Christopher Guard (born 5 December 1953) is an English actor, musician and artist. He is known for roles such as Jim Hawkins in '' Return to Treasure Island'' (1986), Bellboy in ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' serial '' The Greatest Show in the Galaxy'' (1988), Marcellus in '' I, Claudius'' (1976), Marius in ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' (1978), Ken Hodges in the medical drama ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' (1993), and voicing

Frodo Baggins Frodo Baggins ( Westron: ''Maura Labingi'') is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings and one of the protagonists in ''The Lord of the Rings''. Frodo is a hobbit of the Shire who inherits the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Bag ...

in ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'' (1978). Guard has appeared in '' Memoirs of a Survivor'' (1981) and '' A Woman of Substance'' (1985). His first role on television was the young David Copperfield in the BBC's 1966 TV serial adaptation, followed by Pip in ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by English author Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. The novel is a bildungsroman and depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens' second novel, after ''Dav ...

'' (1967). A long list of credits include appearances in ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' is a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 1955 ...

'', ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...

'', '' Secret Army'', '' Shoestring'', '' The Professionals'', ''

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery fiction, mystery series, based on the Lovejoy (novel series), novels by John Grant (Lovejoy), John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six ser ...

'', '' Bugs'', '' Poirot'', ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' and ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

''. He has played roles in two works by Dennis Potter: '' Play For Today: Joe's Ark'' (1974) and '' Blackeyes'' (1989). He demonstrated his singing ability in the film version of Stephen Sondheim's '' A Little Night Music'' (1977) in the role of Henrik Egerman alongside

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

. He played Ferdinand in the BBC Shakespeare production of ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'' (opposite his cousin Pippa as Miranda) in 1980. In recent years, Guard has worked on expanding his musical career and developing his artwork for private sale online.

Early life

Guard was born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and educated at

Latymer Upper School Latymer Upper School is a public school in Hammersmith, London, England, on King Street. It derives from a charity school, and is part of the same 1624 Latymer Foundation, from a bequest by the English legal official Edward Latymer. There ...

Career

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 o 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 Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland (29 February 1928 – 19 November 2023) was an English actor who appeared in more than 130 film, radio and television roles. He was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for portraying ...

." Only one episode to feature Guard (episode 3, "A Long Journey") is known to exist. Further television work followed, including an episode of ''

'' and in 1967 he landed the role of young Pip in another BBC Dickens serial, ''

'', 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 ''

'' (1978). In 1978, Guard and his brother, Dominic both voiced characters in an animated film version of ''

'' (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 Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Gerald du Maurier, Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her gra ...

and '' A Woman of Substance'' (1985) written by Barbara Taylor Bradford, Guard worked alongside

Jenny Seagrove Jennifer Ann Seagrove (born 4 July 1957) is an English actress. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and first came to attention playing the lead in a television dramatisation of Barbara Taylor Bradford's '' A Woman of Substance'' ...

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a Scottish actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first person from Scotland to be no ...

and

Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Liam Neeson, several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, BAFT ...

. The actor's next project was with

Brian Blessed Brian Blessed ( ; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor. He is known for his distinctive bushy beard, booming voice, and exuberant personality and performances. He portrayed PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars''; Augustus in the 1976 BBC television ...

, 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 ''

'' 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, ''

''. 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

As a musician and songwriter Guard has written award-winning songs and his bands Leapfrogtown and What the Fox have played festivals supporting Toploader and venues such as The Troubadour and Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club. His song 'Attention Deficit Girl' won the Guild of International Songwriters Rock Award in 2004. In 2001, Christopher composed a song to celebrate the promotion of

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

to the Premier Division. The song, entitled 'Here to Stay' by his band Lucky Revolution, features lead vocals by his daughter Daisy and backing vocals by his daughter Rosie and partner, Cathy Shipton. His songs have featured on radio, television and film. This included collaborating on Candy Guard's animated series, Pond Life for Channel 4 (1996 and 2000) and recently contributions to the soundtrack for the film 'Mercy' (2020), directed and written by Wendy Morgan.

Indians in Moscow

In 1991, Stuart Walton and Pete Riches reformed the band, Indians in Moscow and recruited Guard as lead singer. Together they released an initial single, 'Wrong Love' (1991) and then recorded an album, 'Ten Days to Live' (1994) on Nemesis Records. Walton and Guard continued to work together as part of The Bloogs up until 2012 and then as Leapfrogtown.

Art

Alongside his work in film and music Chris is an established artist. His work is inspired by nature and 'our strange and paradoxical relationship with it'. His clients include British and American actors and musicians.

Family

Guard has two daughters from his marriage with Lesley Dunlop and one daughter with actress Cathy Shipton.Barber, Richard (13 July 2005)
I'd rather be single than go out with a loser; TV'S LESLEY DUNLOP ON FINDING LOVE AFTER 40
''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

'', Retrieved 28 November 2012 Christopher ran the London Marathon in 1995 in aid of the 'Save the Cottage Campaign' and in total he has run five marathons and many half-marathons supporting Leukemia Research and the British Heart Foundation and other charities. He has been a vegetarian since childhood. (08/11/2020) Interview
with Chelmsford Community Radio 104.4FM. Retrieved on 28/02/2021

Selected filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

External links

Personal website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guard, Christopher Living people 1953 births English male film actors English male soap opera actors English male voice actors People educated at Latymer Upper School Male actors from London People from Hammersmith Actors from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham