Robert Arthur Knox (21 August 1989 – 24 May 2008) was an English actor who portrayed the character of Marcus Belby in the film ''

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the sixth and penultimate novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. Set during Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, the novel explores t ...

'', and had signed to appear in the film '' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows''. Having studied at

Beths Grammar School Beths Grammar School, commonly known as Beths, is an all-boys grammar school with academy status in Bexley in south-east London. Pupils are admitted from the age of 11, with girls joining the sixth form in Year 12. It became a grammar school in ...

Bexley Bexley is an area of south-eastern Greater London, England and part of the London Borough of Bexley. It is sometimes known as Bexley Village or Old Bexley to differentiate the area from the wider borough. It is located east-southeast of Ch ...

, Knox began acting aged 11, gaining small roles in British television shows like ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused o ...

'', '' After You've Gone'' and ''Trust Me, I'm a Teenager''. His first cinematic appearance was as an extra in '' King Arthur'' (2004). Knox died after being stabbed outside a bar in

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of Bromley and Greenwich. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the ...

, Southeast London, in May 2008, when he intervened in a fight to protect his brother. His murder attracted widespread attention in the British press, and his assailant, Karl Norman Bishop, was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum 20-year non-parole period. An annual film festival, the , was created in 2008 to commemorate him, by the Rob Knox Foundation which helps fund training for young local people in the arts.

Early life and career

Knox was born to Colin and Sally Knox in 1989. He was a pupil at

. He had been acting since the age of 11, and his first credited role was a small part in an episode of the ITV police drama ''

'' and he also appeared in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

reality show ''Trust Me, I'm a Teenager'', and the BBC comedy '' After You've Gone''. He had previously appeared as an extra in a number of productions. The first film Knox appeared in was '' King Arthur'' in 2004. He also appeared on ''

Tonight with Trevor McDonald ''Tonight'' (often referred to as ''The Tonight Programme'') is a British current affairs programme, produced by ITV Studios (formerly Granada Television) and ITN for the ITV network, replacing the long-running investigative series ''World ...

''.

Harry Potter

In 2007, casting began for the role of Marcus Belby in ''

'', the film adaptation of British author J. K. Rowling's best-selling novel and the sixth installment of the ''Harry Potter'' film series. Knox posthumously appeared in ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' (2009). Although his character does not appear in the seventh novel, Knox had signed on to reprise his role as Marcus Belby in the final installment of the ''Harry Potter'' film series, ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows''. The film was divided into two parts for financial and scripting reasons; Part 1 was released in November 2010, with the second part in July 2011.

Death

Murder

Knox died at the age of 18 after he was stabbed outside the Metro Bar in

, Southeast London, on 24 May 2008. He had intervened in a fight to protect his 17-year-old brother Jamie, who was being threatened by a man armed with two kitchen knives.

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

released a statement concerning his death: "We are all shocked and saddened by this news and at this time our sympathies are with his family".

Arrest and trial of Karl Bishop

Karl Norman Bishop (born 1987 in

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one of ...

, Southeast London), from Carlton Road, Sidcup, was charged with the murder. He was taken into custody, and remained there until his trial, which began in February 2009. Bishop was found guilty of murder on 4 March 2009, and received a

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...

with a minimum of 20 years before being considered for parole. Police reported that he showed no remorse for the crime and claimed he was being attacked because he was black.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Robert Knox Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, Rob 1989 births 2008 crimes in the United Kingdom 2008 deaths 2008 in London Deaths by stabbing in London English male film actors English murder victims People from Medway People from Sidcup People murdered in London People educated at Beths Grammar School Male actors from Kent 21st-century English male actors English male child actors