Ian Holm
Encyclopedia
Sir Ian Holm, CBE
(born 12 September 1931) is an English
actor
known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award
for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming
and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear
. He was nominated for the 1981 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
for his role as athletics trainer Sam Mussabini
in Chariots of Fire
. Other well-known film roles include the android Ash in Alien
, Father Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element
, and the hobbit
Bilbo Baggins
in the first and third films of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy
.
, then in Essex (now in London), to Scottish parents, Jean Wilson (née Holm) and James Harvey Cuthbert. His mother was a nurse, and his father was a psychiatrist
who worked as the superintendent of the West Ham Corporation Mental Hospital
and was one of the pioneers of electric shock therapy
. He had an older brother, Eric, who died in 1943. Holm was educated at the independent Chigwell School
in Essex
. His parents retired to Mortehoe
, Devon
and then Worthing
where he joined an amateur dramatic society. A visit to the dentist led to an introduction to Henry Baynton
, a well-known provincial Shakespearean actor who helped Holm train for admission to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
, where he secured a place in 1949. His studies there were interrupted a year later when he was called up for National Service
in the British Army
, during which he was posted to Klagenfurt
in Austria
and attained the rank of Lance Corporal
. They were then interrupted a second time when he volunteered to go on an acting tour of the United States in 1952. He finally graduated from RADA in 1953; whilst there he had been offered 'spear-carrying' roles at Stratford
and he stayed there for 13 years, soon graduating to more significant roles and abandoning plans to move on after Peter Hall founded the Royal Shakespeare Company
in 1960.
in the BBC
serialisation of the Wars of the Roses
plays, based on the RSC production of the plays, and gradually made a name for himself with minor roles in films such as Oh! What a Lovely War
(1969), Nicholas and Alexandra
(1971), Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) and Young Winston
(1972). In 1967, he won a Tony Award
for Best Featured Actor in a Play as Lenny in The Homecoming
by Harold Pinter
. In 1977, Holm appeared in the TV mini-series Jesus of Nazareth
as the Sadducee Zerah, and a villainous Moroccan in March or Die
. The following year he played J. M. Barrie
in the award-winning BBC TV series The Lost Boys
, in which his son Barnaby
played the young George Llewelyn Davies.
Holm's first film role to have a major impact was that of the treacherous android, Ash, in Ridley Scott
's Alien
(1979). His portrayal of Sam Mussabini
in Chariots of Fire
(1981), earned him a special award at the Cannes Film Festival
and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Back home in England, he won a BAFTA award, for Best Supporting Actor, for Chariots. In the 1980s, he had memorable roles in Time Bandits
(1981), Greystoke - The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
(1984) and Terry Gilliam
's Brazil
(1985). He played Lewis Carroll
, author of Alice in Wonderland in the Dennis Potter
-scripted fantasy Dreamchild
(1985).
In 1989 Holm was nominated for a BAFTA award for the TV series Game
, Set
and Match
. Based on the novels by Len Deighton
this tells the story of an intelligence officer (Holm) who discovers that his own wife is an enemy spy. He continued to perform Shakespeare
, and appeared with Kenneth Branagh
in Henry V
(1989) and as Polonius
to Mel Gibson
's Hamlet
(1990). Holm was reunited with Kenneth Branagh in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
(1994), playing the father of Branagh's Victor Frankenstein
.
Holm raised his profile in 1997 with two prominent roles, as the stressed but gentle priest Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element
and the tormented plaintiff's lawyer in The Sweet Hereafter
. In 2001 he starred in From Hell
as the physician
Sir William Withey Gull. The same year he appeared as Bilbo Baggins
in the blockbuster film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, having previously played Bilbo's nephew Frodo Baggins
in a 1981 BBC Radio adaptation
of The Lord of the Rings
. He reappeared in the trilogy in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
(2003), for which he shared a SAG
award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Holm has been nominated for an Emmy Award
twice, for a PBS
broadcast of a National Theatre production of King Lear
, in 1999; and for a supporting role in the HBO film The Last of the Blonde Bombshells
opposite Judi Dench
, in 2001. Holm has provided voice-overs for many British TV documentaries and commercials.
Holm is a favorite actor of Terry Gilliam
, having appeared in Time Bandits
and Brazil
. Holm has also appeared in two David Cronenberg
films, Naked Lunch
(1991) and eXistenZ
(1999) and was Harold Pinter
's favourite actor, the playwright once stating: "He puts on my shoe, and it fits!" Holm made a stir as Lenny in the first ever performance of Pinter's masterpiece The Homecoming
.
He has played Napoleon Bonaparte three times. First, in the 1972 television series Napoleon and Love
. Next, in a cameo comic rendition, in Terry Gilliam
's Time Bandits
from 1981. He completed the set in 2001 playing the fallen and exiled leader in the fanciful film The Emperor's New Clothes.
He was made a CBE
in 1990 and a Knight Bachelor
in 1998 for Services to Drama.
