British Actors You Should Know: Robson Green

As you are probably already aware, Grantchester has returned to PBS for a third season.  Hurrah for more of that vicar/detective male bonding!  

For those of you who may have become familiar with actor Robson Green through his role as DI Geordie Keating, I’m here to enlighten you to the prolific and varied career this actor has built up over the past thirty years.

Solider Soldier (1991)

Robson played Fusilier Dave Tucker in this 90’s drama about the day-to-day lives of a regiment of British Army infantry soldiers in peacetime. This famous scene set Robson on course as a successful recording artist along with Jerome Flynn of Ripper Street and Game of Thrones fame. Represented by pop music manager Simon Cowell, Robson & Jerome’s version of "Unchained Melody" was the best selling single of 1995 in the UK.

Reckless (1997)

In this romantic mini-series, Green portrays Owen Springer, a young London doctor who has put his career on hold to return home to Manchester to look after his ailing father. A few fortuitous meetings between Owen and hospital HR manager Anna Fairley (Home Fires' Francesca Annis) and he quickly develops romantic feelings for the beautiful, married older woman. The added wrinkle is that Anna’s husband happens to be Owen’s new boss, Richard Crane (Michael Kitchen of Foyle's War),  who has a few secrets of his own.

Wire in the Blood (2002)

This long-running mystery series stars Robson as Dr. Tony Hill, a clinical psychologist recruited to be a criminal profiler for the police department. Working alongside DCI Carol Jordan (Hermione Norris), Tony employs an eccentric approach and keen understanding of the criminal mind to help the coppers track down serial killers.

Northern Lights (2006)

Best mates Colin Armstrong (Green) and Howard Scott (Mark Benton) are literally inseparable. They are brothers-in-law, next-door neighbors and they work at the same shipping company.  As you might imagine that much togetherness can get a bit irritating. It’s these domestic situations and the inevitable competitiveness of friendship that provide this dramedy with a plethora of plotlines.

Colin and Howard’s adventures actually started with a TV movie called Christmas Lights which spun off into Northern Lights. A sequel, City Lights, followed and finally ended with another Christmas offering, Clash of the Santas.

Being Human (2011)

Though he only appeared in a small number of episodes of this supernatural dramedy (four to be exact) Robson’s character McNair still stands out. A victim of kidnapping by vampires, McNair was forced to fight a werewolf. Though he survived, he was infected and became a werewolf himself. Hardened and bitter, McNair renounced his old life to become a vengeful vampire hunter. Now McNair travels the country with his son Tom (Michael Socha) who he raises to follow a very strict moral code and, above all, to hate all vampires.

Extreme Fishing with Robson Green (2008)

For the past ten years, Green has been involved in several TV documentaries whose subjects range from the Flying Scotsman to exploring his home county of Northumberland. His biggest passion however is fishing (and travel in search of fishing destinations). He has hosted some form of extreme fishing show since 2008 and it clearly demonstrates his enthusiasm for life and nature.

There are dozens more credits I could mention, but I think you get the idea. Whether he’s playing a doctor, detective, solider or supernatural being, this exuberant fellow is a delight to watch. Tell us about your favorite Robson Green roles in the comments section!