Chris Robson
Encyclopedia
Chris Robson is an English stage, television and film actor. He was born in Newcastle upon Tyne
in the United Kingdom.
His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction.
, Tyne and Wear. His father was a policeman and his mother a nurse. He attended Marine Park First School, Marden Bridge Middle School
and Whitley Bay High School
, and was a member of the local acting group, The People’s Theatre Group in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Chris spent 4 years at St John’s College
, Cambridge, studying French and German. During his year abroad he studied German Theatre at the Humboldt University
in Berlin.
Following Cambridge he completed a postgraduate course in Drama at the Oxford School of Drama
in Oxford before moving to London.
, appearing in Peer Gynt
, Tamburlaine
and The Lady of Pleasure
.
He is probably best known for his Geordie character Joe Kirkley in British cult action-horror Dog Soldiers. He has also acted in the films Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
, playing a German speaking porter, and as a hard-hitting soldier, Stevie Millar, in the film Doomsday
.
Chris has also had several prominent television roles, namely playing a cowardly German in the TV miniseries Band of Brothers, being Wernher von Braun’s right hand man, Dieter Huzel,
in Space Race
, and playing Matt Perry, a dad of 3 unruly girl’s, in Tracey Beaker Returns.
Additional television work includes The Ghost Squad
, Doctors, The Real Albert Goering and Looking Good.
His stage work is varied and includes the role of Meslis in Neil Bartlett
’s production of The Dispute, this Royal Shakespeare Company
show won a Time out Award for Best production in the West End and the 1999 TMA Best Touring Production award. Chris has also played Adonis in the 7 Sonnets of Michelangelo at the Lyric Hammersmith
, a Geordie in Lost and Found at the Hackney Empire
and taken the lead of John O’Brien in a national tour of Catherine Cookson
’s The Fifteen Streets.
Further theatre credits are playing Dickens in a joint Cardboard Citizens
and Artangel
project, which Chris also directed, playing a Welsh stowaway in Measuring Wings at the Etcetera
, Orlando in As You Like It
, Viola in Twelfth Night, Ross in Macbeth
, Hans Rilow in Spring Awakenings and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet
.
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
in the United Kingdom.
His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction.
Personal life
Robson spent his early life in Whitley BayWhitley Bay
Whitley Bay is a town in North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the North Sea coast and has a fine stretch of golden sandy beach forming a bay stretching from St. Mary's Island in the north to Cullercoats in the south...
, Tyne and Wear. His father was a policeman and his mother a nurse. He attended Marine Park First School, Marden Bridge Middle School
and Whitley Bay High School
Whitley Bay High School
Whitley Bay High School is a foundation state school in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, England.-Admissions:It is a mixed school with around 1600 pupils, 500 of these being in the school's Sixth Form. In 2006 the school was awarded Specialist College Status in Science & Humanities. The school has...
, and was a member of the local acting group, The People’s Theatre Group in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Chris spent 4 years at St John’s College
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
, Cambridge, studying French and German. During his year abroad he studied German Theatre at the Humboldt University
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
in Berlin.
Following Cambridge he completed a postgraduate course in Drama at the Oxford School of Drama
Oxford School of Drama
The Oxford School of Drama is one of the most prestigious drama schools in the United Kingdom, and the only professional drama school in Oxfordshire...
in Oxford before moving to London.
Career
At Cambridge he acted with the Marlowe SocietyMarlowe Society
The Marlowe Society is a Cambridge University theatre club for Cambridge students. It is dedicated to achieving a high standard of student drama in Cambridge...
, appearing in Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...
, Tamburlaine
Tamburlaine (play)
Tamburlaine the Great is the name of a play in two parts by Christopher Marlowe. It is loosely based on the life of the Central Asian emperor, Timur 'the lame'...
and The Lady of Pleasure
The Lady of Pleasure
The Lady of Pleasure is a Caroline era comedy of manners written by James Shirley, first published in 1637. It has often been cited as among the best, and sometimes as the single best, the "most brilliant," of the dramatist's comic works....
