Derek Jacobi
Encyclopedia
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE
(icon; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor and film director.
A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet
, Uncle Vanya
, and Oedipus the King
. He received a Tony Award
for his performance in Much Ado About Nothing
. His stage work also included playing Edward II
, Octavius Caesar
, Richard III
, and Cyrano de Bergerac
.
In addition to being a founder member of the Royal National Theatre
and winning several prestigious theatre awards, Jacobi has also enjoyed a successful television career, starring in the critically praised adaptation of Roberts Graves'
I, Claudius
, for which he won a BAFTA; the titular role in the acclaimed medieval drama series Brother Cadfael, and Stanley Baldwin
in The Gathering Storm
. Though principally a stage actor, Jacobi has appeared in a number of films, such as Henry V
(1989), Dead Again
(1991), Gladiator
(2000), Gosford Park
(2001), The Golden Compass (2007), The King's Speech (2010), and the forthcoming Hippie Hippie Shake. Like Laurence Olivier
, he holds two knighthoods, Danish and British.
, London, England, the son of Daisy Gertrude (née Masters), a secretary who worked in a drapery
store in Leyton High Road, and Alfred George Jacobi, who ran a sweet shop and was a tobacconist
in Chingford
. His great-grandfather on his father's side had emigrated to England from Germany during the 19th century. His family was working class. Although a war baby, Jacobi claims a happy childhood. In his teens he went to the Leyton County High School and became an integral part of the drama club, The Players of Leyton
.
While in the sixth-form, he starred in a production of Hamlet
, which was taken to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and very well regarded. At 18, he won a scholarship to the University of Cambridge, where he read history at St John's College
and earned his degree. Younger members of the university at the time included Ian McKellen
(who had a crush on him – "a passion that was undeclared and unrequited", as McKellen relates it) and Trevor Nunn
. During his studies at Cambridge, Jacobi played many parts including Hamlet
, which was taken on a tour to Switzerland where he met Richard Burton
. As a result of his performance of Edward II
at Cambridge, he was invited to become a member of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre
immediately upon his graduation in 1960.
. He invited the young man back to London to become one of the founding members of the new National Theatre
, even though at the time Jacobi was relatively unknown. He played Laertes
in the National Theatre's
inaugural production of Hamlet
opposite Peter O'Toole
in 1963. Olivier cast him as Cassio
in the successful National Theatre stage production of Othello
, a role that Jacobi repeated in the 1965 film version
. He played Andrei in the NT production and film of Three Sisters (1970), both starring Olivier. On 27 July 1965, Jacobi played Brindsley Miller in the first production of Peter Shaffer
's Black Comedy
. It was presented by the National Theatre at Chichester and subsequently in London.
After eight years at the National Theatre, Jacobi left in 1971 to pursue different roles and mediums of expression. In 1972, he starred in the BBC
serial Man of Straw, directed by Herbert Wise
. Most of his theatrical work in the 70s was with the touring classical Prospect Theatre Company, with which he undertook many roles, including Ivanov, Pericles, Prince of Tyre
and A Month in the Country
opposite Dorothy Tutin
(1976).
Although Jacobi's name was becoming known and he was increasingly busy with stage and screen acting, his big breakthrough came in 1976 when he played the title role in the BBC's series I, Claudius
. He cemented his increasing reputation with his performance as the stammering, twitching Emperor Claudius
winning him many plaudits. In 1979, thanks to his international popularity, he took Hamlet
on a theatrical world tour through England, Egypt
, Greece, Sweden, Australia, Japan and China, playing Prince Hamlet
. He was invited to perform the role at Kronborg Castle
, Denmark, better known as Elsinore Castle, the setting of the play. In 1978 he played in the BBC Television Shakespeare
production of Richard II
, with Sir John Gielgud
and Dame Wendy Hiller
.
, made his Broadway debut in The Suicide
(a run shortened by Jacobi's return home to England due to the death of his mother), and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company
(RSC). From 1982 to 1985 he played four demanding roles simultaneously: Benedick in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing
, for which he won a Tony for its Broadway run (1984–1985); Prospero in The Tempest
; Peer Gynt
; and Cyrano de Bergerac
which he brought to the US and played in repertory with Much Ado About Nothing
on Broadway and in Washington DC (1984–1985). In 1986, he made his West End debut in Breaking the Code
by Hugh Whitemore, with the role of Alan Turing
, which was written with Jacobi specifically in mind. The play was taken to Broadway. In 1988 Jacobi alternated in West End the title roles of Shakespeare's Richard II
and Richard III
in repertoire.
His TV career saw him measure with Inside the Third Reich (1982), where he played Hitler
; Mr Pye
(1985); and Little Dorrit
(1987), from Charles Dickens
's book; The Tenth Man (1988) with Anthony Hopkins
and Kristin Scott Thomas
. In 1982, he starred as the voice of Nicodemus in the animated film, The Secret of NIMH
. In 1990, he starred as Daedalus in episode 4 of Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Greek Myths.
Jacobi continued to play Shakespeare roles, notably in Kenneth Branagh
's 1989 film of Henry V
(as the Chorus
), and made his directing debut as Branagh's director for the 1988 Renaissance Theatre Company
's touring production of Hamlet
, which also played at Elsinore and as part of a Renaissance repertory season at the Phoenix Theatre
in London. The 1990s saw Jacobi keeping on with repertoire stage work in Kean at the Old Vic
, Becket
in the West End (the Haymarket Theatre
) and Macbeth
at the RSC in both London and Stratford
.
He was appointed the joint artistic director
of the Chichester Festival Theatre
, with the West End impresario Duncan Weldon in 1995 for a three-year tenure. As an actor at Chichester, he also starred in four plays, including his first Uncle Vanya
in 1996 (he played it again in 2000, which he brought to Broadway for a limited run). Jacobi's work during the 1990s included the 13-episode series TV adaptation of the novels by Ellis Peters
, Cadfael
(1994–1998) and a televised version of Breaking the Code (1996). Film appearances included performances in Kenneth Branagh
's Dead Again
(1991), Branagh's full-text rendition of Hamlet
(1996) as King Claudius
, John Maybury
's Love is the Devil
(1998), a portrait of painter Francis Bacon, as Senator Gracchus in Gladiator
(2000) with Russell Crowe
, and as "The Duke" opposite Christopher Eccleston
and Eddie Izzard
in a post-apocalyptic
version of Thomas Middleton
's The Revenger's Tragedy
(2002).
In 2001, Jacobi won an Emmy Award
by mocking his Shakespearean background in the television sitcom Frasier
episode "The Show Must Go Off", in which he played the world's worst Shakespearean actor: the hammy, loud, untalented Jackson Hedley. This was his first guest appearance on an American television programme.
, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
by C. S. Lewis
and two abridged versions of I, Claudius
by Robert Graves
. In 2001, he provided the voice of "Duke Theseus" in The Children's Midsummer Night's Dream film. In 2002, Jacobi toured Australia in The Hollow Crown
with Sir Donald Sinden
, Ian Richardson
and Dame Diana Rigg
. Jacobi also played the role of Senator Gracchus in Gladiator
and starred in the 2002 miniseries The Jury
. He is also the narrator for the BBC children's series In the Night Garden
.
In 2003, he was involved with Scream of the Shalka
, a webcast
based on the science fiction series Doctor Who
. He played the voice of the Doctor's arch-nemesis the Master
alongside Richard E. Grant
as the Doctor
. In the same year, he also appeared in Deadline
, an audio drama also based on Doctor Who. In that, he played Martin Bannister, an aging writer who makes up stories about "the Doctor", a character who travels in time and space, the premise being that the series had never made it on to television. Jacobi later followed this up with an appearance in the Doctor Who episode "Utopia
" (June 2007); he appears as the kindly Professor Yana, who by the end of the episode is revealed to actually be the Master. Jacobi admitted to Doctor Who Confidential
he had always wanted to be on the show: "One of my ambitions since the '60s has been to take part in a Doctor Who. The other one is Coronation Street
. So I've cracked Doctor Who now. I'm still waiting for Corrie."
