Roger Rees

Roger Rees was a British-American actor who joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1967 and rose to prominence in productions including Three Sisters (1978) and, opposite Ian McKellen's Macbeth, as Malcolm in Trevor Nunn's 1976 Macbeth. He won an Olivier Award and a Tony Award for his performance in the title role of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1980), his signature stage triumph, and was later known to American television audiences for Robin Colcord on Cheers (1982) and Lord John Marbury on The West Wing (1999). He was gay and married actor and playwright Rick Elice in 2012, shortly after New York State legalized same-sex marriage. Rees died of brain cancer in July 2015, at 71, and was remembered as one of the great stage actors of his generation.