, in Wiltshire
. They appeared together in The Borrowers
(1993) on British television. They divorced in 2001. He is currently married to artist Sophie de Stempel, a protégée and life model
of Lucian Freud
.
Holm has five children; three daughters and two sons from three women, including the first two of his four wives. His eldest two are from his first marriage, two are by Bee Gilbert, and the youngest is from his second marriage. In chronological order: His eldest daughter, Jessica, is presenter of the Crufts
Dog Show; Sarah-Jane Holm played Jenny Rodenhurst Simcock in A Bit of a Do
. Barnaby Holm
acted as a child but now lives in Los Angeles as a Hollywood club owner, Melissa Holm is a casting director. Harry Holm is a filmmaker most notable for his music videos, and is engaged to Samantha Morton
.
He was treated for prostate cancer
in 2001; the disease currently appears to be in complete remission.
Nominations
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...
(born 12 September 1931) is an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award
21st Tony Awards
The 21st Annual Tony Awards ceremony was broadcast on March 26, 1967, from the Shubert Theatre in New York City on the ABC Television network. This was the Awards ceremony's inaugural broadcast on U.S. network television. The hosts were Mary Martin and Robert Preston...
for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming
The Homecoming
The Homecoming is a two-act play written in 1964 by Nobel laureate Harold Pinter and first published in 1965. The original Broadway production won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Play and its 40th-anniversary Broadway production at the Cort Theatre was nominated for a 2008 Tony Award for "Best Revival...
and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role 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...
. He was nominated for the 1981 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
for his role as athletics trainer Sam Mussabini
Sam Mussabini
Scipio Africanus "Sam" Mussabini was an athletics coach best known for his work with Harold Abrahams. In total he coached athletes to a total of eleven Olympic medals over five Olympics...
in Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
. Other well-known film roles include the android Ash in Alien
Alien (film)
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
, Father Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element is a 1997 French science fiction film directed, co-written, and based on a story by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich...
, and the hobbit
Hobbit
Hobbits are a fictional diminutive race who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction.Hobbits first appeared in the novel The Hobbit, in which the main protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is the titular hobbit...
Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist and titular character of The Hobbit and a supporting character in The Lord of the Rings, two of the most well-known of J. R. R...
in the first and third films of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
.
Early years
Holm was born Ian Holm Cuthbert in GoodmayesGoodmayes
Goodmayes is a district of Ilford in north-east London, England. It is a suburban development in the London Borough of Redbridge and forms part of the Ilford post town, situated approximately two miles to the east of Ilford town centre....
, then in Essex (now in London), to Scottish parents, Jean Wilson (née Holm) and James Harvey Cuthbert. His mother was a nurse, and his father was a psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
who worked as the superintendent of the West Ham Corporation Mental Hospital
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
and was one of the pioneers of electric shock therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy , formerly known as electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Its mode of action is unknown...
. He had an older brother, Eric, who died in 1943. Holm was educated at the independent Chigwell School
Chigwell School
Chigwell School is an English co-educational independent school/public school in Chigwell, in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It was founded in 1629 by Samuel Harsnett, a former Archbishop of York . There are around 730 pupils aged between 7 and 18 years...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. His parents retired to Mortehoe
Mortehoe
thumb|right|250px|Mortehoe, Devon - the main street, looking southMortehoe is a village on the north coast of Devon near Woolacombe, sited on the hilly land behind Morte Point. A nearby village is Lee Bay....
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and then Worthing
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
where he joined an amateur dramatic society. A visit to the dentist led to an introduction to Henry Baynton
Henry Baynton
Henry Baynton was a British Shakespearean actor and actor-manager of the early twentieth century....
, a well-known provincial Shakespearean actor who helped Holm train for admission to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
, where he secured a place in 1949. His studies there were interrupted a year later when he was called up for National Service
Conscription in the United Kingdom
Conscription in the United Kingdom has existed for two periods in modern times. The first was from 1916 to 1919, the second was from 1939 to 1960, with the last conscripted soldiers leaving the service in 1963...
in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, during which he was posted to Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and attained the rank of Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organizations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer, usually equivalent to the NATO Rank Grade OR-3.- Etymology :The presumed...
. They were then interrupted a second time when he volunteered to go on an acting tour of the United States in 1952. He finally graduated from RADA in 1953; whilst there he had been offered 'spear-carrying' roles at 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...
and he stayed there for 13 years, soon graduating to more significant roles and abandoning plans to move on after Peter Hall founded 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...
in 1960.
Career
Holm was an established star of the Royal Shakespeare Company before making an impact on television and film. In 1965, he played Richard IIIRichard 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 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...
serialisation of the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
plays, based on the RSC production of the plays, and gradually made a name for himself with minor roles in films such as Oh! What a Lovely War
Oh! What a Lovely War
Oh! What a Lovely War is a musical film based on the stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War! originated by Charles Chilton as a radio play, The Long Long Trail in December 1961, and transferred to stage by Gerry Raffles in partnership with Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop created in 1963,...