In 2004, Jacobi starred in Friedrich Schiller
's Don Carlos
at the Crucible Theatre
in Sheffield
, in an acclaimed production, which transferred to the Gielgud Theatre
in London in January 2005. The London production of Don Carlos gathered rave reviews. Also in 2004, he starred as Lord Teddy Thursby in the first of the four-part BBC series The Long Firm
, based on Jake Arnott
's novel of the same name. In Nanny McPhee
(2005), he played the role of the colourful Mr. Wheen, an undertaker. He played the role of Alexander Corvinus in the 2006 movie Underworld: Evolution
.
In March 2006, BBC Two
broadcast Pinochet in Suburbia
, a docudrama
about former Chile
an dictator Augusto Pinochet
and the attempts to extradite
him from Great Britain; Jacobi played the leading role. In September 2007, it was released in the U.S., retitled Pinochet's Last Stand. In 2006, he appeared in the children's movie Mist, the tale of a sheepdog puppy, he also narrated this movie. In July–August 2006, he played the eponymous role in A Voyage Round My Father
at the Donmar Warehouse
, a production which then transferred to the West End.
In February 2007, his feature film The Riddle
, directed by Brendan Foley
, in which he stars alongside Vinnie Jones
and Vanessa Redgrave
, was screened at Berlin EFM. Jacobi plays twin roles, first a present day London tramp and then the ghost of Charles Dickens
. In March 2007, the BBC's children's programme In the Night Garden
started its run of 100 episodes, with Jacobi as the narrator. He played Nell's grandfather in ITV's Christmas 2007 adaptation of The Old Curiosity Shop
, and returned to the stage to play Malvolio in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (2009) for the Donmar Warehouse at Wyndham's Theatre
in London. The role won him the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor. He appears in five 2009 films: Morris: A Life with Bells On
, Hippie Hippie Shake , Endgame, Adam Resurrected
and Charles Dickens's England
. In 2010 he returned to I, Claudius, as Augustus in a radio adaptation
. In 2011, he was part of a medieval epic, Ironclad, which also starred James Purefoy and Paul Giamatti, as the ineffectual Reginald de Cornhill, castellan of Rochester castle.
Jacobi starred in Michael Grandage
's production of King Lear
(London, 2010), giving what The New Yorker
called "one of the finest performances of his distinguished career". In May 2011 he reprised this role at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
.
. He supports the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship
, according to which Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford
wrote the works of Shakespeare. Jacobi has given an address to the Shakespeare Authorship Research Centre promoting Oxford as the Shakespeare authorand wrote forewords to two books on the subject in 2004 and 2005.
In 2007, Jacobi and fellow Shakespearean actor and director Mark Rylance
initiated a "Declaration of Reasonable Doubt" on the authorship of Shakespeare's work, to encourage new research into the question. The online document has been signed by over 1,700 people, including over 300 academics.
In 2011, accepted a role in the film Anonymous
, starring Rhys Ifans
and Vanessa Redgrave
. In the film Jacobi plays a playwright raised, through his work, the Oxfordian theory
.
Theatre
Television
Film
Ensemble:
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(icon; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor and film director.
A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
, and Oedipus the King
Oedipus the King
Oedipus the King , also known by the Latin title Oedipus Rex, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed c. 429 BCE. It was the second of Sophocles's three Theban plays to be produced, but it comes first in the internal chronology, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone...
. He received a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for his performance in Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
. His stage work also included playing Edward II
Edward II (play)
Edward II is a Renaissance or Early Modern period play written by Christopher Marlowe. It is one of the earliest English history plays. The full title of the first publication is The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England, with the Tragical Fall of Proud...
, Octavius Caesar
Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony...
, Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
, and Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano de Bergerac (play)
Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears very scant resemblance to his life....
.
In addition to being a founder member of the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
and winning several prestigious theatre awards, Jacobi has also enjoyed a successful television career, starring in the critically praised adaptation of Roberts Graves'
Robert Graves
Robert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
I, Claudius
I, Claudius (TV series)
I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time...
, for which he won a BAFTA; the titular role in the acclaimed medieval drama series Brother Cadfael, and Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
in The Gathering Storm
The Gathering Storm (2002 film)
The Gathering Storm is a BBC–HBO co-produced television biographical film about Winston Churchill in the years just prior to World War II...
. Though principally a stage actor, Jacobi has appeared in a number of films, such as Henry V
Henry V (1989 film)
Henry V is a 1989 film directed by Kenneth Branagh, based on William Shakespeare's play The Life of Henry the Fifth about the famous English king. Branagh stars in the title role, and wrote the screenplay. The film was highly acclaimed on its release....
(1989), Dead Again
Dead Again
Dead Again is a 1991 psychological thriller/neo-noir directed by Kenneth Branagh, starring Branagh and his then-wife Emma Thompson. Andy García, Derek Jacobi and Robin Williams are also featured.-Plot summary:...
(1991), Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...
(2000), Gosford Park
Gosford Park
Gosford Park is a 2001 British-American mystery comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Alan Bates, and Michael Gambon...
(2001), The Golden Compass (2007), The King's Speech (2010), and the forthcoming Hippie Hippie Shake. Like Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, he holds two knighthoods, Danish and British.
Early life
Jacobi, an only child, was born in LeytonstoneLeytonstone
Leytonstone is an area of east London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is a high density suburban area, located seven miles north east of Charing Cross in the ceremonial county of Greater London and the historic county of Essex...
, London, England, the son of Daisy Gertrude (née Masters), a secretary who worked in a drapery
Drapery
Drapery is a general word referring to cloths or textiles . It may refer to cloth used for decorative purposes – such as around windows – or to the trade of retailing cloth, originally mostly for clothing, formerly conducted by drapers.In art history, drapery refers to any cloth or...
store in Leyton High Road, and Alfred George Jacobi, who ran a sweet shop and was a tobacconist
Tobacconist
A tobacconist is an expert dealer in tobacco in various forms and the related accoutrements .Such accoutrements include pipes, lighters, matches, pipe cleaners, pipe tampers, ashtrays, humidification devices, hygrometers, humidors, cigar cutters, and more. Books and magazines, especially ones...
in Chingford
Chingford
Chingford is a district of north east London, bordering on Enfield and Edmonton to the west, Woodford to the east, Walthamstow and Stratford to the south and Essex to the north. It is situated northeast of Charing Cross and forms part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest...
. His great-grandfather on his father's side had emigrated to England from Germany during the 19th century. His family was working class. Although a war baby, Jacobi claims a happy childhood. In his teens he went to the Leyton County High School and became an integral part of the drama club, The Players of Leyton
Leyton
Leyton is an area of north-east London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, located north east of Charing Cross. It borders Walthamstow and Leytonstone; Stratford in Newham; and Homerton and Lower Clapton in the London Borough of Hackney....
.
While in the sixth-form, he starred in a production of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, which was taken to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and very well regarded. At 18, he won a scholarship to the University of Cambridge, where he read history at St John's College
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
and earned his degree. Younger members of the university at the time included Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
(who had a crush on him – "a passion that was undeclared and unrequited", as McKellen relates it) and Trevor Nunn
Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn, CBE is an English theatre, film and television director. Nunn has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed musicals and dramas for the stage, as well as opera...
. During his studies at Cambridge, Jacobi played many parts including Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, which was taken on a tour to Switzerland where he met Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
. As a result of his performance of Edward II
Edward II (play)
Edward II is a Renaissance or Early Modern period play written by Christopher Marlowe. It is one of the earliest English history plays. The full title of the first publication is The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England, with the Tragical Fall of Proud...
at Cambridge, he was invited to become a member of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre is a theatre and theatre company based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England...
immediately upon his graduation in 1960.
