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 David Jason’s shadow by cracking America — aged 62.
The Only Fools And Horses legend, who played Rodney for four decades, is winning rave reviews both from US viewers and critics for his role in the 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 actor’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.
A TV insider says: “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.
“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, 12 months after his representatives labelled reports 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 David, who admitted the pair had “drifted apart”.
But that all changed when he shocked the TV world by being named as part of the Frasier reboot starring opposite Kelsey, whom he starred alongside in 2019 in the London West End musical Man Of La Mancha, 19 years after the US sitcom last aired.
Nicholas has been labelled a “delightful surprise” by critics for his role as lecturer Alan Cornwall, 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, following the TV shrink’s move back to his spiritual home of Boston from Seattle, where the sitcom was originally based and where it all started for Frasier, when he appeared in Cheers.
The pair have formed their own Del Boy and Rodney-style double act, as Alan has filled the void left by Frasier’s younger brother Niles played by David Hyde Pierce, who refused to reprise his character for the reboot.
But unlike his role in Only Fools and Horses as gullible Rodney, he is not the butt of Frasier’s jokes, as Alan is the one scheming to ensure his pal’s huge ego is kept in check.
Nicolas 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 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.”
In a new interview, Kelsey explained why he picked the British star 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 would 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 who is not surprised by Nicholas’s success in America is his former Only Fools And Horses co-star Patrick Murray, who played Rodney’s best pal Mickey Pearce.
The pair featured alongside each other for 20 episodes of the legendary sitcom, their characters famously going into business together until it went up in smoke, when Del Boy tricked them into buying broken lawnmower engines.
Speaking to The Sun, Patrick, 66, praised Nicholas for having no ego and activity encouraging his co-stars to shine.
He said: “It’s so pleasing but not at all unexpected to hear that Nic 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 would often give me a little smile that spoke volumes.
“On our first day of filming, we had so much fun rehearsing the auction scenes.
“It was obvious our timing was working well together, and that always makes for great comedy .
“Off screen Nic loved to tell stories and his laid back humour with that last-minute punchline and it was a joy to experience.”
Nicholas has long been associated with Only Fools and Horses, having previously starred in British sitcom Butterflies as a young actor.
But Patrick says Nicholas was deemed so talented by the BBC, they wanted to build a sitcom around him and that’s when Only Fools and Horses creator John Sullivan entered the fray.
He says: “Nick is a really talented actor as the BBC discovered when he was a young lad.
“I believe Only Fools and Horses would not 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 Nic first and then auditioned three Del Boys hoping one would gel with him – and that certainly happened with David Jason.”
Patrick 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.”
He’s not such a plonker after all.