(1969), Nicholas and Alexandra
Nicholas and Alexandra
Nicholas and Alexandra is a 1971 biographical film which tells the story of the last Russian monarch, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra....
(1971), Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) and Young Winston
Young Winston
Young Winston is a 1972 British film based on the early years of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.The film was based on the book My Early Life: A Roving Commission by Winston Churchill. The first part of the film covers Churchill's unhappy schooldays, up to the death of his father...
(1972). In 1967, he won 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 Best Featured Actor in a Play as Lenny in The Homecoming
The Homecoming
The Homecoming is a two-act play written in 1964 by Nobel laureate Harold Pinter and first published in 1965. The original Broadway production won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Play and its 40th-anniversary Broadway production at the Cort Theatre was nominated for a 2008 Tony Award for "Best Revival...
by Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
. In 1977, Holm appeared in the TV mini-series Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus of Nazareth (film)
Jesus of Nazareth is a 1977 Anglo-Italian television mini-series dramatising the birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus based on the accounts in the four New Testament Gospels....
as the Sadducee Zerah, and a villainous Moroccan in March or Die
March or Die (film)
March or Die is a 1977 film directed by Dick Richards, starring Gene Hackman, Terence Hill, Catherine Deneuve and Ian Holm.The film celebrates the 1920s French Foreign Legion...
. The following year he played J. M. Barrie
J. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...
in the award-winning BBC TV series The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys (docudrama)
The Lost Boys is an award-winning 1978 docudrama mini-series produced by the BBC, written by Andrew Birkin, and directed by Rodney Bennett. It is about the relationship between Peter Pan creator J. M...
, in which his son Barnaby
Barnaby Holm
Barnaby Holm is an American former child actor. His best known role is as Peter, a young disciple of Damien Thorn , in the 1981 film Omen III: The Final Conflict....
played the young George Llewelyn Davies.
Holm's first film role to have a major impact was that of the treacherous android, Ash, in Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
's Alien
Alien (film)
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
(1979). His portrayal of Sam Mussabini
Sam Mussabini
Scipio Africanus "Sam" Mussabini was an athletics coach best known for his work with Harold Abrahams. In total he coached athletes to a total of eleven Olympic medals over five Olympics...
in Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
(1981), earned him a special award at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Back home in England, he won a BAFTA award, for Best Supporting Actor, for Chariots. In the 1980s, he had memorable roles in Time Bandits
Time Bandits
Time Bandits is a 1981 British fantasy film produced and directed by Terry Gilliam.Terry Gilliam wrote the screenplay with fellow Monty Python alumnus Michael Palin, who appears with Shelley Duvall in the small, recurring roles of Vincent and Pansy. The film is one of the most famous of more than...
(1981), Greystoke - The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
Greystoke - The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes is a 1984 British film directed by Hugh Hudson and based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel Tarzan of the Apes...
(1984) and Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
's Brazil
Brazil (film)
Brazil is a 1985 British science fiction fantasy/black comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam. It was written by Gilliam, Charles McKeown, and Tom Stoppard and stars Jonathan Pryce. The film also features Robert De Niro, Kim Greist, Michael Palin, Katherine Helmond, Bob Hoskins, and Ian Holm...
(1985). He played Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
, author of Alice in Wonderland in the Dennis Potter
Dennis Potter
Dennis Christopher George Potter was an English dramatist, best known for The Singing Detective. His widely acclaimed television dramas mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. He was particularly fond of using themes and images from popular culture.-Biography:Dennis Potter was born...
-scripted fantasy Dreamchild
Dreamchild
Dreamchild is a 1985 British drama film produced by Verity Lambert, directed by Gavin Millar and written by Dennis Potter. It stars Coral Browne, Ian Holm, Peter Gallagher, Nicola Cowper and Amelia Shankley and is a fictionalized account of Alice Liddell, the child who inspired Lewis Carroll's...
(1985).
In 1989 Holm was nominated for a BAFTA award for the TV series Game
Berlin Game
Berlin Game is a 1983 spy novel by Len Deighton. It is the first novel in the first of three trilogies about Bernard Samson, a middle-aged and somewhat jaded intelligence officer working for the British Secret Intelligence Service...
, Set
Mexico Set
Mexico Set is a 1984 spy novel by Len Deighton. It is the second novel in the first of three trilogies about Bernard Samson, a middle-aged and somewhat jaded intelligence officer working for the British Secret Intelligence Service . Mexico Set is part of the Game, Set and Match trilogy, being...
and Match
London Match
London Match is a 1985 spy novel by Len Deighton. It is the concluding novel in the first of three trilogies about Bernard Samson, a middle-aged and somewhat jaded intelligence officer working for the British Secret Intelligence Service . London Match is part of the Game, Set and Match trilogy,...
