Acting Fraser's first big break came after portraying
Anthony Eden in the 1978 television series
Edward & Mrs. Simpson, with
Edward Fox, after which he was frequently cast as upper class or aristocratic characters, such as Mr Talmann in
Peter Greenaway's ''
The Draughtsman's Contract''. He has regularly appeared on film and television and is best known for his portrayals of
Captain Hastings in ''
Agatha Christie's Poirot, opposite David Suchet, and of the Duke of Wellington (replacing David Troughton) in Sharpe'' opposite
Sean Bean. In the 1980s, he appeared in the
BBC thriller Edge of Darkness. Fraser can be frequently heard narrating the audiobooks of Christie's works, which are currently published by
HarperCollins. His film credits include
Curse of the Pink Panther,
101 Dalmatians and
Patriot Games along with his
Sharpe co-star
Sean Bean. He has also worked in theatre, playing Claudio in
Much Ado About Nothing with the
Royal Shakespeare Company in 1979. He has guest-starred in the
Doctor Who audio dramas
Circular Time (2007) and
Cradle of the Snake (2010), and in 2003, alongside Martin Shaw in
Death in Holy Orders. Fraser guest starred in a Season 2 episode of the British audio comedy podcast
Wooden Overcoats, for which his wife,
Belinda Lang, was the narrator.
Directing Fraser has been an associate tutor, director, and member of the audition panel at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, specialising in
Shakespeare. He has also directed several plays, including a production of
David Mamet's adaptation of
Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, which was staged at
Wilton's Music Hall in London in January 2007, with
Rachael Stirling as Yelena and the first London production in nearly a century of
Kate O'Brien’s play
Distinguished Villa at the
Finborough Theatre in 2022.
Writing Fraser is the author of a series of crime fiction thrillers featuring contract killer Rina Walker. His first novel,
Harm, was published in 2015, followed by
Threat in 2016. The third in the Rina Walker series,
Malice, came out in October 2017 and
Stealth, in 2018. During his appearance on
Pointless Celebrities (30 Jan 2021), flute player Hugh explained that he composed the theme melody for the children's programme
Rainbow along with other songs for the show and theme tunes for other (unmentioned) TV series. ==Personal life==