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Ian Roberts

Acting Born Nov 30, 1951 Fort Beaufort, South Africa 24 credits

Biography

Ian Roberts is a South African actor, playwright and singer best known to television viewers for his roles in the drama series Arende and Snitch, and as the character Boet in a series of long-running advertisements for Castrol motor oil. Roberts was born in Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape and raised on a citrus farm near the town. He attended St. Andrew's Preparatory School and St. Andrew's College in Grahamstown. After completing high school he performed his compulsory national service in the South African Army, which he completed in 1971. After a variety of different jobs and a course in photography at the Port Elizabeth Technical College from 1973 to 1975, Roberts enrolled at Rhodes University in 1976 for a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Speech, Drama and Social Anthropology. Ian Roberts has built up an extensive acting career in theatre, television and film. Roberts was married to South African actress Michele Botes, but the couple divorced in 1999. They have two children.

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Known for

The Wild

as Karel van Reenen

Full filmography

  • The Wild (2011) as Karel van Reenen
  • The Play on One (1988) as Joseph
  • Reyka (2021) as John Tyrone
  • Red Dust (2004) as Piet Müller
  • King Solomon's Mines (2004) as Sir Henry
  • Mia and the White Lion (2018) as John's Father
  • Musiekpaniek (2020) as Self
  • Onder Draai Die Duiwel Rond (1997) as Thys Tredoux
  • Erfsondes (2007) as Pote du Toit
  • Tremors 5: Bloodlines (2015) as Den Bravers
  • Arende (1989) as Sloet Steenkamp
  • Appels en Tee (2025) as Jakkals Boshoff
  • The Power of One (1992) as Hoppie Gruenewald
  • Cape Town (2016) as Gerbrand Vos
  • Tsotsi (2005) as Captain Smit
  • I Dreamed of Africa (2000) as Mike Donovan
  • Askari (2001) as Ripshaw
  • Cry, the Beloved Country (1995) as Evans
  • A Kind of Madness (2025) as Dan Hart
  • Arsenaal (2002) as Jack Degenaar
  • Daisy de Melker (1993) as Sid de Melker
  • Inside (1996) as Guard Moolman
  • Sweepers (1998) as Yager
  • Bakgat 2 (2010) as Basjan du Preez