Trivia

At university, his professors included J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.

He spoke at the funeral of James Herriot. Herriot was the pseudonym of Alf Wight (he needed to use a pseudonym as an author, due to legal requirements of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons), and Hardy and Wight became close friends over the years of the All Creatures Great & Small (1978) series, which were adapted from Wight's books.

Hardy revealed that he was written out of the Harry Potter films (as Cornelius Fudge) because he became too expensive to insure due to his age.

His co-star in All Creatures Great & Small (1978), Peter Davison, claimed he learned more from working with Hardy than anyone else in his career.

He became an expert on the longbow when he played Henry V at Stratford. He became a longbow/weapons consultant for the Mary Rose Trust when that 16th-century warship was recovered at Portsmouth, England, UK.

His memorial service was held at St Paul's Church in Knightsbridge, London, and was attended by Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Nigel Havers, Siân Phillips and Peter Davison.

He has played British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in six separate films (Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981), The Woman He Loved (1988), Remembranzas de guerra (1988), "Bomber Harris" (1989) (TV), The Sittaford Mystery (2006), Churchill: 100 Days That Saved Britain (2015)) as well as the fictitious Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge in the Harry Potter series. He has also twice played Winston Churchill's World War II ally and friend, American President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

He was a very close friend of Richard Burton, with whom he bonded over their shared love of William Shakespeare.

He was one of the patrons of the Wensleydale Railway, a group that has been set up to re-open the mainly derelict line between Northallerton and Garsdale in Yorkshire, because of his connection with the area from when he played Siegfried Farnon in All Creatures Great & Small (1978).

Won Best Actor TV Award for All Creatures Great & Small (1978) in 1981.

He was made a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in the 1981 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to drama.

He is one of two actors to play Winston Churchill in several movies. The second was Timothy Spall, who played the role in Jackboots on Whitehall (2010) and El Discurso del Rey (2010). The latter concerned itself with King George VI's speech problems, and with the scandal involving his brother Edwards VIII's relationship with a married American woman. Hardy has been in two films about this period: The Woman He Loved (1988) and Bertie and Elizabeth (2002), playing Franklin D. Roosevelt in the latter. He and Spall both appeared in Harry Potter y el Prisionero de Azkaban (2004) and Harry Potter y el cáliz de fuego (2005).

In Harry Potter y la Orden del Fénix (2007), Hardy's last line as Cornelius Fudge ("He's back!") was repeated, as an uncredited voice-over, in Harry Potter y el misterio del príncipe (2009).

He was the father of three children: son Paul Hardy, from his first marriage; daughters Emma Hardy (actress and photographer) and Justine Hardy (journalist and author) from his second marriage.

Several websites, including Metro and The Telegraph, incorrectly state that he won a BAFTA for Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981). He was nominated but did not win, as Anthony Andrews won for Brideshead Revisited (1981) that year. Brideshead was so dominant in the awards that year that Hardy was actually the only actor among the four nominees to be nominated for appearing in another series.

Died on the same day as his Círculo de terror (1967) co-star Ty Hardin.

His hobby was making long bows with special pieces of wood from Oregon.

In addition to playing Winston Churchill several times and his ally Franklin D. Roosevelt, he also played their nemesis, Benito Mussolini.

His ex-wife, Sally Pearson, is Gladys Cooper's daughter.

In common with the American character actor John Lithgow, he played both British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin D. Roosevelt on screen.

His first wife's mother was Gladys Cooper and his sister in law was married to Robert Morley.

He was considered to play Dr. Fendelman (played by Denis Lill) in Image of the Fendahl: Part One (1977) and Captain Rorvik (played by Clifford Rose) in Warriors' Gate: Part One (1981).

He was a consultant on the Mary Rose project helping to identify weapons that were brought up from the depths.

He was one of the few capable of making a long bow like those that were used at the Battle of Agincourt,.

He was considered for the roles of Dr. Armstrong and Sir Percy Heseltine in Fuerza siniestra (1985).

Daughter Emma when 14 appeared in the Horse of the Year show.