Robert Addie

In a career curtailed by his early death, Robert Addie used his athleticism and his skill at horsemanship in a number of adventure roles. Born in London, Addie was the son of a stable owner. He was an avid polo player who left school at the age of 16 to join the National Youth Theatre. He landed a small part in the 1978 film "Absolution" with Richard Burton but found his breakthrough in John Boorman's stylish 1981 re-telling of the King Arthur legend, "Excalibur." Playing Arthur's cursed son, Mordred, Addie was cast in part because of his resemblance to Boorman's son, who was already cast to play Mordred as a boy. He appeared with Colin Firth and Rupert Everett in the 1984 drama "Another Country" and, in the same year, returned to the medieval era with the British TV show "Robin Hood," where he played the villainous Sir Guy of Gisburne. Addie dropped out of acting for nearly five years in 1989, finally returning to the stage and small roles in British television. He died of lung cancer just three weeks after receiving the diagnosis in 2003.