Roat was born on July 3, 1933, in Hartford, Connecticut. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard D. Roat, and he graduated from Trinity College. He pursued acting as a career despite a lack of encouragement from his dramatic coach at Trinity.
Before he achieved professional status, Roat performed with amateur theatrical groups around Hartford, including the Mark Twain Masquers and Oval in the Grove. He also directed the premiere production of the Tunxis Players. During those years he worked for Aetna Fire and drove a delivery truck for the Newton Robertson Bakery.
In 1957, Roat hitchhiked to New York City to seek work as an actor there. There he studied with Uta Hagen and Herbert Berghof and supported himself with jobs that included working in a gift shop and hanging wallpaper. On January 1, 1961, he replaced Michael Ebert in The Wall at Broadway's Billy Rose Theater. His other Broadway credits included Sunday in New York (1961) and Come on Strong (1962). He also performed for a season in summer stock theater in the Adirondack Mountains.

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