Ian Roberts (born 30 November 1951) is a South African actor, playwright and singer.

Roberts was born in Fort Beaufort in the Cape Province, Union of South Africa, and grew up on his father's citrus farm near the town.

After a variety of different jobs and a course in photography at the Port Elizabeth Technical College from 1973 to 1975, Roberts enrolled at Rhodes University in 1976 for a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in speech, drama and social anthropology.

Roberts became a South African icon when he played the character of Boet in a long-running series of television advertisements for Castrol motor oil.

[1]: 4 In the Oscar-winning South African film, Tsotsi,[1]: 4  Roberts played the role of a police captain.