HE is TV’s biggest plonker, famous for playing Rodney Trotter, the dopey younger brother of Britain’s most beloved wheeler dealer.
But now Nicholas Lyndhurst is stepping out from Del Boy star Sir David Jason’s shadow by cracking America — aged 62.
The Only Fools And Horses legend, who played Rodney for 22 years until 2003, is winning rave reviews both from US viewers and critics for his role in rebooted 1990s sitcom Frasier.
He has equally impressed the comedy’s star Kelsey Grammer, who has called Nicholas “the best actor I’ve ever worked with”.
The British screen veteran’s unlikely career revival across the Pond is even more commendable given that only three years ago he suffered the tragedy of losing his 19-year-old son Archie, himself a promising actor, to a brain haemorrhage.
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A TV insider said: “Nicholas’s success in the US is one of the stories of the year.
“He was a total unknown out there but he has become the most talked-about new character in the reboot.
Delightful surprise
“Now, when the show’s fans are told he is a national treasure in the UK, they know why.”
Nicolas’s role as Frasier’s old college friend Alan Cornwall was announced in January. It came just 12 months after his representatives had dismissed reports that he was considering quitting acting in the wake of his son’s death as “nonsense”, adding that he will “continue his career with any parts and scripts that attract him”.
He understandably kept a low profile while grieving his son, even losing touch with Only Fools co-star Sir David, 83, who admitted they had “drifted apart”.
But that all changed when Nicholas was named as part of the Frasier reboot alongside Kelsey, who he had previously starred with in 2019 in the West End.
Nicholas has been called a “delightful surprise” by critics for his role as Alan, one of many new cast members brought in for the revival.
His character is an old Oxford University pal of Dr Frasier Crane, played by lead star Kelsey, who he convinces to become one of his team of lecturers at Harvard university. It follows his move back to nearby Boston from Seattle, where the sitcom was originally based and where it all started for Frasier when he appeared in its “parent” sitcom Cheers. In the new show Alan and Frasier have formed their own Del Boy and Rodney-style double act, with Alan filling the void left by Frasier’s younger brother Niles — played by David Hyde Pierce, who refused to reprise his character for the reboot.
In Only Fools, gullible Rodney was often the fall guy for joker Del — with his nonsense French-isms such as “crème de la menthe” (the very best) and “mange tout” (no problem).
But in the new show, rather than being the butt of Frasier’s jokes, Nicholas’s character Alan is the one friend who can keep Frasier’s huge ego in check.
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Nicholas — whose post Fools TV credits also include Goodnight Sweetheart and New Tricks — said: “I would say that Frasier hasn’t had a true friend before. But sometimes you have a friend where you can just sit in silence for hours.
“You don’t have to say anything. I think Alan is that to Frasier.”
Despite dividing fans, the reboot, on Paramount+, is likely to get a second series, according to Kelsey, who added that the writers have more than 100 episodes ready to go.
And that is in no small part down to Nicholas, who has helped to guide the much-loved sitcom into a new era and won over fans who believed the series wouldn’t work without so many familiar characters, including Niles.
As one critic put it: “There’s no replacing Niles Crane in our hearts, of course, but Lyndhurst is coming damn close.”
Kelsey explained why he picked Nicholas for the role, despite his lack of a profile in the States.
He said: “Nick Lyndhurst. He’s stealth warfare. He is just the sneakiest, most talented actor I’ve ever worked with. We worked previously together in London on the musical Man Of La Mancha. We made plans to get (our partners) together and we became best friends.
“So when the idea of Frasier having a best friend came into the mix, it was always Nicholas.
“I asked him when we were back in England, before we even started, if he’d like to be in the new Frasier.
“He said, ‘Are you kidding? I would do anything to work with you again every day for the rest of my life’.
“The feeling is mutual.”
One man not surprised by Nicholas’s success in America is his former Only Fools co-star Patrick Murray, who played Rodney’s best pal Mickey Pearce. They appeared together in 20 episodes of the sitcom, their characters going into business together, until it went up in smoke when Del Boy tricked them into buying dodgy lawnmower engines.
Patrick, 66, praised Nicholas for his lack of ego and encouraging his co-stars to shine.
He told The Sun: “It’s so pleasing but not at all unexpected to hear that Nick is being really appreciated in the States.
“I loved working with him because he was what I would describe as a giving actor.
“Rather than just walk off when the director shouts cut, he’d often give me a little smile that spoke volumes. On our first day of filming we had so much fun rehearsing auction scenes.
“It was obvious our timing was working well together, and that always makes for great comedy.
“Off screen, Nick loved to tell stories and his laid-back humour with that last-minute punchline was a joy to experience.”
Although Nicholas has long been associated with Only Fools And Horses, he previously starred in 28 episodes of Eighties sitcom Butter-flies, as the Parkinson family’s younger son Adam.
Patrick says he was regarded as so talented by the BBC, they wanted to build a sitcom around him — and that is when Only Fools And Horses creator John Sullivan entered the fray.
He added: “Nick’s a really talented actor, as the BBC discovered. I believe Only Fools And Horses wouldn’t have happened without Nick. He wanted to play someone a bit different from the middle-class family roles and so John Sullivan obliged with his wonderful scripts with Rodney.
“He cast Nick first and then auditioned three Del Boys, hoping one would gel with him — and that certainly happened with David Jason.”
He added: “Nick deserves his success in the States, and his success walking the boards is a testament to his acting ability.
“We live in a world now where gangsters play gangsters and judges play judges. That might be OK for some movies but it doesn’t work for comedy.”
It looks like Nicholas is not such a plonker after all.
