Jim Broadbent | |
|---|---|
 Broadbent in 2012 | |
| Born | James Broadbent (1949-05-24)24 May 1949 (age 76) Holton cum Beckering,Lincolnshire, England |
| Education | London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1971–present |
| Spouse | |
James Broadbent (born 24 May 1949) is an English actor. A graduate of theLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1972, he came to prominence as acharacter actor for his many roles in film and television. He has received various accolades including anAcademy Award, twoBAFTA Awards, anInternational Emmy Award, and twoGolden Globe Awards as well as nominations for twoPrimetime Emmy Awards and aGrammy Award.
Broadbent received anAcademy Award for his supporting role asJohn Bayley in the filmIris (2001). Broadbent won theBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role forMoulin Rouge! (2001). His early film roles include theTerry Gilliam filmsTime Bandits (1981) andBrazil (1985) before a breakthrough role inMike Leigh'sLife Is Sweet (1990). Notable film roles includeBullets Over Broadway (1994),Topsy-Turvy (1999),Bridget Jones's Diary (2001),Gangs of New York (2002),Another Year (2010),The Iron Lady (2011),Le Week-End (2013), andBrooklyn (2015).
Broadbent is also known for his roles in franchise films such asHorace Slughorn in theHarry Potter film series,Digory Kirke inThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) and Samuel Gruber in thePaddington film series. He also acted in blockbuster and studio films such asThe Borrowers (1997),Robots (2005),Hot Fuzz (2007),Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008),Arthur Christmas (2011), andCloud Atlas (2012).
Broadbent's television roles include playingRoy Slater in theBBCsitcomOnly Fools and Horses,Desmond Morton in theHBO /BBC filmThe Gathering Storm (2002), andLord Longford in theChannel 4 filmLongford (2006), which won him aBAFTA Award for Best Actor. He portrayed Archmaester Ebrose in theseventh season of the HBO fantasy seriesGame of Thrones in 2017. He also acted inLondon Spy (2015),War & Peace (2016),King Lear (2018) andThe Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2023).
James Broadbent[1] was born on 24 May 1949,[2] inHolton cum Beckering,[1]Lincolnshire, the second son of Doreen "Dee" Findlay, a sculptor, and Roy Laverick Broadbent, an artist, sculptor, interior designer and furniture maker.[3] Broadbent's parents were both amateur actors who co-founded the Holton Players acting troupe at Holton.[4] The two have been described by theBBC asconscientious objectors who "worked the land" rather than participate in World War II.[3] InWickenby, a former Methodist Chapel was purchased in 1970 by Holton Players, who converted it into a 100-seat theatre, named Broadbent Theatre in memory of Roy Broadbent, who designed the conversion.[4][3]
Broadbent was educated atLeighton Park School, aQuaker school inReading,[5] and briefly attended art college before transferring to theLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art,[6] graduating in 1972.[7] His early stage work included appearances asPatrick Barlow's assistant in the mockNational Theatre of Brent.[8]
Broadbent's early stagework included a number of productions forThe National Theatre of Brent as the downtrodden assistant Wallace toPatrick Barlow's self-importantactor-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 asThe Complete Guide to Sex,The Greatest Story Ever Told,Revolution!!, andAll The World's A Globe.[9] These were hits at the Edinburgh Fringe, in London, and on tour. In 1978, he had two roles, first as Vroomfondel (who may, or may not be, a philosopher) and then as Shooty (a gratuitously violent policeman, who writes novel in crayon) in thePrimary Phase of the groundbreaking radio seriesThe Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.[10] Forty years later, he took the role ofMarvin in theHexagonal Phase radio series.[11] Towards the end of the decade, Broadbent began appearing in small roles on television and films, including a Fielder inThe Shout and Mackanees in thePlay for Today episodeLong Distance Information. He also appeared in an edition ofNot the Nine O'Clock News, playing a Union Negotiator.[9]
During that decade, his stage work included the original productions ofKafka's Dick (1986)[9] andOur Country's Good (1988) at theRoyal Court Theatre,[9] and work for theRoyal National Theatre including "The Government Inspector".[9] Work on the stage withMike Leigh includesGoosepimples andEcstasy. He had worked withStephen Frears inThe Hit (1984),[9] andTerry Gilliam inTime Bandits (1981) andBrazil (1985).[9]