Early work
Jacobi quickly came to the fore, and his talent was recognised by Laurence OlivierLaurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
. He invited the young man back to London to become one of the founding members of the new National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, even though at the time Jacobi was relatively unknown. He played Laertes
Laertes
In Greek mythology, Laërtes was the son of Arcesius and Chalcomedusa. He was the father of Odysseus and Ctimene by his wife Anticlea, daughter of the thief Autolycus. Laërtes was an Argonaut and participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar...
in the National Theatre's
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
inaugural production of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
opposite Peter O'Toole
Peter O'Toole
Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
in 1963. Olivier cast him as Cassio
Michael Cassio
Michael Cassio, or simply Cassio, is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's Othello. The source of the character is the 1565 tale "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio; Cassio is unnamed in Cinthio but referred to as "the squadron leader." In the play, Cassio is a young and handsome lieutenant...
in the successful National Theatre stage production of Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
, a role that Jacobi repeated in the 1965 film version
Othello (1965 film)
Othello is a 1965 film based on the National Theatre's staging of Shakespeare's Othello staged by John Dexter. Directed by Stuart Burge, the film starred Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Frank Finlay, and Joyce Redman, providing film debuts for both Derek Jacobi and Michael...
. He played Andrei in the NT production and film of Three Sisters (1970), both starring Olivier. On 27 July 1965, Jacobi played Brindsley Miller in the first production of Peter Shaffer
Peter Shaffer
Sir Peter Levin Shaffer is an English dramatist and playwright, screenwriter and author of numerous award-winning plays, several of which have been filmed.-Early life:...
's Black Comedy
Black Comedy
Black Comedy is a one-act farce by Peter Shaffer, first performed in 1965.The play is written to be staged under a reversed lighting scheme: the play opens on a darkened stage...
. It was presented by the National Theatre at Chichester and subsequently in London.
After eight years at the National Theatre, Jacobi left in 1971 to pursue different roles and mediums of expression. In 1972, he starred in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
serial Man of Straw, directed by Herbert Wise
Herbert Wise
Herbert Wise is an Austrian-born film and television producer and director.He was born as Herbert Weisz in Vienna, Austria and began his career as a director at Shrewsbury Repertory Company in 1950. He was at Hull Rep and then as Director of Productions at Dundee Rep 1952-55...
. Most of his theatrical work in the 70s was with the touring classical Prospect Theatre Company, with which he undertook many roles, including Ivanov, Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Pericles, Prince of Tyre is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio...
and A Month in the Country
A Month in the Country (play)
A Month in the Country is a comedy in five acts by Ivan Turgenev. It was written in France between 1848 and 1850 and was first published in 1855...
opposite Dorothy Tutin
Dorothy Tutin
Dame Dorothy Tutin DBE was an English actor of stage, film, and television.An obituary in The Daily Telegraph described her as "one of the most enchanting, accomplished and intelligent leading ladies on the post-war British stage...
(1976).
Although Jacobi's name was becoming known and he was increasingly busy with stage and screen acting, his big breakthrough came in 1976 when he played the title role in the BBC's series I, Claudius
I, Claudius (TV series)
I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time...
. He cemented his increasing reputation with his performance as the stammering, twitching Emperor Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
winning him many plaudits. In 1979, thanks to his international popularity, he took Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
on a theatrical world tour through England, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Greece, Sweden, Australia, Japan and China, playing Prince Hamlet
Prince Hamlet
Prince Hamlet is a fictional character, the protagonist in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. He is the Prince of Denmark, nephew to the usurping Claudius and son of the previous King of Denmark, Old Hamlet. Throughout the play he struggles with whether, and how, to avenge the murder of his father, and...
. He was invited to perform the role at Kronborg Castle
Kronborg Castle
Kronborg is a star fortress situated near the town of Helsingør on the extreme northeastern tip of Zealand at the narrowest point of the Øresund, the sound between Denmark and Sweden...
, Denmark, better known as Elsinore Castle, the setting of the play. In 1978 he played in the BBC Television Shakespeare
BBC Television Shakespeare
The BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985.-Origins:...
production of Richard II
Richard II (play)
King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's...
, with Sir John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
and Dame Wendy Hiller
Wendy Hiller
Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller DBE was an Academy Award-winning English film and stage actress, who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly sixty years. The writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation Rating the Movie Stars, described her as "a no-nonsense actress who literally took...
.
Later career
In 1980, Jacobi took the leading role in the BBC's HamletHamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, made his Broadway debut in The Suicide
The Suicide (play)
The Suicide is a 1928 play by the Russian playwright Nikolai Erdman. Its performance was proscribed during the Stalinist era and it was only produced in Russia several years after the death of its writer...
(a run shortened by Jacobi's return home to England due to the death of his mother), and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
(RSC). From 1982 to 1985 he played four demanding roles simultaneously: Benedick in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
, for which he won a Tony for its Broadway run (1984–1985); Prospero in The Tempest
The Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
; Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...
; and Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano de Bergerac (play)
Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears very scant resemblance to his life....
which he brought to the US and played in repertory with Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
on Broadway and in Washington DC (1984–1985). In 1986, he made his West End debut in Breaking the Code
Breaking the Code
Breaking the Code is a 1986 play by Hugh Whitemore about British mathematician Alan Turing, who was a key player in the breaking of the German Enigma code at Bletchley Park during World War II...
by Hugh Whitemore, with the role of Alan Turing
Alan Turing
Alan Mathison Turing, OBE, FRS , was an English mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, and computer scientist. He was highly influential in the development of computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of "algorithm" and "computation" with the Turing machine, which played a...
, which was written with Jacobi specifically in mind. The play was taken to Broadway. In 1988 Jacobi alternated in West End the title roles of Shakespeare's Richard II
Richard II (play)
King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's...
and Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
in repertoire.
His TV career saw him measure with Inside the Third Reich (1982), where he played Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
; Mr Pye
Mr Pye
-Plot:Mr. Pye travels to the Channel Island of Sark to awaken a love of God in all the islanders. His landlady on the island, Miss Dredger, quickly becomes a devout follower of his teachings. and even agrees to allow the person she hates the most, Miss George, to stay in her house. As Pye does good...
(1985); and Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit (film)
Little Dorrit is a 1988 film adaptation of the novel Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. It was written and directed by Christine Edzard, and produced by John Brabourne and Richard B. Goodwin. The music, by Giuseppe Verdi, was arranged by Michael Sanvoisin.The film stars Derek Jacobi as Arthur...
(1987), from Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
's book; The Tenth Man (1988) with Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
and Kristin Scott Thomas
Kristin Scott Thomas
Kristin A. Scott Thomas, OBE is an English actress who has also acquired French nationality. She gained international recognition in the 1990s for her roles in Bitter Moon, Four Weddings and a Funeral and The English Patient....
. In 1982, he starred as the voice of Nicodemus in the animated film, The Secret of NIMH
The Secret of NIMH
The Secret of NIMH is a 1982 animated film directed by Don Bluth in his directorial debut. It is an adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's 1971 children's novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. The film was produced by Aurora Pictures and released by United Artists. While released to critical acclaim,...
. In 1990, he starred as Daedalus in episode 4 of Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Greek Myths.
Jacobi continued to play Shakespeare roles, notably in Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
's 1989 film of Henry V
Henry V (1989 film)
Henry V is a 1989 film directed by Kenneth Branagh, based on William Shakespeare's play The Life of Henry the Fifth about the famous English king. Branagh stars in the title role, and wrote the screenplay. The film was highly acclaimed on its release....
(as the Chorus
Greek chorus
A Greek chorus is a homogenous, non-individualised group of performers in the plays of classical Greece, who comment with a collective voice on the dramatic action....
