Trivia

Did a great deal of charity work for handicapped and disabled children, after his daughter Karina was born with cerebral palsy.

Father of actor Rory Kinnear and casting director Kirsty Kinnear.

While filming The Return of the Musketeers (1989), he fell from a horse, breaking his pelvis. Before that accident, he had protested against riding it, since he had no experience. He also had serious safety concerns and requested a stunt double, but as no double was available for him, he was forced to ride the horse, which shortly led to the tragic accident. He died the next day in hospital, from a heart attack brought on by his injuries.

He appeared in the music videos, Mike + the Mechanics: All I Need Is a Miracle (1986) and Mike + the Mechanics: Taken In (1986), by Mike + The Mechanics.

Educated at George Heriot's School, Edinburgh.

Roy was asked to appear in the video, Mike + the Mechanics: All I Need Is a Miracle (1986) because both the producer (Paul Flattery) and director (James Yukich) were fans of The Beatles. They cast Kinnear (Help! (1965), How I Won the War (1967)) and Victor Spinetti (A Hard Day's Night (1964), Help! (1965)) not only for their talent, but also because they hoped to talk to them about their experiences with the Beatles. Flattery also loved Mick Jagger's film, Performance (1970), and added Johnny Shannon (as Harry Flowers).

He appeared in eight films directed by his close friend Richard Lester: Help! (1965), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966), How I Won the War (1967), The Bed Sitting Room (1969), The Three Musketeers (1973), Juggernaut (1974), The Four Musketeers (1974) and The Return of the Musketeers (1989).

Appeared in Anna Pavlova (1983) with James Fox, who plays the part of Mr. Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), which is the same role Kinnear played in the original version, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971).

Made his stage debut in 1955 as Albert in Young at Heart.

Roy did make a 9th appearance for Richard Lester in Royal Flash (1975), playing a customer of a brothel (early in the film). The film opened in London at a length of nearly 2hrs and was a disappointment at the box office. In an attempt to tighten it, several scenes were cut. It was then released in the UK several months after the premiere), and ran less than 1hr 45min, and it was this version which was shown in the States. Pauline Kael negatively reviewed it, noting that Kinnear was not in it. His part, like that of Rula Lenska had been cut out.

Was not related to actor Greg Kinnear despite a popular misconception.

His father was a professional rugby league player and played for England.

His father was a professional Scots rugby player who died during WWII.

He went straight from school into RADA then the army the back to RADA.