Robert was born in Carlton, Victoria, Australia, the only son of Rita Spalding and British emigrant Harry Chuter. He was brought up in Williamstown and educated at RMIT, Victorian College of the Arts - School of Drama, St. Martin's Theatre School, Melbourne Theatre Company Youth Theatre and graduated from the prestigious Swinburne Film and Television School in 1983 winning the AAV Award for his short film The Mortal Coil. He is also a prolific and award-winning theatre director producing an impressive record of over 200 productions and working with some of the world's leading theatre companies. He is at present in pre-production for his new feature The Hidden Well produced by Fat Kids Films.