Tim Roth
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| Tim Roth | |
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 Tim Roth, 2009 |
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| Born | Simon Timothy Roth[1][2] 14 May 1961 Dulwich, London, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actor, film director |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Spouse(s) | Niki Butler (1993–present) |
| Children | 3 sons |
Simon Timothy "Tim" Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English actor and film director. He is known for his roles in the films Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Made in Britain, Skellig, Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk and Rob Roy for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He starred as Cal Lightman in the TV series Lie to Me.
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Early life [edit]
Tim Roth was born in Dulwich, London, the son of Ann, a painter and teacher, and Ernie, a Fleet Street journalist, painter, and (until the 1970s) a member of the British Communist Party.[3][4][5] His father was born with the surname Smith in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York, to an English immigrant family; he changed his surname to Roth in the 1940s, "partly through solidarity with the victims of the Holocaust, partly because the English were far from welcome in some of the countries to which his job took him".[2][5][6] Roth attended the Strand School in Tulse Hill. As a young man, he wanted to be a sculptor and studied at London's Camberwell College of Art.[7]
Career [edit]
Roth made his acting debut at the age of 21 playing a white power skinhead in a TV film titled Made in Britain. He played an East End character in King of the Ghetto, a controversial drama based on a novel by Farukh Dhondy set in Brick Lane and broadcast by the BBC in 1986. In contrast to his Made in Britain role, Roth played a desperately shy and introverted character in the 1984 Mike Leigh film, Meantime. In 1985, he appeared in the television film Murder with Mirrors opposite Bette Davis, John Mills and Helen Hayes. He played an apprentice hitman in Stephen Frears' The Hit with Terence Stamp and John Hurt, earning an Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Newcomer. He appeared in several other films towards the end of the decade and in 1989 he had a supporting role as the buffoonish lackey Mitchell in Peter Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. In 1990, he began to enjoy international attention with starring roles as Vincent van Gogh in Robert Altman's Vincent & Theo and as Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead. Roth and other young British actors of the time such as Bruce Payne, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Paul McGann were dubbed the "Brit Pack",[8] a nickname based on the Brat Pack of the United States.
Roth was cast as Mr. Orange in Quentin Tarantino's 1992 ensemble piece Reservoir Dogs. This paved the way for more work in Hollywood. In 1994, Tarantino cast him as a robber (again) in Pulp Fiction. They also collaborated in the 1995 film Four Rooms, where he played the role of Ted the Bellhop. His role as Archibald Cunningham opposite Liam Neeson in Rob Roy earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, a Golden Globe nomination and won him a BAFTA for the same performance.
In 1996 he starred with Drew Barrymore in Woody Allen's musical comedy Everyone Says I Love You. He also starred as Danny Boodman T.D. Lemon 1900 (or just "1900") in The Legend of 1900 and in the same year co-starred with Tupac Shakur in the drama Gridlock'd. He made his debut as a director in 1999 with The War Zone, a film version of Alexander Stuart's novel. In 2001, he portrayed General Thade in Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes. Roth was the original choice for the role of Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film series, but he turned it down for the Planet of the Apes role. [9] He was considered for the part of Hannibal Lecter in the 2001 film Hannibal before Anthony Hopkins returned to reclaim the role. He appeared in Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth and Michael Haneke's Funny Games, then starred opposite Edward Norton in The Incredible Hulk as Emil Blonsky.
From 2009 to 2011, he starred in a series on Fox called Lie To Me. He played Dr. Cal Lightman, an expert on body language who assists local and federal law organisations in the investigations of crimes. His character was based on Dr. Paul Ekman, a notable psychologist and expert on body language and facial expressions.[10]
In 2010, Roth appeared on the cover to Manic Street Preachers' 2010 studio album, Postcards from a Young Man.
In 2012, he was announced as the President of the Jury for the Un Certain Regard section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.[11]
Personal life [edit]
Tim Roth has a son, Jack, born to Lori Baker in 1984,[12] who is also an actor.[13] Roth married Nikki Butler in 1993, and they have two sons, Timothy Hunter (b. 1995) and Michael Cormac (b. 1996). Roth is a supporter of the Green Party of England and Wales.[14]
Filmography [edit]
As actor [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.
- ^ a b "Tim Roth – Biography". TalkTalk. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
- ^ Tim Roth Biography (1961–), Film Reference
- ^ Raphael, Amy, Tim Roth interview, UK: Esquire
- ^ a b Simon, Alex (5 March 2009). "Tim Roth: The Hollywood Interview". The Hollywood Interview. Retrieved 5 March 2009.
- ^ Shoard, Catherine (20 May 2012). "Tim Roth: who's the daddy?". The Guardian (London).
- ^ Geoff Pevere. "Tim Roth treats actors with care". Retrieved 27 February 2011.
- ^ The Brit Pack. Brucepayne.de. Retrieved on 14 January 2011.
- ^ What Would ‘Potter’ Have Been Like With Tim Roth As Snape? » MTV Movies Blog. Moviesblog.mtv.com (7 December 2007). Retrieved on 14 January 2011.
- ^ Lie to Me, USFCA
- ^ "Tim Roth to lead Cannes Un Certain Regard jury". BBC News. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-13.
- ^ Andrew Smith (28 March 1997). "Look back in anger". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
- ^ IMDB on Jack Roth
- ^ Craig McLean (3 April 2008). "Tim Roth: touching evil in Michael Haneke's Funny Games". The Telegraph (London). Retrieved 27 February 2011.
- ^ WINNERS' LIST: People's Choice Awards 2011
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tim Roth |
- The Officially Unofficial Tim Roth Web Page
- Tim Roth at the Internet Movie Database
- Tim Roth at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Allmovie entry for Tim Roth
- Audio Interview w/ Rafferty/Mills Connection Podcast (2009)
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- 1961 births
- Alumni of Camberwell College of Arts
- Alumni of the University of the Arts
- European Film Awards winners (people)
- Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award winners
- BAFTA winners (people)
- English film actors
- English stage actors
- Living people
- People educated at the Strand School
- People from Dulwich
- English people of Irish descent
- Actors from London
- 20th-century English actors
- 21st-century English actors
