Guard's on-screen debut came aged 12 as the young David Copperfield in BBC television's
1966 serial adaptation of the
Charles Dickens novel. Producer Campbell Logan and Director Joan Craft had failed to find a suitable young actor from a drama academy and started to enquire about children of actors. Guard said: "I never went to any kind of stage school... I went up once, twice, and three times [to Threshold House for auditions] – third time it was just me and one other boy and they chose me. The next thing I knew, there were four big, fat BBC scripts on the doormat and I was learning the lines and rehearsing in an old church hall and working with amazing people like
Joss Ackland." Only one episode to feature Guard (episode 3, "A Long Journey") is known to exist. Further television work followed, including an episode of
Dixon of Dock Green and in 1967 he landed the role of young Pip in another BBC Dickens serial,
Great Expectations, directed by
Alan Bridges, who also directed Guard in a
Play For Today called "Joe's Ark" written by
Dennis Potter. In 1974, Guard became a member of the
National Theatre at the age of 20. Further roles in high-profile BBC TV productions followed, including Marcellus in
I, Claudius (1976) and Marius in
Les Misérables (1978). In 1978, Guard and his brother, Dominic both voiced characters in an animated film version of
The Lord of the Rings (1978). Chris voiced Frodo Baggins and Dominic voiced Pippin. The late seventies and early eighties were a busy time for Guard with appearances in
Shoestring,
The Professionals and leading roles in period costume dramas such as
My Cousin Rachel (1983) by
Daphne du Maurier and
A Woman of Substance (1985) written by Barbara Taylor Bradford, Guard worked alongside
Jenny Seagrove,
Deborah Kerr and
Liam Neeson. The actor's next project was with
Brian Blessed, playing the lead character of Jim Hawkins in
Return to Treasure Island (1986). The 10-part miniseries was filmed in Wales, Spain and Jamaica and directed by
Piers Haggard and Alex Kirby. It is a sequel to the Robert Louis Stevenson classic and again features Long John Silver. Guard entered the world of science fiction for the role of Bellboy in the
Doctor Who serial
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (1988). His character builds and repairs robotic clowns at the Psychic Circus. Guard considered Bellboy a victim: "All these things were happening to him. Although he has had power, the power is all kind of taken away from him. Ultimately, he turns his own creations, in a Frankenstein way, upon himself". The episodes were filmed in Dorset and at the
BBC Elstree Centre using the car park to house the large circus top. Summing up the experience on location, Guard said "There was a vibe about the whole shoot. It was very hot out there...but it just felt good." From September 1993, Guard played the role of Clinical Nurse Specialist Ken Hodges in long-running BBC drama,
Casualty. The nurse left Holby after admitting he loved established character,
Charlie Fairhead. Guard said about the character: "He's someone whose life is outside my experience, but we're not making any great statement by including a man who happens to be gay". ==Music==