Roger Rees — a Tony-winning theater star also widely known for his TV roles, including in “The West Wing” and as Robin Colcord on “Cheers” — has died, his representative Rick Miramontez said Saturday.
He was 71.
The Wales native spent most of his career on stage, including his Tony Award-winning best actor role in 1982 for “The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.” He also earned Tony nominations for acting parts in “Shadowlands,” “Six Degrees of Separation,” “Indiscretions” and — most recently, in 2012 — as a director of “Peter and the Starcatcher.”
Still, you didn’t have to go to Broadway to appreciate Rees’ skills — both as a dramatic and a comedic actor.
After scoring several TV roles in the late 1970s, and later a 1982 TV mini-series as Nicholas Nickleby, Rees broke through in 1989 as Robin Colcord, the love interest of the character played by Kirstie Alley in “Cheers.”
Rees later had a standout role as British Ambassador Lord John Marbury on the critically acclaimed “The West Wing” and, in 2007, with a recurring role on “Grey’s Anatomy.”
He made a splash in movies as well, including playing the Sheriff of Rottingham in the 1993 comedy “Robin Hood: Men in Tights.”
According to the Internet Movie Database, Rees remained busy into 2015, including parts of the ABC series “Forever” and the movie “Survivor.”