AllMovie

Beefy British character actor Robert Brown should not be confused with the actor of the same name who starred in TV's Here Come the Brides (1968-1969), nor with film editor Robert N. "Toby" Brown. In films from 1955's Helen of Troy, Brown specialized in roughneck costume roles, such as the Chief of Rowers in Ben-Hur (1959) and Talbot in Billy Budd (1962). In the 1957 Roger Moore TV series Ivanhoe, Brown was appropriately cast as Gurth. After playing Admiral Hargreaves in the 1977 James Bond entry The Spy Who Loved Me, Robert Brown succeeded Bernard Lee as Bond's immediate superior "M", essaying the role for the first time in Octopussy (1983) and for the last time in A View to a Kill (1989).