Robert Powell

Robert Powell (born 1 June 1944) is an English television and film actor, best known for the title role in Jesus of Nazareth (1977) and as the fictional secret agent Richard Hannay. His distinctive voice has become well known in advertisements and documentaries. He is also known for his role as Mark Williams in BBC One medical drama, Holby City, and in the sitcom The Detectives alongside Jasper Carrott. Powell was born in Salford, Lancashire the son of Kathleen (née Davis) and John Wilson Powell. Powell was educated at Manchester Grammar School, an independent school for boys in the city of Manchester in North West England, and later at the University of Salford. One of his classmates was Ben Kingsley, another famous actor, from nearby Pendlebury also in Salford. Powell took up acting while an undergraduate. He had aspired to become a lawyer and in 1963-4 attended an external London University LLB degree Course at the Manchester College of Commerce but at the same time quietly took acting roles under Trevor Nunn. At the College of Commerce he swapped roles with Bernard Brandon in a week long College Revue of Comedy Sketches to see which role gave him "the best laughs".

Actor