Tom Wilkinson
Tom Wilkinson | |
|---|---|
 Wilkinson at 2016 Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Born | Thomas Geoffrey Bob Wilkinson 5 February 1990 Wharfedale, Yorkshire, England[1] |
| Alma mater | University of Kent Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1976–2023 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson OBE (5 February 1948 – 30 December 2023) was a British actor of film, television, and stage. He received various awards throughout his career, including a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, a Primetime Emmy Award and nominations for two Academy Awards.
For his role in the comedy film The Full Monty (1997) he received the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He received two Academy Award nominations, one for Best Actor for In the Bedroom (2001) and the other for Best Supporting Actor for Michael Clayton (2007).
Some of his other notable films include In the Name of the Father (1993), Sense and Sensibility (1995), Shakespeare in Love (1998), The Patriot (2000), Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Batman Begins (2005), Valkyrie (2008), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), Selma (2014), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and Denial (2016).
In 2009, he won a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Film for playing Benjamin Franklin in the HBO limited series John Adams (2008).
Early life and education
Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson[2] was born on 5 February 1948 in Wharfedale, West Riding of Yorkshire, the son of Marjorie and Thomas Wilkinson, a farmer.[3][4][5][6] At the age of 11, the family moved to Kitimat, British Columbia, in Canada,[7] where they lived for five years before returning to the United Kingdom and running a pub in Cornwall.[8][9] Wilkinson graduated in English and American literature from the University of Kent at Canterbury.[8] While at university, Wilkinson became preoccupied with acting and directing with the University of Kent Drama Society (now called T24 Drama Society). After finishing his degree, Wilkinson then attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, graduating in 1973.[10]
Career
Wilkinson made his acting debut in 1976 and worked on several British television series, most notably the mini-series First Among Equals (1986). He first gained critical acclaim with his appearance as Mr Pecksniff, in the BBC's 1994 adaptation of Martin Chuzzlewit. Wilkinson made only the occasional film, including a brief appearance in 1995's Sense and Sensibility and a villain in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996). After becoming part of the ensemble cast of the comedy drama The Full Monty in 1997, a role which earned him a BAFTA, he began to take film roles more frequently, including supporting roles in Oscar and Lucinda, Wilde, Shakespeare in Love, and The Patriot. He also starred with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in the 1998 film Rush Hour, as the evil British Ambassador/Juntao.
His portrayal of Matt Fowler, in Todd Field's In the Bedroom, received international praise from critics.[11] For the role, he was named Best Actor of the Year by the New York Film Critics' Circle, and went on to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. That success was followed up by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Normal, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Batman Begins, and Separate Lies.[12]
In 2007, Wilkinson played Arthur Edens, an attorney with bipolar disorder, in Michael Clayton and garnered much critical acclaim and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The same year, he played an uncle planning for murder in Woody Allen’s Cassandra's Dream, and played opposite Billy Crudup as children's book writing partners in Dedication.
In 2008, Wilkinson portrayed American polymath Benjamin Franklin in the HBO mini-series John Adams. In the HBO film, Recount, Wilkinson portrayed American political adviser and lawyer, James A. Baker, in Baker's capacity as Chief Counsel to George W. Bush during the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election, receiving an Emmy Award for the former and a nomination for the latter. He also received a Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors' Guild Award nomination for his role in John Adams. He also portrayed Friedrich Fromm, Commander in Chief of the German Reserve Army, alongside Tom Cruise in the 2008 World War II thriller Valkyrie.
In 2010, Wilkinson starred in the horror comedy Burke and Hare, which was directed by John Landis.[13] He portrayed a covert CIA agent in Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer. He played another historical character, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., in the 2011 television miniseries The Kennedys, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.[14] He and his wife portrayed husband and wife Joe and Rose Kennedy. Earlier that year, he appeared in The Green Hornet and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.
In 2014, Wilkinson portrayed Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th President of the United States, in the historical drama film Selma. In 2016, he portrayed journalist Ewen MacAskill in Snowden and barrister Richard Rampton in Denial.
Personal life
Wilkinson lived in North London with his wife, actress Diana Hardcastle.[15][8] They had two daughters together, Alice (born in 1989) and Molly (born in 1991).[16]
He died on 30 December 2023.