Broadbent also appeared in 1983, 1985 and 1991 asDCI Roy Slater, an associate character in the enormously popular sitcomOnly Fools and Horses.[1] The character appeared in three episodes over an eight-year period. He had originally been offered the lead role ofDel Boy in the series, but he turned it down due to other commitments. He also made occasional guest appearances in other comedy shows includingHappy Families,[1] andVictoria Wood As Seen on TV.[1] In 1983, he portrayed Don Speekingleesh inThe Queen of Spain's Beard in the first series ofThe Black Adder.[1] He later played Prince Albert inBlackadder's Christmas Carol,[1] first broadcast in 1988. One of his final roles that decade, was as the disgruntled Northern playwright Alan Hammond in the final episode of the playlet seriesVictoria Wood.[1]
Broadbent's film breakthrough came inMike Leigh's independent comedy dramaLife Is Sweet (1990).[1] In the 1990s he established himself as acharacter actor in films includingMike Newell's period romanceEnchanted April (1991),[1]Neil Jordan's thrillerThe Crying Game (1992),[1]Woody Allen's 1920s-set showbiz comedyBullets Over Broadway (1994),[9] andRichard Loncraine's film adaptation ofRichard III (1995).[9] He appeared withJohn Goodman in fantasy comedyThe Borrowers (1997),[1] and withMichael Caine in the musical comedyLittle Voice (1998).[1] Broadbent ended the decade by taking a leading role playing dramatistSir William S. Gilbert in another Mike Leigh film,Topsy-Turvy (1999).[1]
Broadbent's television work during the Nineties included playing Jim Morley inGone to the Dogs,[1] and Monty in the follow-up seriesGone to Seed.[1] Further comic roles includedMurder Most Horrid[1] as Selwyn Proops,The Comic Strip Presents[1] as George and most notably the lead role of branch manager Peter Duffley in the sitcomThe Peter Principle[9] which ran for two series, broadcast between 1995 - 2000. He also appeared as Charlie Bennett in an episode ofInspector Morse.[1] In 1999, he made a notable appearance as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor in theDoctor Who spoofDoctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death.[1]
In 2001, Broadbent starred in three of the year's most successful films:Richard Curtis'Bridget Jones's Diary,[1]Baz Luhrmann'sMoulin Rouge!,[1] andRichard Eyre'sIris,[1] for which he won anAcademy Award forBest Supporting Actor for his performance.[12] In 2002, he appeared inMartin Scorsese'sGangs of New York,[1] and in the film adaptation of Dickens'Nicholas Nickleby.[1] In 2005, Broadbent appeared in the film adaptation ofC. S. Lewis' classic children's fantasy novelThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe asProfessor Kirke.[1] That same year Broadbent had voice roles inRobots,[1]Valiant,[1] andThe Magic Roundabout.[1] He also joinedRowan Atkinson in hisSpider-Man spoofSpider-Plant Man, as a disgruntled and enviousBatman.[1]
Broadbent played the lead role of the TV filmWide-Eyed and Legless.[13] Based on a true story, the drama tells ofDeric Longden's wife, Diana and her fight against a mysterious wasting illness which turned out to bemyalgic encephalomyelitis. It began as a type of flu but it grew progressively worse. She was subject to blackouts and became so debilitated that she could barely get out of her wheelchair. It led to years of pain and paralysis that ended in her death. Broadbent portrayed the title role in the Channel 4 dramaLongford[1] in October 2006, earning aBAFTA TV Award, aGolden Globe and a 2007Emmy nomination for his performance asFrank Pakenham (1905–2001), Earl of Longford, which was centred on Longford's ultimately unsuccessful campaign for the parole of Myra Hindley from herlife imprisonment for theMoors Murders. Broadbent appeared as Inspector Frank Butterman inHot Fuzz in 2007. He was also a regular inStephen Fry's radio comedy showSaturday Night Fry, which aired on BBC Radio 4 in 1988. In 2008, he starred as pro-Newtonian physicistSir Oliver Lodge in the fact-based single dramaEinstein and Eddington for theBBC.[1]
Broadbent also appeared in the fourth film in theIndiana Jones series,Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)[1] withHarrison Ford,Shia LaBeouf,Cate Blanchett andRay Winstone, directed bySteven Spielberg; and inThe Young Victoria (2009),[1] alongsideEmily Blunt asKing William IV. Broadbent joined a long list of British actors by appearing inHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,[1] as well as the final movie in the seriesHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 asHorace Slughorn[14] In 2009, he portrayedSam Longson,chairman ofDerby County football club in the 1960s and 1970s, in the filmThe Damned United;[1] the starring character in the film was football managerBrian Clough, played byMichael Sheen. In 2010, he provided the voice for the character Major Mouse in a series of radio advertisements and one produced for television for an energy company,E.ON, for their eonenergyfit.com website campaign.[15] He also starred as the older Logan Mountstuart in theTV adaptation of William Boyd's novelAny Human Heart.[9] He had a lead role inExile,[1] a BBC One drama, starringJohn Simm and written byDanny Brocklehurst.[16]
