Ian Roberts (South African actor)
Encyclopedia
Ian Roberts is a South African actor
, playwright
and singer. A native English
speaker, he is also fluent in Afrikaans
and Xhosa
.
in what was then the Eastern Cape Province
and grew up on a citrus
farm near the town. He attended St. Andrew's Preparatory School
and St. Andrew's College
in Grahamstown
. After completing high school he performed his compulsory national service in the South African Army
, which he completed in 1971.
After a variety of different jobs and a course in photography at the Port Elizabeth Technical College from 1973 to 1975, Roberts enrolled at Rhodes University
in 1976 for a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Speech, Drama and Social Anthropology
.
when he played the character of Boet in a long-running series of television advertisements for Castrol
motor oil
. This character (together with the other characters Swaer and Moegoe) has also been featured in M-Net
's comedy
series Kalahari Oasis as well as the Radio Kalahari Orkes band.
In the Oscar
-winning South African film, Tsotsi
, Roberts played the role of a police captain
.
He was married to South African actress Michelle Botes
, but the couple divorced in 1999. The couple had two children.
In addition to the above, Roberts has played the leading role in Afrikaans
language television series such as Sloet Steenkamp in Arende (Eagles) and Jack Degenaar in Arsenaal (Arsenal). He has also written a number of script
s, such as Honeytown 1 and the musical Palang van Dwaal (Palang from Dwaal).
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and singer. A native English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
speaker, he is also fluent in Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
and Xhosa
Xhosa language
Xhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa. Xhosa is spoken by approximately 7.9 million people, or about 18% of the South African population. Like most Bantu languages, Xhosa is a tonal language, that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when said...
.
Early life
Roberts was born in Fort BeaufortFort Beaufort
Fort Beaufort is a town in the Amatole District of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, and has a population of 78,300. The town was established in 1837 and became a municipality in 1883. The town lies at the confluence of the Kat and Brak rivers between the Keiskamma and Great Fish rivers...
in what was then the Eastern Cape Province
Cape Province
The Province of the Cape of Good Hope was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa...
and grew up on a citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
farm near the town. He attended St. Andrew's Preparatory School
St. Andrew's Preparatory School
St. Andrew's Preparatory School is a private, co-educational boarding school in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa.-A Family of Schools:St. Andrew's Prep shares has close ties with it brother school, St...
and St. Andrew's College
St. Andrew's College (Grahamstown, South Africa)
St Andrew's College is a private senior school for boys located in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa, one of the 23 elite, influential and prestigious Milner Schools. It offers boarding and day options for its pupils. The premium Anglican boarding school caters for 450 pupils from across the...
in Grahamstown
Grahamstown
Grahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...
. After completing high school he performed his compulsory national service in the South African Army
South African Army
The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910.The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by commando forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners' historical distrust of large standing armies...
, which he completed in 1971.
After a variety of different jobs and a course in photography at the Port Elizabeth Technical College from 1973 to 1975, Roberts enrolled at Rhodes University
Rhodes University
Rhodes University is a public research university located in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, established in 1904. It is the province’s oldest university, and is one of the four universities in the province...
in 1976 for a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Speech, Drama and Social Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
.
Acting career
Roberts became a South African iconIcon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
when he played the character of Boet in a long-running series of television advertisements for Castrol
Castrol
Castrol is a brand of industrial and automotive lubricants which is applied to a large range of oils, greases and similar products for most lubrication applications...
motor oil
Motor oil
Motor oil or engine oil is an oil used for lubrication of various internal combustion engines. The main function is to lubricate moving parts; it also cleans, inhibits corrosion, improves sealing, and cools the engine by carrying heat away from moving parts.Motor oils are derived from...
. This character (together with the other characters Swaer and Moegoe) has also been featured in M-Net
M-Net
M-Net is a subscription-funded television channel in South Africa, established in 1986 by Naspers....
's comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
series Kalahari Oasis as well as the Radio Kalahari Orkes band.
In the Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
-winning South African film, Tsotsi
Tsotsi
Tsotsi is a 2005 film written and directed by Gavin Hood. The film is an adaptation of the novel Tsotsi, by Athol Fugard. The soundtrack features Kwaito music performed by popular South African artist Zola as well as a score by Mark Kilian and Paul Hepker featuring the voice of South African...
, Roberts played the role of a police captain
Police captain
- France :France uses the rank of capitaine for management duties in both uniformed and plain-clothed policing. The rank comes senior to lieutenant and junior to commandant....
.
