Terence Hardiman
Terence Hardiman (born
6th April,
1937 in
London) is a British
actor, sometimes credited as Terrence Hardiman. He is best known for playing
The Demon Headmaster in the children's television series of the same name, and also for Reinhardt in the popular drama series,
Secret Army.
Hardiman has a very upright posture and a commanding presence, and is therefore often seen playing authority figures. He has played
Nazis (
Secret Army and
Colditz) and British officers (
When the Boat Comes In), police inspectors (
Juliet Bravo and
Softly, Softly), doctors (
Home To Roost,
The Royal), barristers (
Crown Court and
The Brittas Empire), judges (in
The Bill) and
The Courtroom), an abbot (in
Cadfael), and of course a headmaster. He also played Prime Minister
Ramsay MacDonald in
Richard Attenborough's
Gandhi.
Major Reinhardt, (Hardiman's role in Secret Army) was the (fictional) head of the
Luftwaffe (German Air force) and as such often provided a foil to
Clifford Rose's more brutal Chief, Kessler. As with many of the characters in Secret Army, Reinhardt was not a one-dimensional baddie, but a rounded character who often questioned his own motives and methods. The actor's sensitive portrayal allowed the viewer to sympathise with this character. In 1990 he played a more 2-dimensional German officer, General Stuckler, in the final series of LWT's
Wish Me Luck.
The Demon Headmaster was a children's television drama series which proved popular with adults as well, and which ran to three series from
1996 to
1998. Hardiman played a truly villainous headmaster in pantomime style, complete with glowing eyes.
He also had a starring role as
Pooter in the
1979 television adaptation of
George and Weedon Grossmith's
Diary of a Nobody, a role which shows his versatility more than the succession of officers he usually portrays.
Hardiman's other recurring role was as
Brother Cadfael's boss, Abbot Radulfus, in the television series. Joining him throughout the series as Prior Robert was Michael Culver, who had played his predecessor Major Brandt in
Secret Army.
A notable small role Hardiman played was a version of the Sergeant Wilson character from
Dad's Army in an episode of
Goodnight Sweetheart (
Don't Get Around Much Any More), the time travel comedy in which
Nicholas Lyndhurst's character Gary Sparrow goes back in time to a
1940s bank and encounters characters called Mainwaring and WiIlson. Hardiman's portrayal was a keenly observed impersonation of
John Le Mesurier's own performance, incorporating many of the tics and mannerisms of the original.