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In 2010, Broadbent reunited with directorMike Leigh, inAnother Year[1] In 2012, he playedDenis Thatcher oppositeMeryl Streep as the former Prime Minister inThe Iron Lady. That same year he also starred inCloud Atlas withTom Hanks,Hugh Grant,Halle Berry,Hugo Weaving, andBen Whishaw. In 2014, he starred alongsideLindsay Duncan in theRoger Mitchell directed film,Le Week-End.[1]
In 2015, Broadbent starred alongsideSaoirse Ronan,Domhnall Gleeson andJulie Walters in theOscar nominated filmBrooklyn.[1] Later that year, he also appeared alongsideMaggie Smith andAlex Jennings inAlan Bennett's comedy filmThe Lady in the Van (2015).[1] In 2015, Broadbent along withDaniel Rigby,Antonia Thomas,Fearne Cotton andJane Horrocks are revealed to be the new cast with Broadbent as a Voice Trumpet in the reboot of classic British children's television seriesTeletubbies.[1] Since 2016, Broadbent narrates Kevin the Carrot Christmas adverts for the UK branch ofAldi. In the 2020 advert, Broadbent portrayed Santa Claus, who was revealed to be the narrator.[17] Broadbent has also appeared alongsideHugh Bonneville,Sally Hawkins,Julie Walters andBen Whishaw in the British comedy films,Paddington (2014)[1] andPaddington 2 (2018).[1]
In 2016, he was cast in theseventh season of theHBO seriesGame of Thrones.[18][19] In 2017 he starred alongsideCharlotte Rampling,Michelle Dockery, andEmily Mortimer in the ensemble thrillerThe Sense of an Ending.[1]
On 28 May 2018, he played Gloucester in the BBC Two production ofKing Lear acting alongsideAnthony Hopkins,Emma Thompson andFlorence Pugh.[20]
In 2018, he playedHans Christian Andersen in the premiere ofMartin McDonagh's playA Very Very Very Dark Matter at theBridge Theatre inLondon.[21] In 2020, Broadbent starred in the limited seriesBlack Narcissus[9] based on theclassic Powell and Pressburger film. The series premiered on 23 November 2020 onFX. The series also starsGemma Arterton,Alessandro Nivola andDiana Rigg. Broadbent starred oppositeHelen Mirren in the comedy drama filmThe Duke.[1] The film had its world premiere at theVenice International Film Festival on 4 September 2020 and was pushed to be released in cinemas in the UK on 25 February 2021 because of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[22]
On 26 June 2018,Fantagraphics Books published the graphic novelDull Margaret, a collaboration betweenThe Guardian cartoonist Dix and Broadbent. The novel is inspired by the 1563 paintingDulle Griet byPieter Bruegel the Elder.[23]
In 2024, he was involved in the thirdPaddington Bear film alongsideHugh Bonneville,Julie Walters,Carla Tous,Antonio Banderas,Olivia Colman andEmily Mortimer inPaddington in Peru (2024).[24]
Selected films:
Selected Television:
Broadbent has been married to painter and former theatre designer Anastasia Lewis[25] since 1987. He has no children, but Lewis has two sons from a previous relationship. Broadbent primarily lives in theLincolnshire Wolds.[26] He also owns a property inLondon.[27] He is anatheist.[28]
Broadbent received hisAcademy Award forBest Supporting Actor for his performance inRichard Eyre'sIris (2001) starring alongsideJudi Dench. That same year he won hisBritish Academy Film Award for his performance inBaz Luhrmann'sMoulin Rouge! (2001). In 2007, he received aBritish Academy Television Award for his work inTom Hooper's television film,Longford (2007). He has received twoGolden Globe Awards for his performances inIris (2001) andLongford (2007). He also received twoPrimetime Emmy Award nominations for his performance asDesmond Morton in theBBC/HBO productionThe Gathering Storm (2002) and asLord Longford inLongford (2007).
Broadbent was offered anOBE in 2002, but he declined it, stating that there were more deserving recipients than actors and that the British Empire was not something he wanted to "celebrate".[29][30] Broadbent was made an Honorary Associate ofLondon Film School.
In 2018, Broadbent's first graphic novelDull Margaret was published by Fantagraphics Books.[31]
