Jim Broadbent

James "Jim" Broadbent (born 24 May 1949) is an English film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his roles in Topsy-Turvy (1999), Iris (2001) for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Moulin Rouge! (2001) for which he received the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Bridget Jones' Diary (2001), Hot Fuzz (2007), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), The Iron Lady (2011), Cloud Atlas (2012) and Le Week-End (2013). He also appeared in Harry Potter films as Horace Slughorn.

On television, Broadbent has starred in the drama Longford (2006), earning the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film.

Early life

Broadbent was born in Holton cum Beckering, in Lincolnshire, the son of Doreen "Dee" Broadbent (née Findlay), a sculptor, and Roy Laverick Broadbent, an artist, sculptor, interior designer, and furniture maker who turned a former church into a theatre named after him. Broadbent's parents were both amateur actors who co-founded the Holton Players acting troupe at Holton cum Beckering; the two have been described by the BBC as conscientious objectors who "worked the land" rather than participate in World War II. He had a twin sister who died at birth. Broadbent was educated at Leighton Park School, aQuaker school in Reading, and briefly attended art college before transferring to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art from which he graduated in 1972.

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, Revolution!!, and All The World's A Globe. 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.

Personal life

Broadbent is married to painter and former theatre designer, Anastasia Lewis. He is an atheist.

[ Wikipedia ]