Sir Robert's career fell into two distinct parts. In the 60's, he was widely regarded as the heir of Laurence Olivier. But, after his departure from Britain's National Theater in 1970 and the breakup of his marriage with Maggie Smith three years later, he suffered a slump made worse by heavy drinking. In the 90's, the Royal Shakespeare Company invited him to play first Falstaff in "Henry IV" and then Lear in "King Lear", and this re-established Stephens's career. He was knighted early in 1995.


Father of actors Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1993 (1992 season) for Best Actor for his performance as Falstaff in "Henry IV, parts I & II" at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Appeared with his then-wife Maggie Smith in Much Ado About Nothing (1967) (TV), which was at least the second film based on a Shakespeare play featuring a real-life husband and wife that was later remade with another real-life husband and wife. The Taming of the Shrew (1929) starred then-husband-and-wife Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, and was remade in 1967 with then-husband-and-wife Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. The Taming of the Shrew (1967) was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, who also directed the stage "Much Ado" with Stephens and Smith which was adapted for television in the same year, with only one recorded change from the stage cast. The 1993 remake of "Much Ado" starred Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson. Stephens worked jointly with Banagh and Thompson in _Fortunes of War (1988)(mini)_ and Henry V (1989), while Smith worked with them both separately in the Harry Potter films. Stepfather of Quinn Hawkins.