Ian Roberts (born 30 November 1951) is a South African actor, playwright and singer. A native English speaker, he is also fluent in Afrikaans and Xhosa.
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Early life
Roberts was born in Fort Beaufort in the Cape Province, Union of South Africa, and grew up on his father's 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 holding a variety of jobs and taking a course in photography at the Port Elizabeth Technical College from 1973 to 1975, Roberts enrolled at Rhodes University in 1976 to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in speech, drama and social anthropology.
Acting career
Roberts became a well-known figure in South African for his role as Boet in a long-running series of television advertisements for Castrol motor oil. This character, along with others such as Swaer and Moegoe, has also appeared in M-Net's comedy series Kalahari Oasis and in his band, Radio Kalahari Orkes.
In the Oscar-winning South African film, Tsotsi, Roberts played the role of a police captain.
He was married to South African actress Michelle Botes, but the couple divorced in 1999. They had two children.
Filmography
In addition to the above, Roberts has played leading roles in Afrikaans-language television series, including Sloet Steenkamp in Arende ("Eagles") and Jack Degenaar in Arsenaal ("Arsenal"), as well as a supporting role in Kwelaman (1986). He has also written a number of scripts, including Honeytown 1 and the musical Palang van Dwaal ("Palang from Dwaal").
