Robert Glenister

Glenister was born in Watford on 11 March 1960.[1] 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 graduating from Harrow Weald Grammar School. He started his career by taking several theatre roles.[2]

Glenister made his debut television role in the BBC sitcom Sink or Swim, which ran from 1980 until 1982.[3] He has also appeared in shows such as Soldier Soldier,[4] Only Fools and Horses (as Myles the millionaire garden centre owner and chairman of the SWANS committee),[5] A Touch of Frost[6] and Inspector George Gently[7] 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.[8][9] He appeared as an Irish-American mob boss in Ben Affleck's crime drama Live by Night, which was released in December 2016.[10] 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).[11]

In June 2022 he appeared as Detective Inspector Salisbury in Sherwood, a BBC serial written by James Graham.[12] In 2023, he plays Tony, a cab driver in the Channel 5 thriller series Black Cab.[13]

Glenister married actor Amanda Redman in 1984; the couple had a daughter before they divorced in 1992.[14] He later married BBC Radio producer and director Celia de Wolff, with whom he has a son.[15][16]

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.[17] 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.[18]

• Edward Voysey in The Voysey Inheritance by Harley Granville Barker. Directed by Greg Hersov at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1989)
• Prince Muishkin in The Idiot by Gerard McLarnon. World premiere directed by Greg Hersov at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1991)
• Lord Gorin in An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde. Directed by James Maxwell at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1992)
• Astrov in Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov. Directed by Greg Hersov at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (2001)
• Wilson Tikkel in Great Britain by Richard Bean at the National Theatre/Theatre Royal Haymarket, 2014–15.
• Dave Moss in Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet at The Playhouse Theatre 2017–2018[10]
• Sorin in The Seagull by Anton Chekhov at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London (2022)[3]

• The Party Party 1987
• Paradise Lost – Christ (1992, 41 episodes, BBC Radio 4)
• Paradise Regained – Christ (1992, 9 episodes, BBC Radio 4)
• The Wench is Dead – Sgt. Lewis (1992, BBC Radio 4) opposite John Shrapnel as Inspector Morse
• Last Seen Wearing – Sgt. Lewis (1994, BBC Radio 4) opposite John Shrapnel as Inspector Morse
• The Sound of Fury (Mike Warner) – Stuart Colman (1994, BBC Radio 4) opposite Anton Lesser as Billy Fury
• The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn – Sgt. Lewis (1996, BBC Radio 4) opposite John Shrapnel as Inspector Morse
• Barrymore Plus Four (1995)
• Mansfield Park – Edmund Bertram (1997, Classic Serial, BBC Radio 4)
• Ghost on the Moor – Graham (2001, Afternoon Play, BBC Radio 4)
• A Game of Marbles – Lord Elgin (2004, Afternoon Play, BBC Radio 4) opposite Paul Scofield
• The Woman in Black – Arthur Kipps (2004, 4 episodes, BBC Radio 5)
• Henry's Girls – Henry Purcell (2007, Afternoon Play, BBC Radio 4)
• The Fiery World – William Blake (2007, Drama on 3, BBC Radio 3)
• The Gibson – Saul Judd (2008, 6-part Drama, BBC Radio 4)
• The Time Machine – Time traveller (2009, Drama on 3, BBC Radio 3)
• The Journey – Stephen (2010, Afternoon Play, BBC Radio 4)
• The Exorcist – Father Damien Karras (2014, 2 episodes, BBC Radio 4) opposite Ian McDiarmid as Father Merrin

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

• Doctor Who: Absolution (2007) – Aboresh

• The Death of Kings (2008)
• The Gates of Rome (2010)
• The Cuckoo's Calling (2013)
• The Silkworm (2014)
• Career of Evil (2015)
• Lethal White (2018)
• Troubled Blood (2020)
• The Ink Black Heart (2022)
• The Running Grave (2023)

• Robert Glenister at IMDb