Jim Broadbent

Broadbent was born in Holton cum Beckering,[2] in Lincolnshire, the second son of Doreen "Dee" Broadbent (née 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 the BBC as conscientious objectors who "worked the land" rather than participate in World War II.[3] In Wickenby, 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. In 2005 he played Brian the snail in the remake of The Magic Roundabout aged 55. He played Roy Slater in Only Fools And Horses in 1985 & 1991.

Broadbent had a twin sister who died at birth. Broadbent was educated at Leighton Park School, a Quaker school in Reading,[5] and briefly attended art college before transferring to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He graduated in 1972.[6] His early stage work included appearances as Patrick Barlow's assistant in the mock National Theatre of Brent.[7]

Broadbent at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival

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 and 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 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.

He had worked with Stephen Frears 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), playing dramatist Sir William S. Gilbert. 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: Richard Curtis' Bridget Jones's Diary, Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!, and Richard Eyre's Iris, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.[8] In 2002, he appeared in Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York and in the film adaptation of Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby.

Broadbent voiced Madame Gasket in the 2005 film Robots. Broadbent also appeared as DCI Roy 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 Boy in the series, but he turned it down due to other commitments. He has also played a role in the Inspector Morse series. Other comic roles include the lead role in the sitcom The Peter Principle and occasional guest appearances in Not The Nine O'Clock News, Only Fools and Horses, and Victoria Wood As Seen on TV. He portrayed Don Speekingleesh in "The Queen of Spain's Beard" in the first series of The Black Adder in 1983. He also played the role of Prince Albert in Blackadder's Christmas Carol, first broadcast in 1988. He joined Rowan Atkinson in his Spider-Man spoof Spider-Plant Man, as a disgruntled Batman, envious of Spider-Plant Man's success.

Broadbent played the lead role of the TV film Wide-Eyed and Legless.[9] Based on a true story, the drama tells of Deric Longden's wife, Diana, and her fight against a mysterious wasting illness which turned out to be myalgic 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 drama Longford in October 2006, earning a BAFTA TV Award, a Golden Globe, and a 2007 Emmy nomination for his performance as Frank Pakenham (1905–2001), Earl of Longford, which was centred on Longford's ultimately unsuccessful campaign for the parole of Myra Hindley from her life imprisonment for the Moors Murders.

Broadbent appeared as Inspector Frank Butterman in Hot Fuzz in 2007.

The Broadbent Theatre, Wickenby, Lincolnshire, named after Roy Broadbent, father of Jim. Photographed 2006

He appeared in the original radio production of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, playing the character Vroomfondel. Forty years later, he took the role of Marvin in the Hexagonal Phase radio series.[10] He was also a regular in Stephen Fry's radio comedy show Saturday Night Fry, which aired on BBC Radio 4 in 1988. In 2008, he starred as pro-Newtonian physicist Sir Oliver Lodge in the fact-based single drama Einstein and Eddington for the BBC.

Broadbent also briefly appeared in the fourth film in the Indiana Jones series, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) and in The Young Victoria (2009) alongside Emily Blunt as King William IV.

Broadbent joined a long list of British actors by appearing in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, as well as the final movie in the series Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 as Horace Slughorn[11]

In 2009, he portrayed Sam Longson, chairman of Derby County football club in the 1960s and 1970s, in the film The Damned United; the starring character in the film was football manager Brian Clough, played by Michael 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. He also starred as the older Logan Mountstuart in the TV adaptation of William Boyd's novel Any Human Heart. He had a lead role in Exile, a BBC One drama, starring John Simm and written by Danny Brocklehurst.[12]

In 2010, Broadbent reunited with director Mike Leigh, in Another Year with Ruth Sheen, and Lesley Manville. The film premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival in competition for the Palme d'Or. According to review aggregation website, Rotten Tomatoes, 93% of critics have given the film a positive review, with the critical consensus reading, "Characterized by strong performances and the director's trademark feel for the nuances of everyday life, Another Year marks another solid entry in Mike Leigh's career of kitchen-sink English drama."[13]

In 2012, he played Denis Thatcher opposite Meryl Streep as the former Prime Minister in The Iron Lady. Broadbent nominated her four BAFTA Award for her performance. That same year he also starred in Cloud Atlas.

Broadbent in 2007

In 2014, he starred in Roger Mitchell's critically acclaimed drama film, Le Week-End alongside Lindsay Duncan. Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 89% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 148 reviews, with an average score of 7.4/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Topped with bittersweet humor but possessing surprisingly thorny depths, Le Week-End offers a sophisticated, well-acted portrait of late-life struggles and long-term marriage."[14]

In 2015, Broadbent starred in the Oscar nominated film Brooklyn alongside Saoirse Ronan, Domhnaal Gleeson, and Julie Walters. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 256 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Brooklyn buttresses outstanding performances from Saoirse Ronan and Emory Cohen with a rich period drama that tugs at the heartstrings as deftly as it satisfies the mind."[15] The film was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture. In 2015, Broadbent along with Daniel Rigby, Antonia Thomas, Fearne Cotton and Jane Horrocks are revealed to be the new cast with Broadbent as a Voice Trumpet in the reboot of classic British children’s television series Teletubbies.

Later that year, he also appeared in a role in Alan Bennett's comedy film The Lady in the Van (2015) alongside Maggie Smith, and Alex Jennings.

Broadbent has also appeared in the critically acclaimed British comedy films, Paddington (2014), and Paddington 2 (2018) alongside Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, and Ben Whishaw.

In 2016, he was cast in the massively popular Emmy Award winning HBO series seventh season of the HBO series Game of Thrones.[16][17]

On 28 May 2018, he played Gloucester in the BBC Two's of King Lear.[18]

In 2018, he played Hans Christian Andersen in the premiere of Martin McDonagh's play A Very Very Very Dark Matter at the Bridge Theatre in London.[19]

In 2018, Broadbent's first graphic novel Dull Margaret was published by Fantagraphics Books.[20]

Selected filmography

Broadbent has been married to painter and former theatre designer Anastasia Lewis[21] since 1987: they have no children but she has two sons from a previous relationship. He is an atheist.[22]

Academy Awards

Emmy Awards (Primetime)

Golden Globe Awards

Screen Actors Guild Awards

British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards (BAFTA)

Miscellaneous awards

• Jim Broadbent on IMDb
• Jim Broadbent | Culture | The Guardian
• Jim Broadbent on the British Film Institute