Robert Lindsay Stevenson (born 13 December 1949) is an English actor. He is the recipient of a British Academy Television Award, a Tony Award and two Laurence Olivier Awards. His first major role on TV was playing Wolfie Smith in Citizen Smith. He appeared in sitcoms, most notably as Ben Harper in My Family, playing the role for over a decade, and narrated TV adaptations of the children's television series Brambly Hedge. His film appearances include Fierce Creatures and Wimbledon. He has appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company and in musical theatre. Early life Lindsay was born in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, to Joyce (née Dunmore) and Norman Stevenson, who worked at the local Stanton Ironworks. He was one of three children and his father was a World War II veteran, having been on a minesweeper. After leaving Gladstone Boys' School, Lindsay enrolled in the drama department of Clarendon College in Nottingham, intending to become a drama teacher. However, friends at Nottingham Playhouse encouraged him to apply to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), and in 1968, he was accepted there with the aid of a government grant. After graduation, he worked as a dialect coach for a repertory company in Essex, and then joined a regional theatre group. Career Lindsay's early career included roles in British films such as That'll Be The Day (1973), Three for All (1975), and Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1976). He came to prominence as the cockney Teddy Boy Jakey Smith in the ITV comedy series Get Some In! (1975–1977) that was based on the National Service in the RAF. He was given the starring role as delusional revolutionary Wolfie Smith in the BBC sitcom Citizen Smith (1977–1980), which raised his profile further. Towards the end of the run of Citizen Smith, Lindsay won roles in the BBC Television Shakespeare series, including Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1981), Fabian in Twelfth Night (1980) and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing (1984). He played Edmund in the Granada Television production of King Lear (1983). In 1984, he appeared as a car dealership manager called Mike Barnes in a salesman's training video for Austin Rover alongside Peter Egan and George A. Cooper, which trained staff on how to sell the Austin Montego, which was launched in April of that year. He played the role of Bill Snibson in the hugely acclaimed 1984 London revival of Me