. Based on the novels by Len Deighton
Len Deighton
Leonard Cyril Deighton is a British military historian, cookery writer, and novelist. He is perhaps most famous for his spy novel The IPCRESS File, which was made into a film starring Michael Caine....
this tells the story of an intelligence officer (Holm) who discovers that his own wife is an enemy spy. He continued to perform Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, and appeared with 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...
in 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) and as Polonius
Polonius
Polonius is a character in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. He is King Claudius's chief counsellor, and the father of Ophelia and Laertes. Polonius connives with Claudius to spy on Hamlet...
to Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
's Hamlet
Hamlet (1990 film)
Hamlet is a 1990 drama film based on the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet. It was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, with Mel Gibson as the young Prince Hamlet...
(1990). Holm was reunited with Kenneth Branagh in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Frankenstein is a 1994 American horror film directed by Kenneth Branagh. The film starred Branagh, Robert De Niro, Tom Hulce, Helena Bonham Carter. It was produced on a budget of $45 million...
(1994), playing the father of Branagh's Victor Frankenstein
Victor Frankenstein
Victor Frankenstein was born in Napoli, is a Swiss fictional character and the protagonist of the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, written by Mary Shelley...
.
Holm raised his profile in 1997 with two prominent roles, as the stressed but gentle priest Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element is a 1997 French science fiction film directed, co-written, and based on a story by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich...
and the tormented plaintiff's lawyer in The Sweet Hereafter
The Sweet Hereafter (film)
The Sweet Hereafter is a 1997 Canadian film written and directed by Atom Egoyan. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Russell Banks.-Plot:...
. In 2001 he starred in From Hell
From Hell (film)
From Hell is a 2001 American crime drama horror mystery film directed by the Hughes brothers. It is an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell about the Jack the Ripper murders.-Plot:...
as the physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
Sir William Withey Gull. The same year he appeared as Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist and titular character of The Hobbit and a supporting character in The Lord of the Rings, two of the most well-known of J. R. R...
in the blockbuster film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, having previously played Bilbo's nephew Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.He is the main protagonist of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He was a hobbit of the Shire who inherited Sauron's Ring from Bilbo Baggins and undertook the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom...
in a 1981 BBC Radio adaptation
The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)
In 1981 the UK radio station BBC Radio 4 broadcast a dramatisation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in 26 half-hour stereo instalments...
of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
. He reappeared in the trilogy in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
(2003), for which he shared a SAG
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Holm has been nominated for 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...
twice, for a PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
broadcast of a National Theatre 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...
, in 1999; and for a supporting role in the HBO film The Last of the Blonde Bombshells
The Last of the Blonde Bombshells
The Last of the Blonde Bombshells is a 2000 British-American television film directed by Gillies MacKinnon. The script by Alan Plater focuses on the efforts of a recently widowed woman to reunite the members of the World War II-era swing band with which she played saxophone.It features Carry On...
opposite Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
, in 2001. Holm has provided voice-overs for many British TV documentaries and commercials.
Holm is a favorite actor of Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
, having appeared in Time Bandits
Time Bandits
Time Bandits is a 1981 British fantasy film produced and directed by Terry Gilliam.Terry Gilliam wrote the screenplay with fellow Monty Python alumnus Michael Palin, who appears with Shelley Duvall in the small, recurring roles of Vincent and Pansy. The film is one of the most famous of more than...
and Brazil
Brazil (film)
Brazil is a 1985 British science fiction fantasy/black comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam. It was written by Gilliam, Charles McKeown, and Tom Stoppard and stars Jonathan Pryce. The film also features Robert De Niro, Kim Greist, Michael Palin, Katherine Helmond, Bob Hoskins, and Ian Holm...
. Holm has also appeared in two David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
films, Naked Lunch
Naked Lunch (film)
Naked Lunch is the 1991 Canadian/British/Japanese film adaptation, directed by David Cronenberg, of William S. Burroughs' novel of the same name...
(1991) and eXistenZ
EXistenZ
eXistenZ is a 1999 body horror/science fiction film by Canadian director David Cronenberg. It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law....
(1999) and was Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
's favourite actor, the playwright once stating: "He puts on my shoe, and it fits!" Holm made a stir as Lenny in the first ever performance of Pinter's masterpiece The Homecoming
The Homecoming
The Homecoming is a two-act play written in 1964 by Nobel laureate Harold Pinter and first published in 1965. The original Broadway production won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Play and its 40th-anniversary Broadway production at the Cort Theatre was nominated for a 2008 Tony Award for "Best Revival...
.
He has played Napoleon Bonaparte three times. First, in the 1972 television series Napoleon and Love
Napoleon and Love
Napoleon and Love was a 1974 British television series originally aired on ITV and lasting for 9 episodes from 5 March to 30 April 1974. The series starred Ian Holm in the title role as Napoleon I and depicts his relationships with the woman who featured in his life as a backdrop to his rise and...
. Next, in a cameo comic rendition, in Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
's Time Bandits
Time Bandits
Time Bandits is a 1981 British fantasy film produced and directed by Terry Gilliam.Terry Gilliam wrote the screenplay with fellow Monty Python alumnus Michael Palin, who appears with Shelley Duvall in the small, recurring roles of Vincent and Pansy. The film is one of the most famous of more than...
from 1981. He completed the set in 2001 playing the fallen and exiled leader in the fanciful film The Emperor's New Clothes.
He was made a CBE
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...
in 1990 and a Knight Bachelor
Knight Bachelor
The 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...
in 1998 for Services to Drama.
Personal life
Holm has been married four times. His first three marriages ended in divorce. In 1991, he married his third wife, actress Penelope WiltonPenelope Wilton
Penelope Alice Wilton, OBE is an English actress.-Life and career:Penelope Alice Wilton was born in Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire, to a former actress mother and a businessman father. She is a niece of actors Bill Travers and Linden Travers and a cousin of the actor Richard Morant...
, in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. They appeared together in The Borrowers
The Borrowers (TV miniseries)
The Borrowers is a BBC TV miniseries first broadcast in 1992 on BBC2 and then later on American television station TNT. The miniseries is adapted from the 1952 Carnegie Medal Award winning first novel and second novel of author Mary Norton's The Borrowers series: The Borrowers and The Borrowers...
(1993) on British television. They divorced in 2001. He is currently married to artist Sophie de Stempel, a protégée and life model
Model (art)
Art models are models who pose for photographers, painters, sculptors, and other artists as part of their work of art. Art models who pose in the nude for life drawing are usually called life models...
of Lucian Freud
Lucian Freud
Lucian Michael Freud, OM, CH was a British painter. Known chiefly for his thickly impasted portrait and figure paintings, he was widely considered the pre-eminent British artist of his time...
.
Holm has five children; three daughters and two sons from three women, including the first two of his four wives. His eldest two are from his first marriage, two are by Bee Gilbert, and the youngest is from his second marriage. In chronological order: His eldest daughter, Jessica, is presenter of the Crufts
Crufts
Crufts is an annual international Championship conformation show for dogs organised and hosted by the Kennel Club, currently held every March at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England. It is the largest annual dog show in the world, as declared by Guinness World Records, and lasts...
Dog Show; Sarah-Jane Holm played Jenny Rodenhurst Simcock in A Bit of a Do
A Bit of a Do
A Bit of a Do was a British comedy drama series based on the books by David Nobbs. The show starred David Jason and was aired on ITV in 1989. It was made for the ITV network by Yorkshire Television.The show was set in a fictional Yorkshire town...
. Barnaby Holm
Barnaby Holm
Barnaby Holm is an American former child actor. His best known role is as Peter, a young disciple of Damien Thorn , in the 1981 film Omen III: The Final Conflict....
acted as a child but now lives in Los Angeles as a Hollywood club owner, Melissa Holm is a casting director. Harry Holm is a filmmaker most notable for his music videos, and is engaged to Samantha Morton
Samantha Morton
Samantha Jane Morton is an English actress and film director. She began her performing career with guest roles in television shows such as Soldier Soldier and Boon before making her film debut in the 1997 drama film This Is the Sea, playing the character of Hazel Stokes...
.
He was treated for prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
in 2001; the disease currently appears to be in complete remission.
Filmography
- The Bofors GunThe Bofors GunThe Bofors Gun is a 1968 British drama film directed by Jack Gold and starring Nicol Williamson, Ian Holm and John Thaw. It was based on the play Events While Guarding The Bofors Gun by John McGrath. It portrays the British peacetime occupation of West Germany following the Second World War.-Cast:*...
(1968) - The FixerThe Fixer (film)The Fixer is a 1968 British drama film based on the 1966 semi-biographical novel of the same name, written by Bernard Malamud.-Plot:Like the book, the film's main character Yakov Bok, a Jew living in the Russian Empire, who was unjustly imprisoned based on prejudice and the charge of having...
(1968) - A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968)
- Oh! What A Lovely WarOh! What a Lovely WarOh! What a Lovely War is a musical film based on the stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War! originated by Charles Chilton as a radio play, The Long Long Trail in December 1961, and transferred to stage by Gerry Raffles in partnership with Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop created in 1963,...
(1969) - A Severed HeadA Severed HeadA Severed Head is a satirical, sometimes farcical 1961 novel by Iris Murdoch.Primary themes include marriage, adultery, and incest within a group of civilized and educated people. Set in and around London, it depicts a power struggle between grown-up middle class people who are lucky to be free of...
(1970) - Nicholas and AlexandraNicholas and AlexandraNicholas and Alexandra is a 1971 biographical film which tells the story of the last Russian monarch, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra....
