phil Porter

| Series regular; 7 episodes

The Great Train Robbery

| DI Frank Williams

| Miniseries; 2 episodes

rowspan="2"|2014

| Vera

| Owen Preece

| Episode: "Death of a Family Man"

Masterpiece Mystery!

| Father Raphy

| Episode: "Agatha Christie's Miss Marple VII: Greenshaw's Folly"

2015

| Code of a Killer

| DCC Chapman

| Miniseries; 2 episodes

rowspan="2"|2016

| The Musketeers

| Duke of Lorraine

| Recurring role; 2 episodes

Paranoid

| Bobby Day

| Miniseries; 8 episodes

2016

| Close to the Enemy

| Brigadier Wainwright

| Miniseries; 7 episodes

2017

| Cold Feet

| George Kirkbright

| Recurring role; 5 episodes

2019

| Curfew

| Jared Grieves

| Series regular; 6 episodes

rowspan="3"|2020

| Doctor Who

| Thomas Edison

| Episode: "Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror"

Isolation Stories

| Ron

| Episode: "Ron & Russell"

Strike

| Jasper Chiswell

| Story: "Lethal White"

rowspan="2"|2022

| Suspicion

| Martin Copeland

| Series regular; 6 episodes

Sherwood

| DI Kevin Salisbury

| Series regular; 6 episodes

2023

| The Night Caller

| Tony

| Miniseries; 4 episodes

2024

| Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story

| Piers Morgan

| Miniseries; 1 episode

2025

| A Thousand Blows

| Indigo Jeremy

|

Selected theatre

Radio

Alexandre Dumas."The Three Musketeers" [Athos] 1994 6 episodes Radio Play. BBC Radio 4

Audio drama

Audiobook

References

{{Reflist}}