He was married to South African actress Michelle Botes
Michelle Botes
Michelle Botes is a South African film and television actress best known for her role as Cherel de Villiers in the soap opera Isidingo. Michelle left the role in March 2007, and from June 2007 has been seen as Ingrid Jordaan on MNet's daytime drama, Binnelanders. Ingrid is now married to At...
, but the couple divorced in 1999. The couple had two children.
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 1987 | Jane and the Lost City Jane and the Lost City Jane and the Lost City was a 1987 film, based on the British newspaper strip Jane by Norman Pett. An adventure comedy set during World War II, the film was directed by Terry Marcel, and stars Kirsten Hughes in the title role, Sam Jones, Maud Adams, Jasper Carrott and Robin Bailey.- Synopsis... |
Carl | |
| 1989 | A Private Life | Sergeant Smit | Television Movie |
| 1992 | The Power of One | Hoppie Gruenewald | |
| 1993 | Triptiek | - | Television Series |
| 1993 | Daisy de Melker Daisy de Melker Daisy Louisa C. De Melker , simply known as Daisy de Melker, was a trained nurse who poisoned two husbands with strychnine for their life insurance while living in Germiston in the central Transvaal , and then poisoned her only son with arsenic for reasons which are still unclear... |
Sid de Melker | Television Movie |
| 1995 | Cry, the Beloved Country Cry, the Beloved Country (1995 film) Cry, the Beloved Country is a 1995 film directed by Darrell Roodt. Based on the novel Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton it stars James Earl Jones and Richard Harris. It features the song Exile by Enya. The score was composed by John Barry.... |
Evans | |
| 1996 | Rhodes | Colenbrander | Television Miniseries |
| 1997 | Mandela and de Klerk Mandela and de Klerk Mandela and de Klerk is a 1997 television film directed by Joseph Sargent. It stars Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine. It was nominated for numerous awards in 1997 and 1998.-Cast:*Sidney Poitier as Nelson Mandela*Michael Caine as F.W. de Klerk... |
Kobie Coetsee Kobie Coetsee Hendrik Jacobus Coetsee was a South African lawyer, National Party politician and administrator as well as a negotiator during the country's transition to democracy.... |
Television Movie |
| 1998 | Paljas | Frans | |
| 1998 | Tarzan and the Lost City Tarzan and the Lost City (film) Tarzan and the Lost City is a 1998 American action-adventure film directed by Carl Schenkel, and starring Casper Van Dien, Jane March and Steven Waddington.... |
Captain Dooley | |
| 1998 | Sweepers | Yager | |
| 1999 | A Reasonable Man | Chris Van Rooyen | |
| 2000 | I Dreamed of Africa I Dreamed of Africa I Dreamed of Africa is a 2000 film starring Kim Basinger, Vincent Perez, Eve Marie Saint, Garrett Strommen, Liam Aiken and Daniel Craig. It is based on the autobiographical novel I Dreamed of Africa by Kuki Gallmann, an Italian writer who moved to Kenya and became involved in conservation work... |
Mike Donovan | |
| 2001 | Malunde | Kobus | |
| 2001 | Askari | Ripshaw | |
| 2002 | Promised Land | Gerhard Snyman | |
| 2003 | Hoodlum & Son | Earl | |
| 2004 | King Solomon's Mines King Solomon's Mines (2004 film) King Solomon's Mines is a 2004 two-part TV miniseries loosely based on the novel King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard and previous film versions... |
Sir Henry | Television Movie |
| 2004 | Red Dust Red Dust (2004 film) Red Dust is a 2004 British drama film starring Hilary Swank and Chiwetel Ejiofor. It was directed by Tom Hooper. The story, written by Troy Kennedy-Martin, is based on the novel Red Dust by Gillian Slovo... |
Piet Muller | |
| 2005 | Wah-Wah | John Traherne | |
| 2005 | Tsotsi Tsotsi Tsotsi is a 2005 film written and directed by Gavin Hood. The film is an adaptation of the novel Tsotsi, by Athol Fugard. The soundtrack features Kwaito music performed by popular South African artist Zola as well as a score by Mark Kilian and Paul Hepker featuring the voice of South African... |
Captain Smit | |
| 2005 | 3 Needles | Hallyday | |
| 2006 | Number 10 | Marius Kramer |
In addition to the above, Roberts has played the leading role in Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
language television series such as Sloet Steenkamp in Arende (Eagles) and Jack Degenaar in Arsenaal (Arsenal). He has also written a number of script
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
s, such as Honeytown 1 and the musical Palang van Dwaal (Palang from Dwaal).