.
He is probably best known for his Geordie character Joe Kirkley in British cult action-horror Dog Soldiers. He has also acted in the films Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a 2004 American pulp adventure science-fiction film written and directed by Kerry Conran in his directorial debut. The film is set in an alternative 1939 and follows the adventures of Polly Perkins , a newspaper reporter, and Harry Joseph "Joe" Sullivan ,...
, playing a German speaking porter, and as a hard-hitting soldier, Stevie Millar, in the film Doomsday
Doomsday (film)
Doomsday is a 2008 British science fiction film written and directed by Neil Marshall. The film takes place in the future. Scotland has been quarantined because of a deadly virus. When the virus is found in London, political leaders send a team led by Major Eden Sinclair to Scotland to find a...
.
Chris has also had several prominent television roles, namely playing a cowardly German in the TV miniseries Band of Brothers, being Wernher von Braun’s right hand man, Dieter Huzel,
in Space Race
Space Race (TV series)
Space Race is a BBC docudrama series first shown in Britain on BBC2 between September and October 2005, chronicling the major events and characters in the American/Soviet space race up to the first landing of a man on the moon. It focuses on Sergei Korolev, the Soviet chief rocket designer, and...
, and playing Matt Perry, a dad of 3 unruly girl’s, in Tracey Beaker Returns.
Additional television work includes The Ghost Squad
The Ghost Squad
The Ghost Squad was a 2005 British crime drama series produced by Company Pictures, for Channel 4. The show was created by Tom Grieves. Inspired by the real life "Ghost Squad" that existed between 1994 and 1998, secretly investigating police corruption, the premise of the series is that the squad...
, Doctors, The Real Albert Goering and Looking Good.
His stage work is varied and includes the role of Meslis in Neil Bartlett
Neil Bartlett (playwright)
Neil Vivian Bartlett, OBE, is an award-winning British director, performer, translator, and writer. He is one of the founding members of Gloria, a production company established in 1988 to produce his work along with that of Nicolas Bloomfield, Leah Hausman and Simon Mellor...
’s production of The Dispute, this Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
show won a Time out Award for Best production in the West End and the 1999 TMA Best Touring Production award. Chris has also played Adonis in the 7 Sonnets of Michelangelo at the Lyric Hammersmith
Lyric Hammersmith
The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on King Street, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which takes pride in its original, "groundbreaking" productions....
, a Geordie in Lost and Found at the Hackney Empire
Hackney Empire
The Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in the London Borough of Hackney, built in 1901 as a music hall.-History:Hackney Empire is a grade II* listed building...
and taken the lead of John O’Brien in a national tour of Catherine Cookson
Catherine Cookson
Dame Catherine Cookson DBE was a British author. She became the United Kingdom's most widely read novelist, with sales topping 100 million, while retaining a relatively low profile in the world of celebrity writers...
’s The Fifteen Streets.
Further theatre credits are playing Dickens in a joint Cardboard Citizens
Cardboard Citizens
Cardboard Citizens is the UK's only homeless people's professional theatre company and the leading practitioner of Forum Theatre in the UK. They work with people who have experience of, or who are at risk of, becoming homeless....
and Artangel
Artangel
Artangel is a London-based arts organisation founded in 1985 by Roger Took. Directed since 1991 by James Lingwood and Michael Morris, it has commissioned and produced a string of notable site-specific works, plus several projects for TV, film, radio and the web...
project, which Chris also directed, playing a Welsh stowaway in Measuring Wings at the Etcetera
Etcetera Theatre
The Etcetera Theatre is a fringe venue for theatre and comedy. It was founded in 1986 and is situated above The Oxford Arms pub in Camden Town, in the London Borough of Camden....
, Orlando in As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
, Viola in Twelfth Night, Ross in Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
, Hans Rilow in Spring Awakenings and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
.