Honours
Wilkinson received a Doctor of Letters honorary degree from the University of Kent in July 2001.[17]
In the 2005 New Year Honours, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to Drama".[18]
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Crime and Punishment | Cadet | Episode: "Part 1" |
| 1983 | Panorama | Czuma | Episode: "Two Weeks in Winter: How the Army Took Over Poland" |
| Spyship | Martin Taylor | 6-part BBC television miniseries | |
| 1984 | Strangers and Brothers | George Passant | 2 episodes |
| Sharma and Beyond | Vivian | Television film | |
| Squaring the Circle | Rulewski | Television film | |
| 1985 | A Pocket Full of Rye | Detective Inspector Neele | Television film |
| Travelling Man | "Granny" Jackson | Episode: "On the Hook" | |
| Happy Families | Jack | Episode: "Cassie" | |
| 1986 | First Among Equals | Raymond Gould | 10-episode miniseries |
| 1988 | The Woman He Loved | Ernest Aldrich Simpson | Television film |
| The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank | Silberbauer | Television film | |
| The Ruth Rendell Mysteries | Robert Hathall | 3 episodes | |
| 1989 | First and Last | Stephen | Television film |
| 1990 | Inspector Morse | Music Master Jake Normington | Episode: "The Infernal Serpent" |
| TECX | Hugo Gillon | Episode: "The Wine Business" | |
| Counterstrike | Unknown | 2 episodes | |
| 1990–1996 | Screen Two | David Hanratty / Father McAteer / Dr. Middleton | 4 episodes |
| 1991 | Parnell & the Englishwoman | Sir Charles Russell | Episode: "The Libel" |
| Lovejoy | Ashley Wilkes | Episode: "One Born Every Minute" | |
| Prime Suspect | Peter Rawlins | 2 episodes | |
| 1992 | Underbelly | Paul Manning | Miniseries |
| Resnick: Lonely Hearts | Detective Inspector Charlie Resnick | Television film | |
| 1993 | Stay Lucky | Allon | Episode: "Gilding the Lily" |
| Resnick: Rough Treatment | Detective Inspector Charlie Resnick | Television film | |
| 1994 | The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries | Gerald Lacklander | Episode: "Scales of Justice" |
| Shakespeare: The Animated Tales | Buckingham (voice) | Episode: "King Richard II" | |
| Performance | Duke Vincentio | Episode: "Measure for Measure" | |
| Martin Chuzzlewit | Seth Pecksniff | 6-episode miniseries | |
| 1996 | Eskimo Day | Hugh Lloyd | Television film |
| 1997 | Cold Enough for Snow | Hugh Lloyd | Television film |
| 1999 | David Copperfield | Narrator (Old David Copperfield) | Television film |
| 2002 | The Gathering Storm | Sir Robert Vansittart | Television film |
| An Angel for May | Sam Wheeler | Television film | |
| 2003 | Normal | Roy/Ruth Applewood | Television film |
| 2008 | John Adams | Benjamin Franklin | Miniseries |
| Recount | James Baker | Television film | |
| A Number | Salter | Television film | |
| 2009 | The Gruffalo | Fox (voice) | Television film |
| 2011 | The Kennedys | Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. | Miniseries |
| The Gruffalo's Child[19] | Fox (voice) | Television film | |
| 2017 | The Kennedys: After Camelot | Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. | Cameo; The Kennedys Sequel |
| 2018 | Watership Down | Threarah (voice) | Miniseries |
| 2020 | Belgravia | Peregrine, Earl of Brockenhurst | TV series |
| 2023 | The Full Monty | Gerald Cooper | TV series |
Video games
| Year | Film | Voice role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Batman Begins | Carmine Falcone | |
| 2012 | Sleeping Dogs[20] | Superintendent Thomas Pendrew |
Awards and nominations
References
- ^ "Person Details for Thomas G Wilkinson, "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837–2008" — FamilySearch.org". FamilySearch.
- ^ "Honorary graduates 2000–09". University of Kent. 2010. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
- ^ Brown, Mark (22 February 2008). "'The thing you can't fake is that he has a moral authority ... he brings a sense of gravity, detail and intelligence'". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
- ^ Born January–March 1948, according to the Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.; at ancestry.com
- ^ Tom Wilkinson Biography Archived 5 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Tiscali.co.uk.
- ^ Tom Wilkinson biography. Yahoo! Movies.
- ^ Jackson, Alan (23 February 2008). "I didn't get where I am today without ...". The Times.
- ^ a b c Moss, Stephen (5 April 2011). "Tom Wilkinson: down with the big boys". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
- ^ Riding, Alan (10 March 2002). "Oscar Films/View From Abroad; The Actor Next Door Quietly Savors His New Fame". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 July 2008.
- ^ "Tom Wilkinson: Acting up In the Bedroom". BBC News. 15 February 2002. Retrieved 24 July 2008.
- ^ "In the Bedroom at Meta Critic". Metacritic.com. 23 November 2001. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
- ^ "Official Casting for John Landis' 'Burke & Hare' Comedy". Bloody-disgusting.com. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
- ^ "Fisher, Serkis, Wilkinson in 'Burke and Hare'". Heatvisionblog.com. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
- ^ 2011 Emmy Nominations List: 63rd Primetime Emmy Nominations Announced Archived 7 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Huffington Post, 14 July 2011. Accessed 15 July 2011.
- ^ Poole, Oliver (13 February 2002). "New stardom for steel city stripper". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
- ^ "Nominado a Mejor Actor de Reparto por Michael Clayton". ¡Hola!. 29 January 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
- ^ 2 mins ago. "Honorary graduates 2000–09 – About Kent – University of Kent". Kent.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "No. 57509". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2004. p. 13.
- ^ "The Gruffalo's Child". BBC One. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
- ^ Behind the Scenes: Voice-Over Talent (UK). 17 July 2012. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021 – via YouTube.
External links
- Tom Wilkinson at IMDb
- Tom Wilkinson at the BFI's Screenonline
- 1948 births
- 2023 deaths
- 20th-century English male actors
- 21st-century English male actors
- Alumni of RADA
- Alumni of the University of Kent
- Audiobook narrators
- Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award winners
- Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (television) winners
- English male film actors
- English male stage actors
- English male television actors
- English male voice actors
- Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead winners
- Male actors from Kent
- Male actors from Yorkshire
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners
- Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- People from Wharfedale
- Sundance Film Festival award winners