), and made his directing debut as Branagh's director for the 1988 Renaissance Theatre Company
Renaissance Theatre Company
The Renaissance Theatre Company was founded in 1987 by Kenneth Branagh and David Parfitt as a development of the work they had been doing periodically on the London 'Fringe', producing and appearing in lunchtime shows, leading up to Branagh's full-scale production of Romeo and Juliet, at the Lyric...
's touring production of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, which also played at Elsinore and as part of a Renaissance repertory season at the Phoenix Theatre
Phoenix Theatre (London)
The Phoenix Theatre is a West End theatre in the London Borough of Camden, located on Charing Cross Road . The entrance is in Phoenix Street....
in London. The 1990s saw Jacobi keeping on with repertoire stage work in Kean at the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
, Becket
Becket
Becket or The Honor of God is a play written in French by Jean Anouilh. It is a depiction of the conflict between Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England leading to Becket's murder in 1170. It contains many historical inaccuracies, which the author acknowledged.-Background:Anouilh's...
in the West End (the Haymarket Theatre
Haymarket Theatre
The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use...
) and Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
at the RSC in both London and Stratford
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
.
He was appointed the joint artistic director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
of the Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently the smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989....
, with the West End impresario Duncan Weldon in 1995 for a three-year tenure. As an actor at Chichester, he also starred in four plays, including his first Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
in 1996 (he played it again in 2000, which he brought to Broadway for a limited run). Jacobi's work during the 1990s included the 13-episode series TV adaptation of the novels by Ellis Peters
Edith Pargeter
Edith Mary Pargeter, OBE, BEM , also known by her nom de plume Ellis Peters, was a British author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both...
, Cadfael
Cadfael
Brother Cadfael is the fictional main character in a series of historical murder mysteries written between 1977 and 1994 by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter under the name "Ellis Peters". The character of Cadfael himself is a Welsh Benedictine monk living at Shrewsbury Abbey, in western England,...
(1994–1998) and a televised version of Breaking the Code (1996). Film appearances included performances in Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
's Dead Again
Dead Again
Dead Again is a 1991 psychological thriller/neo-noir directed by Kenneth Branagh, starring Branagh and his then-wife Emma Thompson. Andy García, Derek Jacobi and Robin Williams are also featured.-Plot summary:...
(1991), Branagh's full-text rendition of Hamlet
Hamlet (1996 film)
Hamlet is a 1996 film version of William Shakespeare's classic play of the same name, adapted and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars in the title role as Prince Hamlet...
(1996) as King Claudius
King Claudius
King Claudius is a character and the antagonist from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. He is the brother to King Hamlet, second husband to Gertrude and uncle to Hamlet. He obtained the throne of Denmark by murdering his own brother with poison and then marrying the late king's widow...
, John Maybury
John Maybury
John Maybury is an English filmmaker. In 2005 he was listed as one of the 100 most influential gay and lesbian people in Britain.-Early life:...
's Love is the Devil
Love is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon
Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon is a 1998 film made for television by the British Broadcasting Corporation . It was written and directed by John Maybury and stars Derek Jacobi, Daniel Craig, and Tilda Swinton....
(1998), a portrait of painter Francis Bacon, as Senator Gracchus in Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...
(2000) with Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe is a New Zealander Australian actor , film producer and musician. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor, a...
, and as "The Duke" opposite Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston is an English stage, film and television actor. His films include Let Him Have It, Shallow Grave, Elizabeth, 28 Days Later, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Others, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra...
and Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
in a post-apocalyptic
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
version of Thomas Middleton
Thomas Middleton
Thomas Middleton was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in...
's The Revenger's Tragedy
The Revenger's Tragedy
The Revenger's Tragedy is an English language Jacobean revenge tragedy, in the past attributed to Cyril Tourneur but is sometimes considered to be the work of Thomas Middleton by "Middletonians"...
(2002).
In 2001, Jacobi won an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
by mocking his Shakespearean background in the television sitcom Frasier
Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
episode "The Show Must Go Off", in which he played the world's worst Shakespearean actor: the hammy, loud, untalented Jackson Hedley. This was his first guest appearance on an American television programme.
Since 2000
Jacobi has done the narration for audio book versions of the IliadIliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Written in 1950, it was published in 1952 as the third book of The Chronicles of Narnia...
by C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
and two abridged versions of I, Claudius
I, Claudius
I, Claudius is a novel by English writer Robert Graves, written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius. As such, it includes history of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty and Roman Empire, from Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC to Caligula's assassination in AD 41...
by Robert Graves
Robert Graves
Robert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
. In 2001, he provided the voice of "Duke Theseus" in The Children's Midsummer Night's Dream film. In 2002, Jacobi toured Australia in The Hollow Crown
The Hollow Crown
The Hollow Crown is an anthology, devised by John Barton in 1961, which presents in dramatic form, speeches, documents, gossip and music, associated with the British monarchy from William the Conqueror up to Queen Victoria. A videotape of a broadcast can be seen at The Paley Center for Media in...
with Sir Donald Sinden
Donald Sinden
Sir Donald Alfred Sinden CBE is an English actor of theatre, film and television.-Personal life:Sinden was born in Plymouth, Devon, England, on 9 October 1923. The son of Alfred Edward Sinden and his wife Mabel Agnes , he grew up in the Sussex village of Ditchling, where their home doubled as the...
, Ian Richardson
Ian Richardson
Ian William Richardson CBE was a Scottish actor best known for his portrayal of the Machiavellian Tory politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's House of Cards trilogy. He was also a leading Shakespearean stage actor....
and Dame Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service....
. Jacobi also played the role of Senator Gracchus in Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...
and starred in the 2002 miniseries The Jury
The Jury (TV serial)
The Jury is a British television serial broadcast in 2002 . The series was the first ever to be allowed to film inside the historic Old Bailey courthouse.-Series One:...
. He is also the narrator for the BBC children's series In the Night Garden
In the Night Garden
In the Night Garden... is a BBC children's television series, aimed at children aged from one to four years old. It is produced by Ragdoll Productions. Andrew Davenport created, wrote, and composed the title theme and incidental music for all 100 episodes. It was produced by Andrew Davenport and...
.
In 2003, he was involved with Scream of the Shalka
Scream of the Shalka
Scream of the Shalka is a flash-animated series based on the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was produced to coincide with the 40th Anniversary of the series and was originally posted in six weekly parts from 13 November to 18 December 2003 on bbc.co.uk's Doctor Who...
, a webcast
Webcast
A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand...
based on the science fiction series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. He played the voice of the Doctor's arch-nemesis the Master
Master (Doctor Who)
The Master is a recurring character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is a renegade Time Lord and the archenemy of the Doctor....
alongside Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. His most notable role came in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.-Early life:...
as the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
. In the same year, he also appeared in Deadline
Deadline (Doctor Who audio)
Deadline is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The Doctor Who Unbound dramas pose a series of "What if...?" questions.-Plot:...
, an audio drama also based on Doctor Who. In that, he played Martin Bannister, an aging writer who makes up stories about "the Doctor", a character who travels in time and space, the premise being that the series had never made it on to television. Jacobi later followed this up with an appearance in the Doctor Who episode "Utopia
Utopia (Doctor Who)
"Utopia" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 16 June 2007 and is the eleventh episode of series three of the revived Doctor Who series...
" (June 2007); he appears as the kindly Professor Yana, who by the end of the episode is revealed to actually be the Master. Jacobi admitted to Doctor Who Confidential
Doctor Who Confidential
Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Each episode was broadcast on BBC Three on Saturdays, immediately after the broadcast of the weekly...
he had always wanted to be on the show: "One of my ambitions since the '60s has been to take part in a Doctor Who. The other one is Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
. So I've cracked Doctor Who now. I'm still waiting for Corrie."
