One of England's most versatile character actors, Jim Broadbent was born on May 24, 1949, in Lincolnshire, the youngest son of furniture maker Roy Broadbent and sculptress Dee Broadbent. Jim attended a Quaker boarding school in Reading before successfully applying for a place at an art school. His heart was in acting, though, and he would later transfer to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Following his 1972 graduation, he began his professional career on the stage, performing with the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and as part of the National Theatre of Brent, a two-man troupe which he co-founded. In addition to his theatrical work, Broadbent did steady work on television, working for such directors as Mike Newell and Stephen Frears. Broadbent made his film debut in 1978 with a small part in Jerzy Skolimowski's The Shout (1978). He went on to work with Frears again in The Hit (1984) and with Terry Gilliam in Time Bandits (1981) and Brazil (1985), but it was through his collaboration with Mike Leigh that Broadbent first became known to an international film audience. In 1990 he starred in Leigh's Life Is Sweet (1990), a domestic comedy that cast him as a good-natured cook who dreams of running his own business. Broadbent gained further visibility the following year with substantial roles in Neil Jordan's The Crying Game (1992) and Mike Newell's Enchanted April (1992), and he could subsequently be seen in such diverse fare as Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Widows' Peak (1994), Richard Loncraine's highly acclaimed adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III (1995) and Little Voice (1998), the last of which cast him as a seedy nightclub owner. Appearing primarily as a character actor in these films, Broadbent took center stage for Leigh's Topsy-Turvy (1999), imbuing the mercurial W.S. Gilbert with emotional complexity and comic poignancy. Jim's breakthrough year was 2001, as he starred in three critically and commercially successful films. Many would consider him the definitive supporting actor of that year. First he starred as Bridget's dad (Colin Jones) in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), which propelled Renée Zellweger to an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Next came the multiple Oscar-nominated film (including Best Picture) Moulin Rouge! (2001), for which he won a Best Supporting Actor BAFTA award for his scene-stealing performance as Harold Zidler. Lastly, came the small biopic Iris (2001/I), for which he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as devoted husband John Bayley to Judi Dench's Iris Murdoch, the British novelist who suffered from Alzheimer's disease. The film hit home with Jim, since his own mother had passed away from Alzheimer's in 1995.
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Movie | King Lear | Earl of Gloucester | 2018-05-28 |
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Movie | The Sense of an Ending | Tony Webster | 2017-03-10 |
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Series | War and Peace | Prince Bolkonsky | 2016-01-03 |
Movie | The Legend of Tarzan | Prime Minister | 2016-06-29 |
Movie | Eddie the Eagle | BBC Commentator | 2016-02-25 |
Movie | Bridget Jones's Baby | Mr. Colin Jones | 2016-09-14 |
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Movie | Big Game | Herbert | 2015-03-19 |
Movie | The Weather Inside | Britischer Botschafter | 2015-09-29 |
Movie | The Go-Between | Old Leo | 2015-09-20 |
Movie | Brooklyn | Father Flood | 2015-10-20 |
Series | London Spy | Scottie | 2015-11-09 |
Movie | The Lady in the Van | Underwood | 2015-10-30 |
Movie | Postman Pat: The Movie | CEO (voice) | 2014-05-23 |
Movie | Paddington | Samuel Gruber | 2014-11-24 |
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Movie | The One and Only Mike Leigh | Himself | 2014-11-24 |
Movie | Get Santa | Santa Claus | 2014-12-05 |
Movie | Closed Circuit | Attorney General | 2013-08-28 |
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Series | Game of Thrones | Archmaester Ebrose | 2011-04-17 |
