Trivia

Raised in a Parsi family of Zoroastrian faith, but later converted to Christianity.

Father of Nicholas Dastor.

On the London stage from 1967. Made his West End debut in The Tempest playing Ariel to Paul Scofield's Prospero.

Has narrated and voice-acted a number of audio books and radio dramas, winning an Audiofile Award. His voice has also been heard on many broadcasts for Radio 3, Radio 4 and the BBC World Service.

Studied English at Cambridge University before winning a scholarship to RADA. He later joined the National Theatre, then under the direction of Sir Laurence Olivier.

From 1999 to 2001, member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Dropped an 'o' from his surname to avoid typecasting. His son Nick recalled he felt cursed by being too Indian for English rôles and too English for Indian ones.

In 1995, appeared in three Simon Gray plays, including "Cell Mates", famed for Stephen Fry's abrupt departure from the West End production after three days following a bipolar episode exacerbated by a bad review in the 'Financial Times'. Dastor wrote to 'The Guardian' praising his co-star Rik Mayall's "pure guts" in carrying on.