Robert Addie

Robert Alastair Addie (10 February 1960 – 20 November 2003) was an English film and theatre actor, who came to prominence playing the role of Sir Guy of Gisbourne in the 1980s British television drama series Robin of Sherwood. Early life Addie was born in south London on 10 February 1960. During his early childhood he was adopted by Marjorie and Jack Williams and raised in Sapperton, in the county of Gloucestershire. He received his formal education at Marlborough College and Magdalen College School, Brackley. After initially being employed as a trainee estate agent on a ranch in Argentina, he returned to England and joined the National Youth Theatre in London in 1976 at the age of 16. Subsequently he trained in acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, which he left early after successfully auditioning for the role of Mordred in the film Excalibur (1981). Career Addie's slim but athletic physique, and attractive yet stern looks, voice and demeanour, channelled his career into that of a character actor from its outset, with his usually being cast as a supporting player in authoritarian roles. This aspect of his repertoire combined with his excellent horsemanship and weapons-handling skills found him regularly appearing in historical dramas set in the medieval era. At the beginning of his career in the early 1980s he appeared on British television in a number of commercial advertisements, ranging from one for Polycell plastering repair wall filler to Mr Kipling cakes. In the early 1980s he also appeared in a variety of theatrical productions, including Journey's End in 1981 at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley, and Conduct Unbecoming in 1982 at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford.