
Acting
Robin Soans
Born
1947-01-01 (79)
Place of birth
Northamptonshire, England, UK
Known for
Acting
Credits
46 titles
obin Soans (born 20 June 1946, Northamptonshire, England) is a British actor and playwright specialising in verbatim and documentary theatre, with a career spanning over five decades. His plays include Talking to Terrorists (2005) and Crouch, Touch, Pause, Engage (2015). In theatre he has performed at the National Theatre, Royal Court, RSC, and Shakespeare's Globe, including Justice Shallow in Player Kings (West End, 2024). His film credits include The Queen (2006), Viceroy's House (2017), Victoria & Abdul (2017), Red Joan (2018), and Napoleon (2023). On television he has appeared in Doctor Who, Inspector Morse, Endeavour, Victoria (6 episodes), and Dalgliesh (2023). No major awards are on r…
Known for
7.6The Doctor is a Time Lord: a 900 year old alien with 2 hearts, part of a gifted civilization who mastered time travel. The Doctor saves planets for a living—more of a hobby actually, and the Doctor's very, very good at it.
Doctor Who
2005
7.5The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.
Midsomer Murders
1997
7.9The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.
Doctor Who
1963
6.8The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.
The Bill
1984
7.8The adventures of Miss Jane Marple, an elderly spinster living in the quiet little village of St Mary Mead. During her many visits to friends and relatives in other villages, Miss Marple often stumbles upon mysterious murders which she helps solve. Although the police are sometimes reluctant to accept Miss Marple's help, her reputation and unparalleled powers of observation eventually win them over.
Agatha Christie's Marple
2004
7.2A detective team apply new techniques to old crimes as they solve cold cases.
Waking the Dead
2001
Film credits
2020s · 4 titles
6.3An epic that details the checkered rise and fall of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine.
Napoleon
2023
6.8When Duchess Margaret unexpectedly inherits the throne & hits a rough patch with Kevin, it’s up to Stacy to save the day before a new lookalike — party girl Fiona — foils their plans.
The Princess Switch: Switched Again
2020
6.7A priceless relic is stolen from identical royals Queen Margaret and Princess Stacy, who enlist the help of their sketchy look-alike cousin Fiona Pembroke to retrieve it.
The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star
2021
NRA modern tap-dancing musical which follows a dancer who, with his new pair of tap-shoes, torments his downstairs neighbour.
Flaws
2022
2010s · 6 titles
6.9Queen Victoria strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young Indian clerk named Abdul Karim.
Victoria & Abdul
2017
7.0When a down-to-earth Chicago baker and a soon-to-be princess discover they look like twins, they hatch a Christmastime plan to trade places.
The Princess Switch
2018
6.6London, England, May 2000. The peaceful life of elderly Joan Stanley is suddenly disrupted when she is arrested by the British Intelligence Service and accused of providing information to communist Russia during the forties.
Red Joan
2018
6.7In 1947, Lord Mountbatten assumes the post of last Viceroy, charged with handing India back to its people, living upstairs at the house which was the home of British rulers, whilst 500 Hindu, Muslim and Sikh servants lived downstairs.
Viceroy's House
2017
8.0A suburban Jewish household in North London suffers a visit by an unexpected couple of young men dressed as Samurai. A stunned father and a serene mother discover that their daughter’s suitor, rejected by the Dad as an unsuitable boyfriend, is set on winning her back. Even if it entails ritual disembowelment…
Harry Kiri
2019
NRMr. Karobka hadn’t visited his dentist for a long while. In his absence, the clinic had adopted a new routine procedure.
Open Wide
2018
2000s · 7 titles
6.9The Queen is an intimate behind the scenes glimpse at the interaction between HM Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair during their struggle, following the death of Diana, to reach a compromise between what was a private tragedy for the Royal family and the public's demand for an overt display of mourning.
The Queen
2006
7.1Following in his father's footsteps, Albert Pierrepoint becomes one of Britain's most prolific executioners, hiding his identity as a grocery deliveryman. But when his ambition to be the best inadvertently exposes his gruesome secret, he becomes a minor celebrity & faces a public outcry against the practice of hanging. Based on true events.
Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman
2005
5.6In 1970s Britain, 18-year old Dean feels hampered by his working-class background and his family. In order to make something of himself, he assumes another identity and manages to enter high society. Uses a unique projection technique that displays three side-by-side frames of nearly simultaneous action, giving the impression of simultaneous events, rather than a multi-camera recording. This innovative "three-camera" or triple-image effect was an "almost innovation" for the time, offering a novel cinematic experience alongside the film's compelling story and strong direction.
AKA
2002
6.5The story of the working and personal relationship between the comedians Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, a hugely popular duo in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s. Focusing primarily on Cook, the film traces the pair from their first meeting through their career as part of the Beyond the Fringe review, their television series Not Only... But Also and various other projects before their later estrangement as Moore became a successful Hollywood film star and Cook remained in the UK.
Not Only But Always
2004
5.8June, 1815. Napoleon Bonaparte, surrounded by enemies, is about to play his definitive part in history. He has spent his whole life creating a mystique, becoming synonymous with determination, strength and mystery. But, that whole super-leader trip is smothering him and he just can't stand it anymore. Meanwhile, one of his aides, le maréchal Hugo Armani, has only one dream: to emulate the man who is his idol, his emperor. Armani picks the battle of Waterloo as the moment for his borderline psychotic attack - the first case of Napoleonic delirium in modern psychiatry. Due to the shortage of maréchals at the moment, Napoleon's got no choice: he has to leave Armani in command. Unbalanced Armani, so unexpectedly promoted, now leads the troops of France.
Sabotage!!
2000
8.8A documentary exploring Bill Douglas' struggle from childhood poverty to acclaimed filmmaker of Comrades and the Trilogy.
Bill Douglas: Intent on Getting the Image
2006
4.8The line between fantasy and reality blurs when an actress begins behaving like the 19th-century murderer she is playing.
Method
2004
1990s · 3 titles
4.1JC is the hero of the Cornish surfing community. Staring thirty hard in the face, he fears that the wave that has carried him through a prolonged adolescence is heading for the rocks as his girlfriend pressures him for commitment and his friends contemplate growing up.
Blue Juice
1995
4.6When new teacher Steve Drake joins the faculty at a school for special-needs students, his unorthodox instruction methods raise eyebrows. But attitudes begin to change when he makes a connection with a particularly unruly student.
Clockwork Mice
1995
A bright, pretty and determined young lady named Anna Lee quits the police department in search of adventure, and joins a small and somewhat stuffy detective agency, whose members don't look particularly kindly on her short skirts, somewhat cavalier attitude toward agency rules--like showing up for work on time--and her overall demeanor. However, the agency's owner takes a shine to her and assigns her to what seems to be a relatively straightforward case: finding a young girl who's gone missing and whose family is worried about her. As it turns out, the case involves quite a bit more than just a missing girl.
Anna Lee: Headcase
1993
1980s · 4 titles
7.4The Doctor and Adric learn from the wizened Keeper of Traken that a great evil has come to his planet in the form of a Melkur - a calcified statue. The Keeper of Traken is nearing the end of his reign and seeks the Doctor's help in preventing the evil from taking control of the bioelectronic source that is the keystone of the Traken Union's civilisation.
Doctor Who: The Keeper of Traken
1981
6.5The dramatic account of actress Patricia Neal's miraculous recovery from a near-fatal stroke in 1966 with the help of her then-husband, author Roald Dahl, and their close friend, veteran actress Mildred Dunnock.
The Patricia Neal Story
1981
6.9The story of "The Tolpuddle Martyrs". A group of 19th century English farm labourers who formed one of the first trade unions and started a campaign to receive fair wages.
Comrades
1987
5.4Cassies Stuart leads the uncooperative Charles Dance into a world of misplaces government secrets, capalistic artists and bungling secret agents. Will the truth be out, or will the attempts of agents suppress the truth hidden within government propaganda films, classified as top secret by complete mistake, be successful. Or is it the mysterious medical records that are the true catch of the spies.
Hidden City
1987
1970s · 2 titles
6.5At a Catholic boys' school, domineering disciplinarian Father Goddard rules over his pupils with an iron hand. When one of his teenage charges confesses to murder, the dogmatic but deeply repressed Goddard finds his faith challenged and his life spiralling dangerously out of control.
Absolution
1978
Set on a remote Russian steppe during the Russian Civil War of 1917-1921, a captured White Guard Officer is about to be hanged by the Bolsheviks. Will a reprieve arrive in time?
The Reprieve
1972
Undated · 2 titles
NRErvin, an ex con man, is released from prison to find his old pal Micky waiting for him. The 75 year olds seem to hit it off as they drive around town, with a few pit stops along the way, but the cracks in their friendship begin to show after 15 years of neglect.
Old Man, Con Man
—
NRA short film based on a true story about a blind Irish man who is reunited with the British soldier who shot him 50 years prior during the Irish troubles. After many years of contemplation and reflection, Kevin gets in touch with Maj. Roland Scott Thomas and the pair meet for the first time to discuss the harrowing events which altered both their lives forever.
Darkness and Light
—
Series credits
7.6The Doctor is a Time Lord: a 900 year old alien with 2 hearts, part of a gifted civilization who mastered time travel. The Doctor saves planets for a living—more of a hobby actually, and the Doctor's very, very good at it.
Doctor Who
2005
7.5The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.
Midsomer Murders
1997
7.9The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.
Doctor Who
1963
6.8The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.
The Bill
1984
7.8The adventures of Miss Jane Marple, an elderly spinster living in the quiet little village of St Mary Mead. During her many visits to friends and relatives in other villages, Miss Marple often stumbles upon mysterious murders which she helps solve. Although the police are sometimes reluctant to accept Miss Marple's help, her reputation and unparalleled powers of observation eventually win them over.
Agatha Christie's Marple
2004
7.2A detective team apply new techniques to old crimes as they solve cold cases.
Waking the Dead
2001
7.0Jim Bergerac is a detective sergeant in The Foreigners Office who likes to do things his own way. While dealing with his own personal demons Bergerac has a knack of finding trouble, and sometimes causing it.
Bergerac
1981
7.4The story of Queen Victoria, who came to the throne at a time of great economic turbulence and resurgent republicanism – and died 64 years later the head of the largest empire the world had ever seen, having revitalised the throne’s public image and become “grandmother of Europe”.
Victoria
2016
7.6Working from his home in a converted windmill, Jonathan Creek is a magician with a natural ability for solving puzzles. He soon puts this ability to the use of solving impossible crimes and mysterious murders.
Jonathan Creek
1997
7.4The adventures of the eponymous Lovejoy, a likeable but roguish antiques dealer based in East Anglia. Within the trade, he has a reputation as a “divvie”, a person with an almost supernatural powers for recognising exceptional items as well as distinguishing genuine antique from clever fakes or forgeries.
Lovejoy
1986
7.5Passionate defence barrister Martha Costello faces challenging cases and surprising clients, which test her faith in the criminal justice system. Gifted colleague Clive Reader is called to the bar with her. They work hard with pupils, Nick Slade and Niamh Cranitch, but ultimately only one can eventually be taken on as a member of chambers.
Silk
2011
6.7A recent widower and acclaimed poet, enigmatic Inspector Adam Dalgliesh employs his exceptional empathy and insight to plumb the darker depths of the human psyche while investigating complex crimes in 1970s England.
Dalgliesh
2021
7.4The Last Place on Earth is a 1985 Central Television seven part serial, written by Trevor Griffiths based on the book Scott and Amundsen by Roland Huntford. The book is an exploration of the expeditions of Captain Robert F. Scott and his Norwegian rival in polar exploration, Roald Amundsen in their attempts to reach the South Pole. The series ran for seven episodes and starred a wide range of UK and Norwegian character actors as well as featuring some famous names, such as Max von Sydow, Richard Wilson, Sylvester McCoy and Pat Roach. It also featured performances early in their careers by Bill Nighy and Hugh Grant. Subsequently Huntford's book was republished under the same name. The book put forth the point of view that Amundsen's success in reaching the South Pole was abetted by much superior planning, whereas errors by Scott ultimately resulted in the death of him and his companions.
The Last Place on Earth
1985
6.6So Haunt Me is a British television sitcom about a family that moves into a home occupied by the ghost of its previous resident, a middle-aged Jewish mother. The show was produced by Cinema Verity for the BBC and originally aired from 1992 to 1994. Peter Rokeby loses his job as advertising copywriter, and resolves to become a freelance writer. Owing to this change in circumstances, he and his wife Sally move with their children into a more modest home in Meadow Road, Willesden. The family soon finds that the ghost of a previous owner, Yetta Feldman, still occupies the residence, and has been scaring occupants away for years. Yetta is a stereotypical interfering, middle-aged Jewish mother who died suddenly after choking on a chicken bone. While Sally can both see and speak to their ghost, Peter — much to his frustration — initially cannot. The family agrees to help Yetta find her grown-up daughter Carole. So Haunt Me aired on BBC1 as 18 half-hour episodes in three series and one special from 1992 to 1994. The show was created by Paul Mendelson. The Rokeby children David and Tammy were played by Jeremy Green and Laura Howard respectively. Neighbour Mr Bloom was played by David Graham.
So Haunt Me
1992
7.0Dickens is a 2002 three-part docudrama presented by Peter Ackroyd, on whose biography of Dickens it was based. An unorthodox style is taken: actors play various individuals in Dickens' life (as well as Dickens himself), interviewed as if appearing in a contemporary documentary. Their words are from actual letters and journals of the individuals involved, and serve to illuminate the hardships and successes in Dickens' life, and the way his experiences found their way into his works.
Dickens
2002
9.0Christopher, a middle-aged man who is obsessed with repairing old radios, marries the Russian bride Natasha. She comes to live with him and his mother Dora in his London house. Dora instigated the marriage in order to have someone look after her son when she dies. Natasha is bored as Christopher takes no sexual interest in her, and she is treated as a servant. Eddie, an out-of-work actor, stirs up the household when he befriends Christopher and Dora, in order to seduce Natasha.
The Russian Bride
2001
Eric, the owner of a night-club in Nottingham, is obsessed by the film Casablanca (1942) and dreams of being Rick Blaine.
Tales of Sherwood Forest
1989