In 2004, Jacobi starred in Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
's Don Carlos
Don Carlos (play)
Don Carlos is a historical tragedy in five acts by Friedrich Schiller; it was written between 1783 and 1787 and first produced in Hamburg in 1787...
at the Crucible Theatre
Crucible Theatre
The Crucible Theatre is a theatre built in 1971 and located in the city centre of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. As well as theatrical performances, it is home to the most important event in professional snooker, the World Snooker Championship....
in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, in an acclaimed production, which transferred to the Gielgud Theatre
Gielgud Theatre
The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, London, at the corner of Rupert Street. The house currently has 889 seats on three levels.-History:...
in London in January 2005. The London production of Don Carlos gathered rave reviews. Also in 2004, he starred as Lord Teddy Thursby in the first of the four-part BBC series The Long Firm
Jake Arnott
Jake Arnott is a British novelist, author of The Long Firm and other novels. Most of his works are crime novels, and include homosexual characters...
, based on Jake Arnott
Jake Arnott
Jake Arnott is a British novelist, author of The Long Firm and other novels. Most of his works are crime novels, and include homosexual characters...
's novel of the same name. In Nanny McPhee
Nanny McPhee
Nanny McPhee is a 2005 fantasy film starring Emma Thompson and Colin Firth. Thompson also wrote the screenplay, which is adapted from Christianna Brand's Nurse Matilda books.-Plot:...
(2005), he played the role of the colourful Mr. Wheen, an undertaker. He played the role of Alexander Corvinus in the 2006 movie Underworld: Evolution
Underworld: Evolution
Underworld: Evolution is the second installment in the Underworld series, following Underworld in 2003...
.
In March 2006, BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
broadcast Pinochet in Suburbia
Pinochet in Suburbia
Pinochet in Suburbia is a 2006 docudrama about former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and the attempts to extradite him from Great Britain during his visit there in 1998 for medical treatment...
, a docudrama
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
about former Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an dictator Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
and the attempts to extradite
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
him from Great Britain; Jacobi played the leading role. In September 2007, it was released in the U.S., retitled Pinochet's Last Stand. In 2006, he appeared in the children's movie Mist, the tale of a sheepdog puppy, he also narrated this movie. In July–August 2006, he played the eponymous role in A Voyage Round My Father
A Voyage Round My Father
A Voyage Round My Father is an autobiographical play by John Mortimer, later adapted for television.The first version of the play appeared as a series of three half-hour sketches for BBC radio in 1963. It then became a television play with Ian Richardson playing Mortimer, Tim Good as the young...
at the Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
, a production which then transferred to the West End.
In February 2007, his feature film The Riddle
The Riddle (film)
- Plot/Synopsis :When a woman is murdered following her discovery of an unpublished Charles Dickens manuscript, an unusual trio team up to investigate. The three are Mike , an ambitious sports reporter determined to make a name for himself, Kate , a police officer, and an eccentric old man...
, directed by Brendan Foley
Brendan Foley
Brendan Foley is an Irish writer, film producer and director.He grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland and has written feature scripts for companies in UK, US, Canada, South Africa and Thailand. He wrote and produced the 2005 thriller Johnny Was, starring Vinnie Jones, Eriq La Salle and Patrick Bergin...
, in which he stars alongside Vinnie Jones
Vinnie Jones
Vincent Peter "Vinnie" Jones is an English film actor and retired Welsh footballer.Born in Hertfordshire, England, Jones represented and captained the Welsh national football team, having qualified via a Welsh grandparent. He also previously played for Chelsea and Leeds United. As a member of the...
and Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
, was screened at Berlin EFM. Jacobi plays twin roles, first a present day London tramp and then the ghost of Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
. In March 2007, the BBC's children's programme In the Night Garden
In the Night Garden
In the Night Garden... is a BBC children's television series, aimed at children aged from one to four years old. It is produced by Ragdoll Productions. Andrew Davenport created, wrote, and composed the title theme and incidental music for all 100 episodes. It was produced by Andrew Davenport and...
started its run of 100 episodes, with Jacobi as the narrator. He played Nell's grandfather in ITV's Christmas 2007 adaptation of The Old Curiosity Shop
The Old Curiosity Shop
The Old Curiosity Shop is a novel by Charles Dickens. The plot follows the life of Nell Trent and her grandfather, both residents of The Old Curiosity Shop in London....
, and returned to the stage to play Malvolio in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (2009) for the Donmar Warehouse at Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by the actor/manager Charles Wyndham . Located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, it was designed by W.G.R. Sprague about 1898, the architect of six other London theatres between then and 1916...
in London. The role won him the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor. He appears in five 2009 films: Morris: A Life with Bells On
Morris: A Life with Bells On
Morris: A Life with Bells On is a 2009 British independent film, a comic spoof documentary about morris dancing.-Development:Morris: A Life with Bells On was written by Charles Thomas Oldham , who also co-produced it with his wife, the film's director Lucy Akhurst...
, Hippie Hippie Shake , Endgame, Adam Resurrected
Adam Resurrected
Adam Resurrected is an American-German-Israeli film, directed by Paul Schrader and adapted from Yoram Kaniuk's novel of the same name published in Israel in 1968 .Jeff Goldblum stars as the titular character, alongside Willem Dafoe, Derek Jacobi and Ayelet Zurer...
and Charles Dickens's England
Charles Dickens's England
Charles's Dickens's England is a feature documentary written and produced by David Nicholas Wilkinson, directed by Julian Richards and presented by Derek Jacobi...
. In 2010 he returned to I, Claudius, as Augustus in a radio adaptation
I, Claudius (radio adaptation)
I, Claudius is a six-part 2010 radio adaptation of the novels I, Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves. Broadcast as part of the Classic Serial strand on BBC Radio 4, it was adapted by Robin Brooks and directed by Jonquil Panting, with music composed by David Pickvance...
. In 2011, he was part of a medieval epic, Ironclad, which also starred James Purefoy and Paul Giamatti, as the ineffectual Reginald de Cornhill, castellan of Rochester castle.
Jacobi starred in Michael Grandage
Michael Grandage
Michael Grandage CBE is a British theatre director and producer, and current Artistic Director at the Donmar Warehouse, London. Grandage won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for Red.-Early years:...
's production of King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
(London, 2010), giving what The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
called "one of the finest performances of his distinguished career". In May 2011 he reprised this role at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
.
Shakespeare authorship involvement
Jacobi has been publicly involved in the Shakespeare authorship questionShakespeare authorship question
Image:ShakespeareCandidates1.jpg|thumb|alt=Portraits of Shakespeare and four proposed alternative authors.|Oxford, Bacon, Derby, and Marlowe have each been proposed as the true author...
. He supports the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship
Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship
The Oxfordian theory of Shakespearean authorship proposes that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford , wrote the plays and poems traditionally attributed to William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon. While a large majority of scholars reject all alternative candidates for authorship, popular...
, according to which Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford was an Elizabethan courtier, playwright, lyric poet, sportsman and patron of the arts, and is currently the most popular alternative candidate proposed for the authorship of Shakespeare's works....
wrote the works of Shakespeare. Jacobi has given an address to the Shakespeare Authorship Research Centre promoting Oxford as the Shakespeare authorand wrote forewords to two books on the subject in 2004 and 2005.
In 2007, Jacobi and fellow Shakespearean actor and director Mark Rylance
Mark Rylance
Mark Rylance is an English actor, theatre director and playwright.As an actor, Rylance found success on stage and screen. For his work in theatre he has won Olivier and Tony Awards among others, and a BAFTA TV Award...
initiated a "Declaration of Reasonable Doubt" on the authorship of Shakespeare's work, to encourage new research into the question. The online document has been signed by over 1,700 people, including over 300 academics.
In 2011, accepted a role in the film Anonymous
Anonymous (film)
Anonymous is a political thriller and historical drama which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2011. Directed by Roland Emmerich and written by John Orloff, the movie is a fictionalized version of the life of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, an Elizabethan...
, starring Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...
and Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
. In the film Jacobi plays a playwright raised, through his work, the Oxfordian theory
Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship
The Oxfordian theory of Shakespearean authorship proposes that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford , wrote the plays and poems traditionally attributed to William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon. While a large majority of scholars reject all alternative candidates for authorship, popular...
.
Personal life
In March 2006, he registered his civil partnership with Richard Clifford, four months after civil partnerships were introduced in the United Kingdom. They live in north London.Honours
- 1985: Commander of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) - 1989: Knight 1st class of the Order of the DannebrogOrder of the DannebrogThe Order of the Dannebrog is an Order of Denmark, instituted in 1671 by Christian V. It resulted from a move in 1660 to break the absolutism of the nobility. The Order was only to comprise 50 noble Knights in one class plus the Master of the Order, i.e. the Danish monarch, and his sons...
(DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
) - 1994: Knight BachelorKnight BachelorThe rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
, for services to Drama (United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
)
Awards
- 2008: Helen HayesHelen HayesHelen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
Tribute for Lifetime Achievement at the 24th Annual Helen Hayes AwardHelen Hayes AwardA Helen Hayes Award is a theater award named for the famed actress Helen Hayes to recognize excellence in professional theater in the Washington, D.C. area since 1983. The awards are managed by Linda Levy Grossman. and presented by the Washington Theatre Awards Society.-Awards:The Helen Hayes...
s
Theatre
- 1983: London Evening Standard AwardEvening Standard AwardsThe Evening Standard Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre. Sponsored by the Evening Standard newspaper, they are announced in late November or early December...
for Best Actor, for Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero.... - 1984: Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Actor, for Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero.... - 2009: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor, for Twelfth Night
Television
- 1976: BAFTA AwardBritish Academy of Film and Television ArtsThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
for Best Actor, for I, ClaudiusI, Claudius (TV series)I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time... - 1989: Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special, for The Tenth Man - 2001: Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, for FrasierFrasierFrasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
(episode "The Show Must Go Off")
Film
- 1988: Evening Standard British Film AwardEvening Standard British Film AwardsThe Evening Standard British Film Awards were established in 1973 by the British London area evening newspaper Evening Standard. The Standard Awards is the only ceremony "dedicated to British and Irish talent," judged by a panel of "top UK critics." Each ceremony honours films from the previous...
for Best Actor, for Little DorritLittle Dorrit (film)Little Dorrit is a 1988 film adaptation of the novel Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. It was written and directed by Christine Edzard, and produced by John Brabourne and Richard B. Goodwin. The music, by Giuseppe Verdi, was arranged by Michael Sanvoisin.The film stars Derek Jacobi as Arthur... - 1998: Edinburgh International Film FestivalEdinburgh International Film FestivalThe Edinburgh International Film Festival is an annual fortnight of cinema screenings and related events taking place each June. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival...
for Best British Performance, for Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis BaconLove is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis BaconLove Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon is a 1998 film made for television by the British Broadcasting Corporation . It was written and directed by John Maybury and stars Derek Jacobi, Daniel Craig, and Tilda Swinton.... - 1999: Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor, for Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon
Ensemble:
- 2002: Broadcast Film Critics AssociationBroadcast Film Critics AssociationThe Broadcast Film Critics Association is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada , representing approximately 250 television, radio and online critics....
Award for Best Acting Ensemble, for Gosford ParkGosford ParkGosford Park is a 2001 British-American mystery comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Alan Bates, and Michael Gambon... - 2002: Florida Film Critics Circle AwardFlorida Film Critics CircleThe Florida Film Critics Circle is an organization of film reviewers from fourteen Florida-based publications and websites. In December, the FFCC meets to vote on their awards for films released during that year.- Categories :* Best Actor...
for Best Ensemble Cast, for Gosford Park - 2002: Online Film Critics SocietyOnline Film Critics SocietyThe Online Film Critics Society is a professional association for film critics who publish their reviews, interviews, and essays on the Internet.The OFCS was founded in 1997...
Awards for Best Ensemble, for Gosford Park - 2002: Satellite AwardSatellite AwardsThe Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards.- Film :*Best Actor – Drama*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy*Best Actress – Drama...
for Outstanding Motion Picture Ensemble, for Gosford Park - 2002: Screen Actors Guild AwardScreen Actors Guild AwardsA Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"...
for Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture, for Gosford Park - 2011: Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, for The King's Speech
Filmography
- OthelloOthello (1965 film)Othello is a 1965 film based on the National Theatre's staging of Shakespeare's Othello staged by John Dexter. Directed by Stuart Burge, the film starred Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Frank Finlay, and Joyce Redman, providing film debuts for both Derek Jacobi and Michael...
(1965) – Cassio - InterludeInterlude (1968 film)Interlude is a 1968 British drama film directed by Kevin Billington.-Plot summary:A famous conductor gives an interview to a pretty young reporter. He speaks a bit too frankly and finds he's given himself an unwanted sabbatical from conducting...
(1968) – Paul - Three Sisters (1970) – Andrei
- The Strauss FamilyThe Strauss FamilyThe Strauss Family is a 1972 Associated Television series, made in England, of eight episodes, about the family of composers of that name, including Johann Strauss I and his sons Johann Strauss II, Eduard Strauss and Josef Strauss....
(TV) (1972) – Joseph Lanner - Blue BloodBlue Blood (film)Blue Blood is a documentary film that was released in UK cinemas in 2007 and showed on BBC2's Storyville in 2008. The film follows the paths of five students from Oxford University as they try to make it onto the Oxford University Amateur Boxing Club Varsity squad...
(1973) – Gregory - The Day of the JackalThe Day of the Jackal (film)The Day of the Jackal is a 1973 Anglo-French film, set in August 1963 and based on the novel of the same name by Frederick Forsyth. Directed by Fred Zinnemann, it stars Edward Fox as the assassin known only as "the Jackal" who is hired to assassinate Charles de Gaulle.- Synopsis :The film opens...
(1973) – Caron - The PallisersThe PallisersThe Pallisers is a 1974 BBC television adaptation of Anthony Trollope's Palliser novels.-Cast :*Anthony Ainley: Rev. Emilius*Terence Alexander: Lord George*Anthony Andrews: Lord Silverbridge*Sarah Badel: Lizzie Eustace...
(TV) (1974) – Lord Fawn - The Odessa FileThe ODESSA File (film)The Odessa File is a 1974 film adaptation of the thriller novel by Frederick Forsyth, about a struggle between a young German reporter and the ODESSA, an organization for ex-Nazis. The film stars Jon Voight and was directed by Ronald Neame, with a score by Andrew Lloyd Webber.- Plot :The plot opens...
(1974) – Klaus Wenzer - I, ClaudiusI, Claudius (TV series)I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time...
(TV) (1976) – Claudius - Philby, Burgess and MacLean – Spy Scandal of the Century (TV) (1977) – Guy Burgess
- The Medusa TouchThe Medusa Touch (film)The Medusa Touch is a 1978 British supernatural thriller film directed by Jack Gold. It starred Richard Burton, Lino Ventura, Lee Remick and Harry Andrews, with cameos by Alan Badel, Derek Jacobi, Gordon Jackson, Jeremy Brett and Michael Hordern...
(1978) – Townley - Richard IIBBC Television ShakespeareThe BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985.-Origins:...
(TV) (1978) – Richard II - The Human FactorThe Human FactorThe Human Factor is an espionage novel by Graham Greene, first published in 1978 and adapted into a 1979 film, directed by Otto Preminger using a screenplay by Tom Stoppard.-Plot summary:...
(1979) – Arthur Davis - HamletBBC Television ShakespeareThe BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985.-Origins:...
, Prince of Denmark (TV) (1980) – Hamlet - CharlotteCharlotte (film)Charlotte is a 1981 Dutch film directed by Frans Weisz.-Cast:*Birgit Doll ... Charlotte Salomon*Elisabeth Trissenaar ... Paulinka*Brigitte Horney ... Grandma*Max Croiset... Albert*Peter Capell ... Grandfather*Derek Jacobi ... Daberlohn...
(1981) – Daberlohn - The Secret of NIMHThe Secret of NIMHThe Secret of NIMH is a 1982 animated film directed by Don Bluth in his directorial debut. It is an adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's 1971 children's novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. The film was produced by Aurora Pictures and released by United Artists. While released to critical acclaim,...
(1982) – Nicodemus (voice) - Inside the Third Reich (TV) (1982) – Adolf Hitler
- The Hunchback of Notre DameThe Hunchback of Notre Dame (1982 film)The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1982 British-American TV movie, based on the Victor Hugo novel. It was directed by Michael Tuchner and Alan Hume, and produced by Norman Rosemont and Malcolm J. Christopher. It starred Anthony Hopkins, Derek Jacobi, Lesley-Anne Down and Sir John Gielgud...
(TV) (1982) – Frollo - EnigmaEnigma (1983 film)Enigma is a 1983 motion picture directed by Jeannot Szwarc, and starring Martin Sheen, Sam Neill, Brigitte Fossey and Kevin McNally.-Plot:...
(1983) – Kurt Limmer - Cyrano de BergeracCyrano de BergeracHercule-Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac was a French dramatist and duelist. He is now best remembered for the works of fiction which have been woven, often very loosely, around his life story, most notably the 1897 play by Edmond Rostand...
(TV) (1985) – Cyrano de Bergerac - Mr PyeMr Pye-Plot:Mr. Pye travels to the Channel Island of Sark to awaken a love of God in all the islanders. His landlady on the island, Miss Dredger, quickly becomes a devout follower of his teachings. and even agrees to allow the person she hates the most, Miss George, to stay in her house. As Pye does good...
(TV) (1986) – Mr. Pye - Breaking the CodeBreaking the CodeBreaking the Code is a 1986 play by Hugh Whitemore about British mathematician Alan Turing, who was a key player in the breaking of the German Enigma code at Bletchley Park during World War II...
(1986) – Alan TuringAlan TuringAlan Mathison Turing, OBE, FRS , was an English mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, and computer scientist. He was highly influential in the development of computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of "algorithm" and "computation" with the Turing machine, which played a... - The Secret GardenThe Secret Garden (1987 film)The Secret Garden is the 1987 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV film adaptation of the novel The Secret Garden, aired on CBS November 30, 1987 and produced by Rosemont Productions Limited, who also produced Back to the Secret Garden. The movie starred Gennie James, Barret Oliver, Jadrien Steele, Billie...
(TV) (1987) – Archibald Craven - The Tenth Man (TV) (1988) – The impostor
- Little DorritLittle Dorrit (film)Little Dorrit is a 1988 film adaptation of the novel Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. It was written and directed by Christine Edzard, and produced by John Brabourne and Richard B. Goodwin. The music, by Giuseppe Verdi, was arranged by Michael Sanvoisin.The film stars Derek Jacobi as Arthur...
(TV) (1988) – Arthur Clennam - Henry VHenry V (1989 film)Henry V is a 1989 film directed by Kenneth Branagh, based on William Shakespeare's play The Life of Henry the Fifth about the famous English king. Branagh stars in the title role, and wrote the screenplay. The film was highly acclaimed on its release....
(1989) – Chorus - The FoolThe Fool (film)The Fool is a British film, produced and directed by Christine Edzard in 1990 from a script by Edzard and Olivier Stockman.The plot examines the double life of a humble clerk posing as a businessman and moving in upper social circles...
(1990) – Mr. Frederick/Sir John - Dead AgainDead AgainDead Again is a 1991 psychological thriller/neo-noir directed by Kenneth Branagh, starring Branagh and his then-wife Emma Thompson. Andy García, Derek Jacobi and Robin Williams are also featured.-Plot summary:...
(1991) – Franklyn Madson - CadfaelCadfaelBrother Cadfael is the fictional main character in a series of historical murder mysteries written between 1977 and 1994 by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter under the name "Ellis Peters". The character of Cadfael himself is a Welsh Benedictine monk living at Shrewsbury Abbey, in western England,...
(TV) (1994–1998) – Brother Cadfael - Looking for RichardLooking for RichardLooking for Richard is a 1996 documentary film and the first film directed by Al Pacino. It is both a performance of selected scenes of William Shakespeare's Richard III and a broader examination of Shakespeare's continuing role and relevance in popular culture...
(1996) – Himself - Breaking the CodeBreaking the CodeBreaking the Code is a 1986 play by Hugh Whitemore about British mathematician Alan Turing, who was a key player in the breaking of the German Enigma code at Bletchley Park during World War II...
(TV) (1996) – Alan Turing - HamletHamlet (1996 film)Hamlet is a 1996 film version of William Shakespeare's classic play of the same name, adapted and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars in the title role as Prince Hamlet...
(1996) – Claudius - BasilBasil (film)Basil is a 1998 British historical drama film directed by Radha Bharadwaj and starring Jared Leto, Derek Jacobi, Claire Forlani, and Christian Slater. It was based on the 1852 novel of the same name by Wilkie Collins. The adaptation was by Bharadwaj.-Plot:...
(1998) – Father Frederick - Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis BaconLove is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis BaconLove Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon is a 1998 film made for television by the British Broadcasting Corporation . It was written and directed by John Maybury and stars Derek Jacobi, Daniel Craig, and Tilda Swinton....
(1998) – Francis BaconFrancis Bacon (painter)Francis Bacon , was an Irish-born British figurative painter known for his bold, austere, graphic and emotionally raw imagery. Bacon's painterly but abstract figures typically appear isolated in glass or steel geometrical cages set against flat, nondescript backgrounds... - Molokai: The Story of Father DamienFather DamienFather Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. , born Jozef De Veuster, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a missionary religious order...
(1999) – Father Leonor Fousnel - Edvard Grieg – What Price Immortality? (1999)
- The Wyvern MysteryThe Wyvern MysteryThe Wyvern Mystery is a 2000 BBC film starring Naomi Watts and Derek Jacobi. The film is based on Sheridan Le Fanu's novel.-Cast:*Naomi Watts as Alice*Derek Jacobi as Squire Fairfield*Jack Davenport as Harry*Iain Glen as Charles...
(TV) (2000) – Squire Fairfield - Up at the VillaUp at the VillaUp at the Villa is a 1941 novella by William Somerset Maugham about a young widow caught between three men: her suitor, her one-night stand, and her confidant. A fast-paced story, Up at the Villa incorporates elements of the crime and suspense novel....
(2000) – Lucky Leadbetter - Jason and the ArgonautsJason and the Argonauts (2000 film)Jason and the Argonauts, aka Jason and the Golden Fleece is a 2000 TV movie, directed by Nick Willing and produced by Hallmark Entertainment. It is very loosely based on the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts.-Plot:...
(TV) (2000) – Phineas - GladiatorGladiator (2000 film)Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...
(2000) – Gracchus - The Body (2001) – Father Lavelle
- Gosford ParkGosford ParkGosford Park is a 2001 British-American mystery comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Alan Bates, and Michael Gambon...
(2001) – Probert - The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky (2001) – voice of Nijinsky
- RevelationRevelation (2001 film)Revelation is a 2001 film, directed by Stuart Urban and starring James D'Arcy, Natasha Wightman, Udo Kier and Terence Stamp. Revelation tells the story of the final search for an ancient relic known as the Loculus, dating back to 50 CE, and the effect of this relic on the Martel family and the...