(1971) - Mary, Queen of ScotsMary, Queen of Scots (film)Mary, Queen of Scots is a 1971 Universal Pictures biographical film based on the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. Leading an all-star cast are Vanessa Redgrave as the titular character and Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth I. In the same year, Jackson played the part of Elizabeth in the TV drama Elizabeth...
(1971) - Young WinstonYoung WinstonYoung Winston is a 1972 British film based on the early years of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.The film was based on the book My Early Life: A Roving Commission by Winston Churchill. The first part of the film covers Churchill's unhappy schooldays, up to the death of his father...
(1972) - The HomecomingThe Homecoming (film)The Homecoming is a 1973 film directed by Peter Hall based on the play of the same name by Harold Pinter. The film was screened at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival, but was not entered into the main competition.-Plot:...
(1973) - Napoleon and LoveNapoleon and LoveNapoleon and Love was a 1974 British television series originally aired on ITV and lasting for 9 episodes from 5 March to 30 April 1974. The series starred Ian Holm in the title role as Napoleon I and depicts his relationships with the woman who featured in his life as a backdrop to his rise and...
(TV) (1974) - JuggernautJuggernaut (film)Juggernaut is a 1974 British thriller film. It was produced by David V. Picker Productions and released in 1974 by United Artists. The film was directed by Richard Lester, who took over after directors Bryan Forbes and Don Medford each left the project in pre-production.On taking over the film,...
(1974) - Robin and MarianRobin and MarianRobin and Marian is a 1976 British/American co-produced romantic adventure period film filmed in Pamplona, Spain starring Sean Connery as Robin Hood, Audrey Hepburn as Lady Marian, Nicol Williamson as Little John, Robert Shaw as the Sheriff of Nottingham and Richard Harris as King Richard. It also...
(1976) - Shout at the DevilShout at the Devil (film)Shout at the Devil is a British film directed by Peter R. Hunt and starring Lee Marvin and Roger Moore.The picture is a comedic adventure story set in Zanzibar and German East Africa in 1913-1915 based on a novel written by Wilbur Smith and is very loosely inspired by real events.-Plot:It tells...
(1976) - The Man in the Iron MaskThe Man in the Iron Mask (1977 film)The Man in the Iron Mask is a 1977 television film loosely adapted from The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas and presenting several plot similarities with the 1939 film version...
(1977) - March or DieMarch or Die (film)March or Die is a 1977 film directed by Dick Richards, starring Gene Hackman, Terence Hill, Catherine Deneuve and Ian Holm.The film celebrates the 1920s French Foreign Legion...
(1977) - Jesus of NazarethJesus of Nazareth (film)Jesus of Nazareth is a 1977 Anglo-Italian television mini-series dramatising the birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus based on the accounts in the four New Testament Gospels....
(1977) - Les MisérablesLes Misérables (1978 film)Les Misérables is a TV film based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. The film was written by John Gay and directed by Glenn Jordan.-Differences from the novel:...
(1978) - Do You Remember? (1978)
- The Lost BoysThe Lost Boys (docudrama)The Lost Boys is an award-winning 1978 docudrama mini-series produced by the BBC, written by Andrew Birkin, and directed by Rodney Bennett. It is about the relationship between Peter Pan creator J. M...
(TV) (1978) - Holocaust (TV) (1978)
- All Quiet on the Western FrontAll Quiet on the Western Front (1979 film)All Quiet on the Western Front is a television movie produced by ITC Entertainment, released on November 14, 1979, starring actors Richard Thomas from The Waltons fame as Paul Baumer, and Ernest Borgnine as Katczinsky...
(1979) - AlienAlien (film)Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
(1979) - S.O.S. TitanicS.O.S. TitanicS.O.S. Titanic is a 1979 television movie that depicts the doomed 1912 voyage from the perspective of three distinct groups of passengers in First, Second, and Third Class, and respectively in a historically accurate fashion...
(1979) - We, the Accused (1980)
- Chariots of FireChariots of FireChariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
(1981) - Time BanditsTime BanditsTime Bandits is a 1981 British fantasy film produced and directed by Terry Gilliam.Terry Gilliam wrote the screenplay with fellow Monty Python alumnus Michael Palin, who appears with Shelley Duvall in the small, recurring roles of Vincent and Pansy. The film is one of the most famous of more than...
(1981) - The Bell (TV) (1982)
- The Return of the SoldierThe Return of the SoldierThe Return of the Soldier is the debut novel of English novelist Rebecca West first published in 1918. The novel recounts the return of the shell shocked Captain Chris Baldry from the trenches of The First World War from the perspective of his female cousin Jenny...
(1982) - Inside the Third Reich (1982)
- Laughterhouse (1984)
- Greystoke - The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the ApesGreystoke - The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the ApesGreystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes is a 1984 British film directed by Hugh Hudson and based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel Tarzan of the Apes...
(1984) - Terror in the AislesTerror in the AislesTerror in the Aisles is a 1984 documentary film about horror films featuring clips from Friday the 13th I and/or II, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Halloween I and II, Jaws 1 and 2, Alien, John Carpenter's The Thing, The Shining and Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and The Birds. The film is hosted by...
(1984) - The Browning Version (TV) (1985)
- DreamchildDreamchildDreamchild is a 1985 British drama film produced by Verity Lambert, directed by Gavin Millar and written by Dennis Potter. It stars Coral Browne, Ian Holm, Peter Gallagher, Nicola Cowper and Amelia Shankley and is a fictionalized account of Alice Liddell, the child who inspired Lewis Carroll's...
(1985) - WetherbyWetherby (film)Wetherby is a 1985 British drama film written and directed by playwright David Hare.-Plot synopsis:Set in the town of Wetherby in West Yorkshire, the film focuses on Jean Travers, a middle-aged spinster schoolteacher...
(1985) - BrazilBrazil (film)Brazil is a 1985 British science fiction fantasy/black comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam. It was written by Gilliam, Charles McKeown, and Tom Stoppard and stars Jonathan Pryce. The film also features Robert De Niro, Kim Greist, Michael Palin, Katherine Helmond, Bob Hoskins, and Ian Holm...
(1985) - Dance with a StrangerDance with a StrangerDance with a Stranger is a 1985 British drama film, directed by Mike Newell. Telling the story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain in the fifties, this moving biographical British film won critical acclaim, and brought particular notice to the careers of both Miranda Richardson...
(1985) - Mr and Mrs Edgehill (1985)
- Game, Set and Match (TV) (1988)
- Another WomanAnother WomanAnother Woman is a 1988 film written and directed by Woody Allen. It stars Gena Rowlands and Mia Farrow and does not feature Allen in an acting role.-Plot:...
(1988) - 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) - HamletHamlet (1990 film)Hamlet is a 1990 drama film based on the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet. It was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, with Mel Gibson as the young Prince Hamlet...
(1990) - Naked LunchNaked Lunch (film)Naked Lunch is the 1991 Canadian/British/Japanese film adaptation, directed by David Cronenberg, of William S. Burroughs' novel of the same name...
(1991) - KafkaKafka (film)Kafka is a 1991 mystery thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh. Ostensibly a biopic, based on the life of Franz Kafka, the film blurs the lines between fact and Kafka's fiction , creating a Kafkaesque atmosphere...
(1991) - Blue IceBlue Ice (film)Blue Ice is a 1992 film directed by Russell Mulcahy and stars Michael Caine and Sean Young. It is a crime thriller involving a former spy , who is presently a jazz-club owner, who becomes immersed again in the world of espionage and counter-intelligence.Caine plays Harry Anders, who according to...
(1992) - The Hour of the Pig (1993)
- Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)
- The Madness of King GeorgeThe Madness of King GeorgeThe Madness of King George is a 1994 film directed by Nicholas Hytner and adapted by Alan Bennett from his own play, The Madness of George III. It tells the true story of George III's deteriorating mental health, and his equally declining relationship with his son, the Prince of Wales, particularly...
(1994) - Big NightBig NightScott and Tucci won the New York Film Critics Circle Award and the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best New Director. Tucci and Tropiano won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay...
(1996) - Loch NessLoch Ness (film)Loch Ness is a 1996 family drama film starring Ted Danson and Joely Richardson. It was written by John Fusco and directed by Jon Henderson.-Plot:...
(1996) - Night Falls on ManhattanNight Falls on ManhattanNight Falls on Manhattan is a 1997 American crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet, set and filmed on location in New York City. Its screenplay is by Lumet, based on a novel by author Robert Daley entitled: Tainted Evidence...
(1997) - The Sweet HereafterThe Sweet Hereafter (film)The Sweet Hereafter is a 1997 Canadian film written and directed by Atom Egoyan. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Russell Banks.-Plot:...
(1997) - The Fifth ElementThe Fifth ElementThe Fifth Element is a 1997 French science fiction film directed, co-written, and based on a story by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich...
(1997) - A Life Less OrdinaryA Life Less OrdinaryA Life Less Ordinary is a 1997 British black comedy film directed by Danny Boyle, written by John Hodge. It stars Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz, Holly Hunter, and Delroy Lindo.-Plot:...
(1997) - Incognito (1997)
- Alice Through the Looking Glass (1998)
- King Lear (1998)
- Animal FarmAnimal Farm (1999 film)Animal Farm was a made for TV film version of the 1945 George Orwell novel of the same name. The film tells the story of how the animals of a farm successfully revolt against its human owner, only to slide into a more brutal tyranny among themselves. It was released in 1999 by Hallmark Films...
(1999) - ShergarShergarShergar was an acclaimed Irish racehorse, and winner of the 1981 Epsom Derby by a record 10 lengths, the longest winning margin in the race's 226-year history. This victory earned him a spot in The Observer newspaper's 100 Most Memorable Sporting Moments of the Twentieth Century...
