Hardwicke played at the
Bristol Old Vic, the
Oxford Playhouse and the
Nottingham Playhouse before in 1964 joining
Laurence Olivier's
National Theatre. He performed regularly there for seven years. He appeared with Olivier in
William Shakespeare's
Othello and
Ibsen's
The Master Builder. He also appeared in
Peter Shaffer's
The Royal Hunt of the Sun (with
Robert Stephens), ''
Charley's Aunt'',
Tom Stoppard's
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,
Congreve's
The Way of the World,
Georges Feydeau's
A Flea in Her Ear (directed by
Jacques Charon of the
Comédie Française),
The Crucible,
Luigi Pirandello's
The Rules of the Game,
Fyodor Dostoevsky's
The Idiot and
George Bernard Shaw's ''
Mrs. Warren's Profession''. He returned to the National in 1977 for a production of Feydeau's ''The Lady from Maxim's''. Hardwicke played
Judas Iscariot in the
Dennis Potter TV play
Son of Man (1969). He became familiar to television audiences in the 1970s drama series
Colditz, in which he played Pat Grant, a character based on the real-life war hero
Pat Reid. somewhat intolerant of Holmes's more outlandish moods, and became permanently associated with it, also playing it on the
West End stage with Brett in
The Secret of Sherlock Holmes in 1989. That same year, he also directed
Going On by
Charles Dennis at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. His other television appearances were numerous, and included:
Holocaust (1978),
Oppenheimer (1980),
Strangers and Brothers (1984),
Lovejoy (1992),
Dangerfield (1996),
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1997),
Heartbeat (1999),
David Copperfield (2000),
The Goodbye Plane (2003), ''
Agatha Christie's Poirot (2004), Fanny Hill (2007), Holby City, Shameless (2010) as a World War II veteran, and Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' (1978).
Filmography •
A Guy Named Joe (1943) as George - English Boy (film debut, uncredited) •
Hell Below Zero (1954) as Ulvik •
The Men of Sherwood Forest (1954) as Outlaw (uncredited) •
Othello (1965) as
Montano •
A Flea in Her Ear (1968) as Pierre Chandebisse, Victor's Nephew •
Journey into Darkness (1968, TV) as Frank Yarrow •
Otley (1968) as Lambert •
The Reckoning (1970) as Mitchell •
The Day of the Jackal (1973) as Charles Calthrop (uncredited) •
The Black Windmill (1974) as Mike McCarthy •
Full Circle (1977) as Captain Paul Winter •
The Odd Job (1978) as Inspector Black •
Venom (1981) as Lord Dunning •
Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985) as Pierre Dubois •
Titus Andronicus (1985, TV) as
Marcus •
Let Him Have It (1991) as Approved School Principal •
Shadowlands (1993) as
Warnie Lewis •
Richard III (1995) as
Lord Thomas Stanley •
The Scarlet Letter (1995) as Gov. John Bellingham •
Hollow Reed (1996) as High Court Judge •
Elizabeth (1998) as
Earl of Arundel •
Parting Shots (1999) as Dr Joseph •
Mary, Mother of Jesus (1999) as
Zachariah •
David Copperfield (2000) as Mr Wickfield •
Enigma (2001) as
Oliver Heaviside •
The Gathering Storm (2002) as Mr Wood •
The Goodbye Plane (2003) as Leonard •
Love Actually (2003) as Sam's Grandfather •
The Hollow (2004 TV Agatha Christie's Poirot) as Sir Henry Angkatell •
Oliver Twist (2005) as
Mr. Brownlow (final film) Hardwicke also provided narration for several films. He voiced Major Swift in the
Xbox 360 game
Fable III. ==Personal life==