Hardy began his career as a classical actor. In 1959, he appeared as The King of France in "All's Well that Ends Well" in April 1959, directed by Tyrone Guthrie at Stratford-upon-Avon, with Vanessa Redgrave and Diana Rigg indicated as supporting extras. He subsequently appeared as Sicinius opposite Laurence Olivier in "Coriolanus" at Stratford-upon-Avon, directed by Peter Hall. In this production, Ian Holm featured as a "Third Aufidious Servant", Vanessa Redgrave as Valeria, and Diana Rigg as a "Roman Citizen". Albert Finney featured as a "First Roman Citizen". Hardy then appeared in Shakespeare's "Henry V" on stage and in television's "An Age of Kings" (1960), and subsequently played Coriolanus in "The Spread of the Eagle" (BBC, 1963) and Sir Toby Belch for the BBC Television Shakespeare production of "Twelfth Night" in 1980. Over the years, Hardy played a range of parts on television and film. His first continuing role in a TV series was as businessman Alec Stewart in the award-winning oil company drama "The Troubleshooters" for the BBC, which he played from 1966 to 1970. He won further acclaim for his portrayal of the mentally-unhinged Abwehr Sgt. Gratz in LWT's 1969 war drama "Manhunt". In 1975, Hardy portrayed Albert, Prince Consort in the award-winning 13-hour serial "Edward the Seventh" (known as "Edward the King" to the American audience), which he regarded as one of his best performances. "I thought I'd done a good job there, although I believe the Royal Family didn't like it all. There are always people who don't like what one does."