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Robert Lindsay plays disenchanted husand, dentist, and father of three, Ben Harper. He is a BAFTA, Tony, and Laurence Olivier award-winning performer, probably best know for his dramatic role in G.B.H., and for his roles in Jake's Progress, the Hornlower series, Citizen Smith, and Oliver Twist.
Why My Family?
"What attracted me to My Family was Fred Barron, the creator. I met him over a year before, and I hadn't met anyone quite as charasmatic and appealing as Fred for a long time.
"I always had my doubts about a real situation comedy – four chairs around a table and a family sitting in front of a television – but there was something in the way Fred talked about his own family that affected me. It was similar to the way I talk about my family and the way we relate to our own children that's kind of hip and modern and also honest. If the kids piss you off, you say they piss you off. In one of the episodes I say, 'I'm frightened of my children, they scare me.' It verges on the serious but is also very funny."
Robert was the first person Fred had in mind when he cast the role of Ben Harper, having seen his Tony Award-winning performance in Broadway's Me and My Girl. He told Robert that it was like seeing Norman Wisdom and Alec Guiness all at once.
Why Comedy?
In a career that has spanned theater, television, and film, most of the projects Robert has chosen were dramatic rather than comic, but he believes that all his characters have had moments of true humor.
"Humor almost humanizes the characters becuase it's an outlet. My own family has this rather glib sense of humor. Sometimes when they can't confront real issues or real problems, they glibly come out with a funny line," Robert explains.
Before My Family
Robert went to Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and, after eighteen months of repertory theater, got his first big break in the feature film, That'll Be the Day, starring Ringo Starr and Keith Moon. His first television success was Get Some In, but it was Citizen Smith that propelled him into public recognition and stardom.
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