Series | Exile | 2011-05-01 | |
Movie | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 | Horace Slughorn | 2011-07-12 |
Movie | The Iron Lady | Denis Thatcher | 2011-12-26 |
Movie | Arthur Christmas | Santa (voice) | 2011-11-10 |
Movie | Any Human Heart | Logan Mountstuart (Older) | 2010-06-30 |
Movie | Another Year | Tom | 2010-11-05 |
Series | Downton Abbey | Jim Broadbent | 2010-09-26 |
Movie | The Young Victoria | King William IV | 2009-03-04 |
Movie | Creating the World of Harry Potter. Part 2: Characters | Himself | 2009-12-08 |
Movie | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Horace Slughorn | 2009-07-15 |
Movie | Tales of the Riverbank | G.P. (voice) | 2008-02-07 |
Movie | Lost and Found | Narrator (voice) | 2008-12-24 |
Movie | Einstein and Eddington | Sir Oliver Lodge | 2008-11-29 |
Movie | Hot Fuzz | Inspector Frank Butterman | 2007-02-14 |
Movie | When Did You Last See Your Father? | Arthur Morrison | 2007-10-05 |
Series | The Street | Unknown | 2006-04-13 |
Movie | Free Jimmy | Stomowskij (voice) | 2006-04-21 |
Movie | Art School Confidential | Jimmy | 2006-05-05 |
Movie | Longford | Lord Longford | 2006-10-26 |
Movie | Robots | Madame Gasket (voice) | 2005-03-10 |
Movie | Spider-Plant Man | Batman | 2005-03-11 |
Movie | The Magic Roundabout | Brian (voice) | 2005-02-02 |
Movie | Valiant | Sergeant (voice) | 2005-03-25 |
Movie | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | Professor Kirke | 2005-12-07 |
Movie | Around the World in 80 Days | Lord Kelvin | 2004-06-16 |
Movie | Pride | Eddie (voice) | 2004-06-21 |
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Movie | Vanity Fair | Mr. Osborne | 2004-09-01 |
Movie | Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason | Bridget's Dad | 2004-11-10 |
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Movie | Bridget Jones's Diary | Bridget's Dad | 2001-04-13 |
Movie | Moulin Rouge! | Harold Zidler | 2001-05-24 |
Movie | Iris | John Bayley | 2001-12-14 |
Movie | Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death | The Shy Doctor | 1999-03-26 |
Movie | Topsy-Turvy | W. S. Gilbert | 1999-12-15 |
Movie | Little Voice | Mr. Boo | 1998-11-05 |
Movie | Smilla's Sense of Snow | Dr. Lagermann | 1997-02-28 |
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Movie | The Secret Agent | Chief Inspector Heat | 1996-11-08 |
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Movie | Widows' Peak | Con Clancy | 1994-05-13 |
Movie | Bullets Over Broadway | Warner Purcell | 1994-10-14 |
Movie | Princess Caraboo | Mr. Worrall | 1994-09-16 |
Movie | Wide-Eyed and Legless | Deric Longden | 1993-09-05 |
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Movie | Enchanted April | Frederick Arbuthnot | 1991-11-06 |
Movie | Life Is Sweet | Andy | 1990-11-15 |
Movie | Erik the Viking | Ernest the Viking (a Rapist) | 1989-09-01 |
Series | Victoria Wood | 1989-11-16 | |
Series | The Staggering Stories of Ferdinand de Bargos | 1989-11-16 | |
Movie | Vroom | Donald | 1988-11-11 |
Movie | Blackadder's Christmas Carol | Prince Albert | 1988-12-23 |
Movie | Running Out of Luck | 1987-02-02 | |
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Movie | Brazil | Dr. Jaffe | 1985-02-20 |
Movie | The Good Father | Roger Miles | 1985-11-01 |
Movie | The Hit | Barrister | 1984-09-07 |
Movie | Dead on Time | Priest | 1983-01-01 |
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Series | Blackadder | Don Speekingleesh, an Interpreter | 1983-06-15 |
Series | Bird of Prey | 1982-04-22 | |
Movie | Uliisses | 1982-06-18 | |
Movie | Walter | Joseph - Orderly | 1982-11-02 |
Movie | Our Winnie | Second Attendant | 1982-11-12 |
Movie | Time Bandits | Compere | 1981-07-13 |
Movie | Breaking Glass | Station Porter | 1980-10-01 |
Movie | The Passage | German Soldier | 1979-03-09 |
Movie | Long Distance Information | Mackaness | 1979-10-11 |
Movie | The Shout | Fielder in cowpat | 1978-06-16 |
Movie | The Go-Between | Spectator at Cricket Match (uncredited) | 1971-06-16 |
Series | Play for Today | Unknown | 1970-10-15 |
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