Andrew Robinson (actor) - Education and Early Roles

Education and Early Roles

Robinson was born in New York City. His middle name, Jordt, was given to him to honor his grandfather, though he did not begin using it in his professional credits until the 1996 Deep Space Nine episode, "Body Parts". His father was a soldier in World War II, and was killed when Robinson was three years old. After his father's death, he and his mother moved to Hartford, Connecticut to be raised with her family. In his later childhood, Robinson had become a juvenile delinquent, and was eventually sent to St. Andrew's School in Rhode Island, a boarding school for troubled children.

After graduating from high school, Robinson attended the University of New Hampshire. After picketing the school's ROTC program his degree was withheld by the university, so he transferred to the New School for Social Research in New York City and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English. He originally intended to become a journalist, but went into acting after gaining a Fulbright Scholarship on the suggestion of an art history professor. After graduating, he went to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art on the scholarship.

Robinson began acting in high school and college theatre. While attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Robinson studied Shakespeare and voice training. His first professional roles were as a stage actor and playwright in New York. His first role in New York was in the play Macbird-Macbeth. He would go on to act in productions throughout North America and Europe, including Woyzeck, Futz, Werner Liepolt's "The Young Master Dante," and The Cannibals. In 1969, he had his first television role with a guest part on N.Y.P.D. at the age of 26. In 1971, he would begin acting in feature films.