Richard David Briers, CBE was an English actor. His fifty-year career encompassed television, stage, film and radio.
Briers first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines (1961–66), but it was a decade later, when he narrated Roobarb and Noah and Nelly in... SkylArk (1974–76) and when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life (1975–78), that he became a household name. Later, he starred as Martin in Ever Decreasing Circles (1984–89), and he had a leading role as Hector in Monarch of the Glen (2000–05). From the late 1980s, with Kenneth Branagh as director, he performed Shakespearean roles in Henry V (1989), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Hamlet (1996), and As You Like It (2006).
Known For
Peter Pan
(2003)
Smee
The Three Musketeers
(1973)
Louis XIII (voice)
Watership Down
(1978)
Fiver (voice)
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
(1994)
Grandfather
Henry V
(1989)
Lieutenant Bardolph
Cockneys vs Zombies
(2012)
Hamish
Peter's Friends
(1992)
Lord Morton
Hamlet
(1996)
Polonius
The Four Musketeers
(1974)
Louis XIII (voice) (uncredited)
Much Ado About Nothing
(1993)
Signor Leonato
Murder She Said
(1961)
'Mrs Binster'
As You Like It
(2006)
Adam
Spice World
(1997)
Bishop
Unconditional Love
(2002)
Barry Moore
Fathom
(1967)
Flight Lt. Timothy Webb
Run For Your Wife
(2012)
Newspaper Seller
Full Filmography
Acting
Girls at Sea
(1958)
'Popeye' Lewis
Bottoms Up!
(1960)
Colbourne
A Matter of WHO
(1961)
Jamieson
Murder She Said
(1961)
'Mrs Binster'
The Girl on the Boat
(1962)
Eustace Hignett
Doctor in Distress
(1963)
Medical Student (uncredited)
All in Good Time
(1964)
The Young Husband
A Home of Your Own
(1964)
The Husband
The Bargee
(1964)
Tomkins
Fathom
(1967)
Flight Lt. Timothy Webb
All the Way Up
(1970)
Nigel Hadfield
Rentadick
(1972)
Miles Gannet
The Three Musketeers
(1973)
Louis XIII (voice)
The Four Musketeers
(1974)
Louis XIII (voice) (uncredited)
Great
(1975)
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
A Small Miracle
(1976)
Himself - Commentator
Our Flesh and Blood
(1977)
Mr. Smythe
Watership Down
(1978)
Fiver (voice)
Village Wooing
(1979)
A
P.Q. 17
(1981)
Jack Broome
It's Your Move
(1982)
The Husband
Arms and the Man
(1983)
Bluntschli
The Aerodrome
(1983)
The Rector
Doctor Who: Paradise Towers
(1987)
The Chief Caretaker
Twelfth Night, or What You Will
(1988)
Malvolio
A Chorus of Disapproval
(1989)
Ted Washbrook
Henry V
(1989)
Lieutenant Bardolph
Swan Song
(1992)
Nikita
Peter's Friends
(1992)
Lord Morton
Much Ado About Nothing
(1993)
Signor Leonato
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
(1994)
Grandfather
Mole's Christmas
(1994)
Rat
Skallagrigg
(1994)
Old Arthur/George
In the Bleak Midwinter
(1995)
Henry
Heavy Weather
(1995)
The Hon. Galahad Threepwood
The Adventures of Mole
(1995)
Rat
Hamlet
(1996)
Polonius
The Adventures of Toad
(1996)
Rat
Spice World
(1997)
Bishop
The Student Prince
(1998)
Dr. Corbitt
Love's Labour's Lost
(2000)
Sir Nathaniel
Unconditional Love
(2002)
Barry Moore
Peter Pan
(2003)
Smee
The Funny Blokes of British Comedy
(2005)
Himself
Our Hidden Lives
(2005)
Herbert Brush
Dad
(2005)
Larry James
As You Like It
(2006)
Adam
Peter Kay's Animated All Star Band: The Official BBC Children in Need Medley
(2009)
Roobarb/Custard (voice)
National Theatre Live: London Assurance
(2010)
Mr. Adolphus Spanker
All About The Good Life
(2010)
Cockneys vs Zombies
(2012)
Hamish
Run For Your Wife
(2012)
Newspaper Seller
Mouse and Mole at Christmas Time
(2013)
Mouse (voice)
British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves
(2016)
Acting Role (archive footage) (uncredited)
Roobarb and Custard: The Complete Collection
(2017)
Narrator, Roobarb, Custard and the other lot of characters.
The Good Life: Secret & Scandals
(2022)
Archive Footage