(2001) – Librarian - FrasierFrasierFrasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
(US TV) (2001) "The Show Must Go Off" – Jackson Hedley - The JuryThe Jury (TV serial)The Jury is a British television serial broadcast in 2002 . The series was the first ever to be allowed to film inside the historic Old Bailey courthouse.-Series One:...
(TV) (2002) – George Cording QC - The Gathering StormThe Gathering Storm (2002 film)The Gathering Storm is a BBC–HBO co-produced television biographical film about Winston Churchill in the years just prior to World War II...
(BBC) (2002) – Stanley Baldwin - Revengers TragedyRevengers TragedyRevengers Tragedy is a film adaptation of the 1606 play The Revenger's Tragedy . It was directed by Alex Cox and adapted for the screen by Cox's fellow Liverpudlian, Frank Cottrell Boyce...
(2002) – The Duke - Two Men Went to WarTwo Men Went to WarTwo Men Went to War is a 2002 British film based on a true World War II story, from Raymond Foxall's book Amateur Commandos which describes the adventures of two army dentists who sneak off on their own personal invasion of France...
(2002) – Major Merton - Kingdom of David: The Saga of the IsraelitesKingdom of David: The Saga of the IsraelitesKingdom of David: The Saga of the Israelites is a 2003 historical documentary that was produced for PBS. The documentary features original music by Erik Friedlander, and is narrated by an all-star voice-cast which includes F...
(2003) - Voice - LondonLondon (TV series)London is a 2004 three-part BBC history documentary series about the history of London, presented by Peter Ackroyd.-'Cast list':The series made a visual trope of, as Ackroyd walked around London or was sitting in his study, the persons of famous and anonymous historical figures would fade in and...
(TV) (2004) – Tacitus - Strings (2004) – Nezo (voice)
- The Long Firm (TV) (2004) – Lord Edward 'Teddy' Thursby
- MarpleMarple (TV series)Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple and other murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It is also known as Agatha Christie's Marple. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to third series, until her retirement from the role. She was replaced...
: The Murder at the VicarageThe Murder at the VicarageThe Murder at the Vicarage is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in October 1930 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year...
(TV) (2004) – Colonel Protheroe - Bye Bye BlackbirdBye Bye Blackbird (film)Bye Bye Blackbird is a 2005 Drama film directed by Robinson Savary and starring James Thiérrée, Derek Jacobi and Izabella Miko.Josef is a former construction worker who now works as a sweeper at the circus, and falls for the aerialist, Alice and is befriended by the horseback performer, Nina...
(2005) – Lord Dempsey - Nanny McPheeNanny McPheeNanny McPhee is a 2005 fantasy film starring Emma Thompson and Colin Firth. Thompson also wrote the screenplay, which is adapted from Christianna Brand's Nurse Matilda books.-Plot:...
(2005) – Mr. Wheen - Underworld: EvolutionUnderworld: EvolutionUnderworld: Evolution is the second installment in the Underworld series, following Underworld in 2003...
(2006) – Alexander Corvinus - Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
(TV) (2007) – Professor Yana / The MasterMaster (Doctor Who)The Master is a recurring character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is a renegade Time Lord and the archenemy of the Doctor.... - The RiddleThe Riddle (film)- Plot/Synopsis :When a woman is murdered following her discovery of an unpublished Charles Dickens manuscript, an unusual trio team up to investigate. The three are Mike , an ambitious sports reporter determined to make a name for himself, Kate , a police officer, and an eccentric old man...
(2007) – The Tramp / Charles Dickens - Airlock Or How To Say Goodbye In SpaceAirlock Or How To Say Goodbye In SpaceAirlock, or How To Say Goodbye In Space is a short British science fiction film.This film was nominated for the Shine Award at the Bradford International Film Festival 2008.-Plot:...
(2007) – President - The Golden Compass (2007) – Magisterial Emissary
- In the Night GardenIn the Night GardenIn the Night Garden... is a BBC children's television series, aimed at children aged from one to four years old. It is produced by Ragdoll Productions. Andrew Davenport created, wrote, and composed the title theme and incidental music for all 100 episodes. It was produced by Andrew Davenport and...
(2007 – present) – Narrator - The Old Curiosity Shop (TV) (2007) – Grandfather
- A Bunch of AmateursA Bunch of AmateursA Bunch of Amateurs is a 2008 British comedy film directed by Andy Cadiff and starring Burt Reynolds, Derek Jacobi, Alistair Petrie and Samantha Bond...
(2008) – Nigel - Morris: A Life with Bells OnMorris: A Life with Bells OnMorris: A Life with Bells On is a 2009 British independent film, a comic spoof documentary about morris dancing.-Development:Morris: A Life with Bells On was written by Charles Thomas Oldham , who also co-produced it with his wife, the film's director Lucy Akhurst...
(2009) – Quentin Neely - Endgame (2009) – Rudolf Agnew
- Adam ResurrectedAdam ResurrectedAdam Resurrected is an American-German-Israeli film, directed by Paul Schrader and adapted from Yoram Kaniuk's novel of the same name published in Israel in 1968 .Jeff Goldblum stars as the titular character, alongside Willem Dafoe, Derek Jacobi and Ayelet Zurer...
(2009) – Dr. Nathan Gross - The Winter's Tale (upcoming 2009) – Antigonus
- Charles Dickens's EnglandCharles Dickens's EnglandCharles's Dickens's England is a feature documentary written and produced by David Nicholas Wilkinson, directed by Julian Richards and presented by Derek Jacobi...
(2009) – Himself - Hippie Hippie Shake (upcoming, 2010) – Judge
- There Be DragonsThere Be DragonsThere Be Dragons is a historical epic written and directed by Roland Joffé, a British filmmaker well known for directing The Mission, The Killing Fields and Captivity. It is a drama set during the Spanish Civil War which features themes such as betrayal, love and hatred, forgiveness, friendship,...
(2010) – Honorio - IroncladIronclad (film)Ironclad is a 2011 action film directed by Jonathan English. Written by English and Erick Kastel, based on a screenplay by Stephen McDool, the cast includes Paul Giamatti, James Purefoy, Brian Cox, Mackenzie Crook, Jason Flemying, Derek Jacobi and Kate Mara. The film chronicles the siege of...
(2010) – Cornhill - The King's Speech (2010) – Archbishop of Canterbury Cosmo Lang
- HereafterHereafter (film)Hereafter is a 2010 American drama film directed by Clint Eastwood, from a screenplay by Peter Morgan and produced by Steven Spielberg. The film tells three parallel stories about three people affected by death in similar ways - all three have issues of communicating with the dead; Matt Damon plays...
(2010) – Himself - AnonymousAnonymous (film)Anonymous is a political thriller and historical drama which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2011. Directed by Roland Emmerich and written by John Orloff, the movie is a fictionalized version of the life of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, an Elizabethan...
(2011) – Narrator (Prologue) - My Week with MarilynMy Week with MarilynMy Week with Marilyn is a British drama film directed by Simon Curtis and written by Adrian Hodges. It stars Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne, Dougray Scott, Judi Dench and Emma Watson. Based on two books by Colin Clark, it depicts the making of the 1957 film The Prince and the...
(2011) - Sir Owen Morshead - The BorgiasThe Borgias (2011 TV series)The Borgias is a 2011 historical fiction television series created by Neil Jordan.The series is based on the Borgia family, an Italian dynasty of Spanish origin, and stars Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander VI with David Oakes, François Arnaud, Holliday Grainger and Aidan Alexander as Juan, Cesare,...
(TV) (2011) - Cardinal Orsini
External links
- "Jacobi, Sir Derek (George)", Who's Who 2008, A & C Black, 2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007. Accessed 22 October 2008.
- Sir Derek Jacobi at A Dictionary of the Royal Shakespeare Company by Simon Trowbridge
- 2006 Interview with Derek Jacobi on Theatre.com
- BBC – Drama Faces – Derek Jacobi