BORN : 2nd December 1956
HEIGHT : 6ft 1
BORN : Originally from Neath, South Wales. Bob is also half Belgian.
LIVES : Bristol
RELATIONSHIPS : Currently in a relationship with actress Katherine Rogers (who appeared in Casualty S14 E3). Previously married to Dutch born, documentary producer Ellis Van Maarseeven, met while making 1987 film “Escape from Sobibor” where the two played lovers. He pursued her, following her to Holland before they settled in England.
CHILDREN : Son – Sam, and daughter – Romy, with Ellis.
STUDIED : East 15 School of Drama, Wycliffe College, Gloucester
NICKNAME : Friends and family had nicknamed him ‘Dr Death’, due to the number of patients who seemed to die in Max’s care.
ON CHARACTER MAX : ‘ Max is an all round good guy, and his heart is definitely in the right place, although professionally he’s sorted out, his private life isn’t.’
SIMILARITIES BETWEEN HIMSELF AND MAX : ‘We are both fairly easy going and – I know some friends might dispute it – I’m quite people-friendly at work. But Max is a lot more responsible – and a lot cleverer!’
ON MAX’S BEST AND WORST TRAITS : ‘He’s really good at his job – and no good at his personal life. He does have a good dry sense of humour and, for a consultant, he’s really not arrogant.’
ON MAX’S OBSESSION WITH JELLY BEANS : ‘It’s kind of a quirky Kojak-lollypop thing, the problem is that I don’t have a sweet tooth. But I have become rather addicted to the pina colada flavour.’
ON WORKING ON CASUALTY : ‘It is fun. We’ve got new people coming in all the time and quite a few of them turn out to be friends you haven’t seen for a long time, because this is quite a small world. Bristol is a nice place to be, and because we’re away from home we do play around’.
ON LEARNING MEDICAL TERMS : ‘I used to get stage fright before going in through those resus doors, sometimes you have to know two pages of dialogue and do lots of business with your hands and it’s tough to start with.’
ON SEX SYMBOL STATUS : ‘I’ll believe it when it happens, I’m not sure I’m so much a smoothie type as Clive and Nigel were, and I’m no George Clooney, so we’ll have to wait and see!’
ON OBSERVING REAL-LIFE A&E : ‘When you actually see people on a hospital trolley, the reality of it does come home. It was also sobering to see how much damage is self inflicted; drink, drugs and motorbikes.’
HOW HIS MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE HELPED HIM : His knowledge came in handy when his daughter Romy complained of meningitis symptoms, ‘Suddenly I found myself in the A&E department of St Mary’s in Paddington, London, explaining all the symptoms – they were incredible. There was a two hour queue but we were dealt with in moments. Thankfully it was only acute tonsillitis.’
COULD HE BE A DOCTOR IN REAL-LIFE? : ‘No, I’d have to work hard and be really responsible. I’d also have to be really clever, I have a lot of respect for them, but no way.’
ON BEING SQUEAMISH : ‘I used to be before I started Casualty, I could never watch real operations on TV. But now I see them throwing the fake blood over the patients, so I don’t get squeamish when I’m doing it.’
HEALTH ADVICE HE IGNORES : ‘I drink, I eat quite a lot of the wrong food and don’t drink enough water or eat enough fruit. I’m a typical bloke, I like my steak and chips, when it’s there.’
HOW HE KEEPS IN SHAPE : ‘If only I did! I play the occasional game of golf and hope that wearing baggy shirts hides the rest!’
HOW HE RELAXES : ‘I go out quite a lot while I’m down in Bristol, but the young ones leave me behind these days. I play poker if I can get enough people to play – or Who Wants to be a Millionaire, at home with my children.’
FAVE MEDIC : ‘Dr Kildare, because he is so smooth and professional and everyone admires him.’
TO WHICH COLLEAGUE WOULD MAX GIVE THE KISS OF LIFE TO : ‘I think he’d tackle any of the ladies. But he would give a very firm no to Spiller, Dillon and Josh – definitely!’
FAVE FOOD : Thai food, lamb shank
MUSIC LIKES : Pop music and reggae.
HATES : Petty authoritanism and mini-Hitlers.
PREVIOUS CASUALTY APPEARANCE : Bob has appeared in CASUALTY before his role as Max; in S5 E11 he played Howard Collier, who’s mother is ill – he shockingly asks Dr. Julian to let her die. [More Info]
TELEVISION CREDITS : South of the Border; The Zero Option; Ballroom; Evil; The Brothers Karamazov; Operation Julie; Flying Lady; The Professionals; Much Ado About Nothing; The Devil’s Crown; Unexplained Laughter; Casualty; The Paradise Club; Lovejoy; MacGyver; The Bill; Soldier Soldier; Omnibus – Hildegard; Chef; Searching; The Keep; Figure of Eight; Crocodile Shoes; Tiger Bay; Taggart; Justice in Wonderland (narrator); Ultimate Force; Panorama; Darn O Dir; The Bill; Doctors; Ashes to Ashes
FILM CREDITS : Sakharov; Escape from Sobibor; On the Black Hill; Mussolini; Forever.
THEATRE CREDITS : The Mai; Hamlet; Julius Caesar; Wintershall Passion Play; Dancing at Lughnasa; Barnaby and the Old Boys; Much Ado About Nothing; Ivanov; Entertaining Mr Sloane; Under Milkwood; Sergeant Musgrave’s Dance; Behind Heaven; The Way of the World; The White Devil; The Seagull; Hamlet; Heartbreak Hotel; Anne Karenina; Arsenic and Old Race; A Waste of Time; Marriage a la Mode; Massacre at Paris; Lady Windermere’s Fan; Don Juan; The Battlefield; The Seagull; Painters Palace of Pleasure; The Suicide; Pericles; Baal; Cymbeline; Antigone; A View from the Bridge; Framed; Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp; Not About Heroes; Macbeth (Bristol Old Vic); The Frontline; Testing the Echo; Macbeth (Manchester Royal Exchange); Knives in Hens; SUS; My Zinc Bed; Love the Sinner
OTHER: Bob co-directed 2006 play ‘Macbeth’, which he also starred in. It was performed at the Bristol Old Vic in the studio and was a modern adaptation bringing together film and stage action. Bob’s directing company, Splice, are currently working on another venture that he will also direct and star in.
BOOKS : Appears in ‘CASUALTY : Behind the Scenes’ by Rachel Silver and ‘SOLDIER SOLDIER : The official Guide’ by Geoff Tibballs
AGENT : Diamond Management, 31 Percy St, London, W1T 2DD
DID YOU KNOW?
* Bob is keen to get involved in film work.
* For his role in ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’, he was given a month to learn to dance before the show.
LINKS
