Jim Broadbent
Jim Broadbent | |
|---|---|
| Spouse | Anastasia Lewis (1987-) |
| Awards | Volpi Cup for Best Actor - Venice Film Festival 1999 Topsy-Turvy |
James "Jim" Broadbent (born May 24, 1949) is an English Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA-winning theatre, film and television actor.
Biography
Personal life
Broadbent was born in Lincoln, the son of Doreen "Dee" (née Findlay), a sculptress, and Roy Laverick Broadbent, an artist, sculptor, interior designer, and furniture maker who turned a former church into a theatre named after him.[1][2] Broadbent's parents were both amateur actors who co-founded the Holton Players acting troupe at Holton cum Beckering;[3] the two were described by the BBC as conscientious objectors who "worked the land" rather than participate in World War II.[1] He had a twin sister who died at birth. Broadbent was educated at Leighton Park School, a Quaker school in Reading,[4] and briefly attended art college before transferring to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Broadbent is married to painter and former theatre designer, Anastasia Lewis.
Career
Broadbent's early stagework included a number of productions for The National Theatre of Brent as the downtrodden assistant Wallace to Patrick Barlow's self important actor/manager character Desmond Olivier Dingle. Broadbent and Barlow played many male and female character roles in comically less than epic tellings of historical and religious stories such as The Messiah, The Complete Guide to Sex, The Greatest Story Ever Told (the story of Jesus), Revolution!!, All The World's A Globe (Shakespeare). These were hits at the Edinburgh Fringe, in London and on tour. Later stage work included the original productions of Kafka's Dick (1986) and Our Country's Good (1988) at the Royal Court Theatre and work for the Royal National Theatre including "The Government Inspector”. Work on the stage with Mike Leigh includes “Goosepimples” and “Ecstasy”.
Broadbent made his film debut in 1978 with a tiny role in Jerzy Skolimowski's The Shout, and made his television debut the following year. He went on to work with Stephen Frears (for television, and in The Hit (1984)) and Terry Gilliam (in Time Bandits (1981) and Brazil (1985) before establishing himself in Mike Leigh's Life Is Sweet (1990). He proved his ability as a character actor in films including The Crying Game (1992), Enchanted April (1992), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), The Borrowers (1997) and Little Voice (1998) before taking a leading role in another Mike Leigh film, Topsy-Turvy (1999). He played "The Shy Doctor" in the 1999 Comic Relief parody Doctor Who sketch, Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death. In 2001, Broadbent starred in three of the year's most successful films: Bridget Jones's Diary, Moulin Rouge!, for which he won a BAFTA and Iris, for which he won an Oscar for his portrayal of John Bayley. He is regarded as one of cinema's most reliable character actors and has a reputation of being very easy to work with.
Broadbent also appeared as DCI Roy "The Slag" Slater, an associate character in the enormously popular sitcom Only Fools and Horses. The character appeared in three episodes over an eight-year period. He had originally been offered the lead role of Del Trotter in the series, but he turned it down due to other commitments. Other comic roles include the lead role in the sitcom The Peter Principle and occasional guest appearances in Not The Nine O'Clock News and Victoria Wood As Seen On TV. He also played the role of Prince Albert in "Blackadder's Christmas Carol", first broadcast in 1988. He joined Rowan Atkinson again in his Spiderman spoof Spider-Plant Man, as a disgruntled Batman, jealous of Spider-Plant Man's success.
Broadbent played the title role in Channel 4 drama, Longford in October 2006, earning a BAFTA TV award, a Golden Globe and a 2007 Emmy nomination for his performance.
He appeared in the original radio production of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, playing the character Vroomfondel. He was also a regular in Stephen Fry's radio comedy show Saturday Night Fry, which aired on BBC Radio 4 in 1988.
Broadbent plays Dean Charles Stanforth in the fourth film in the Indiana Jones series, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and on September 17 2007 it was announced that he will play Horace Slughorn in the sixth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.[5]
Filmography
References
- ^ a b BBC - Lincolnshire - History - Famous Yellowbelly - Jim Broadbent
- ^ Barratt, Nick (2008-01-12). "Family detective: Jim Broadbent". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Broadbent Theatre Member Profile: Roy Broadbent
- ^ An in-depth look at your favourite celebrity personalities - hellomagazine.com, HELLO!
- ^ Broadbent on "Potter" & "Indy 4" (September 17th 2007)
External links
- Jim Broadbent at IMDb
- Biography on the Broadbent Theatre website
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- 1949 births
- Alumni of LAMDA
- BAFTA winners (people)
- Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners
- Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners
- Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actor Golden Globe winners
- English film actors
- English stage actors
- English television actors
- English voice actors
- Living people
- Old Leightonians
- People from Lincoln, Lincolnshire