The 86-year-old actor best known for portraying the title role in The Demon Headmaster has passed away.
His agent announced the news with “great sadness” and referred to him as a “beloved client and well-respected stage and screen actor.”
A generation of children were terrified by Hardiman’s performance in the CBBC series, which aired from 1996 to 1998.
When the series was resurrected in 2019, he reprised the part for a cameo.
Based on the same-titled children’s novels by Gillian Cross, Hardiman’s main character in The Demon Headmaster cut a frightening figure.
He concealed his ominous, piercing green eyes behind dark spectacles, only removing them to hypnotize his victims by saying, “Look into my eyes.”
“Horrible persona”
In an interview with the Radio Times around the time of his 2019 comeback, Hardiman recalled his initial reaction to being cast in the role.
“I thought, ‘What an awful person! How charming. A truly villainous character. “Why not?
He continued by stating he had “no idea” the series would become so popular with children and adults.
I began to be recognized on the street, particularly because I resided near schools in north-west London,” he explained. “Young people were staring at me, shouting at me, and making fun of me, which is a very healthy reaction.
“It stopped me from being too grand!”
Born in East London in 1937, Hardiman studied English at Cambridge University, where he caught the acting bug.
In the university’s amateur dramatic society, he performed alongside future stars such as Derek Jacobi.
Hardiman, a cinema legend, played Mephistophilis in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre’s 1968 Doctor Faustus tour.
In 1972, he made his television debut as Stephen Harvesty on Granada’s Crown Court.
He played authorities in The Crown, Doctor Who, Prime Suspect, and Wallander.
In the 1982 film Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough, he portrayed former British Prime Minister Ramsay McDonald.
He has also appeared in Bergerac, Colditz, Minder, and Secret Army.
Two children and his wife Rowena survive Hardiman.
