John Forbes-Robertson

Who was John Forbes-Robertson?

John Forbes-Robertson was a British actor best known for being the only actor other than Christopher Lee to play the title role in the Hammer horror series of Dracula films.

He was born in Worthing, Sussex. He is not the son of actor-manager Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson as erroneously stated in the press at the time of his 2008 death. He is related to Sir Johnston, being the grandson of one of Sir Johnston's brothers. He began his acting career on the stage starting at the Intimate Theatre before pursuing a film and TV career, usually in minor roles, in the 1960s. As well as playing Dracula in Hammer's The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires, he made a number of horror films, including The Vampire Lovers and The Vault of Horror. On TV, he played Leonard Rossiter's love rival in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.

His last film was a documentary, The Legend of Hammer: Vampires, directed by Don Fearney.