(1999) - eXistenZEXistenZeXistenZ is a 1999 body horror/science fiction film by Canadian director David Cronenberg. It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law....
(1999) - Simon MagusSimon Magus (film)-Story:A Jew named Dovid Bendel tries to revive his dwindling village by building a railway station next to it. The squire agrees to provide the land, on the condition that Dovid will read his poetry. A cunning business man is also interested in the land and he tries to compete using money and...
(1999) - The Match (1999)
- Joe Gould's SecretJoe Gould's Secret (film)Joe Gould's Secret is a 2000 American drama film directed by Stanley Tucci. The screenplay by Howard A. Rodman is based on the magazine article Professor Sea Gull and the book Joe Gould's Secret by Joseph Mitchell.-Plot:...
(2000) - Esther KahnEsther KahnEsther Kahn is the first English-language film by the French director Arnaud Desplechin. It premiered at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival but was not distributed to the United States for two years until it played in New York City in 2002...
(2000) - Beautiful JoeBeautiful Joe (film)Beautiful Joe is a 2000 American - British film written and directed by Stephen Metcalfe. It stars Sharon Stone and Billy Connolly, with supporting roles by Ian Holm, Dann Florek, and Gil Bellows.-Plot:...
(2000) - Bless the ChildBless the ChildBless the Child is a 2000 supernatural thriller film directed by Chuck Russell, starring Kim Basinger, Jimmy Smits, Angela Bettis, Rufus Sewell, Christina Ricci, and Holliston Coleman...
(2000) - From HellFrom Hell (film)From Hell is a 2001 American crime drama horror mystery film directed by the Hughes brothers. It is an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell about the Jack the Ripper murders.-Plot:...
(2001) - The Emperor's New Clothes (2001)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
(2003) - The Day After TomorrowThe Day After TomorrowThe Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 American science-fiction disaster film that depicts the catastrophic effects of global warming in a series of extreme weather events that usher in global cooling which leads to a new ice age. The film did well at the box office, grossing $542,771,772 internationally...
(2004) - Garden StateGarden State (film)Garden State is a 2004 comedy-drama film written by, directed by, and starring Zach Braff, with Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, and Sir Ian Holm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman , a 26-year-old actor/waiter who returns to his hometown in New Jersey after his mother dies...
(2004) - The Aviator (2004)
- Monsters we MetMonsters We MetMonsters We Met is a documentary produced by the BBC and later aired on Animal Planet in 2004 . The show used computer-generated imagery to recreate the life of the giant animals that lived during the last ice age and explains how early humans encountered them. It also features humans as the main...
(2004) - The Last Dragon (2004)
- Strangers with CandyStrangers with Candy (film)Strangers with Candy is a 2005 comedy film released by THINKFilm, first screened at the Sundance Film Festival. It serves as a prequel to the TV series of the same name...
(2005) - ChromophobiaChromophobia (film)Chromophobia is an ensemble film which debuted at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival in France. The film's crew was made up of a brother-sister trio - Martha Fiennes wrote and directed the film, Ralph Fiennes starred in it, and Magnus Fiennes composed the score...
(2005) - Lord of WarLord of WarLord of War is a 2005 French-German-American action drama film written and directed by Andrew Niccol and starring Nicolas Cage. It was released in the United States on September 16, 2005, with the DVD following on January 17, 2006 and the Blu-ray Disc on July 27, 2006.Cage plays an illegal arms...
(2005) - Horizon - Narrator (TV) (2005-2008)
- RenaissanceRenaissance (film)Renaissance is a 2006 French black-and-white animated science fiction film by French director Christian Volckman. It was co-produced in France, United Kingdom and Luxembourg and released on 15 March 2006 in France and 28 July 2006 in the UK by Miramax Films...
(2006) - O JerusalemO Jerusalem (film)O Jerusalem is a 2006 drama film directed by Elie Chouraqui. It is based on the history book of the same name, written by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins....
(2006) - RatatouilleRatatouille (film)Ratatouille is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the eighth film produced by Pixar, and was directed by Brad Bird, who took over from Jan Pinkava in 2005...
(2007) - 1066 The Battle for Middle Earth1066 The Battle for Middle Earth1066: The Battle for Middle Earth is a British television documentary series. In this innovative blend of historical drama and original source material Channel 4 re-imagines the story of this decisive year, not from the saddles of kings and conquerors, but through the eyes of the ordinary men who...
- Narrator (TV) (2009) - The Hobbit (2012)
Awards and nominations
Awards- 1965: Evening Standard Award for Best Actor - Henry VHenry V (play)Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in approximately 1599. Its full titles are The Cronicle History of Henry the Fifth and The Life of Henry the Fifth...
- 1967: Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a PlayTony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a PlayThis is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. The award has been presented since 1949.-1950s:* 1951: Eli Wallach – The Rose Tattoo* 1952: John Cromwell – Point of No Return...
– The HomecomingThe HomecomingThe Homecoming is a two-act play written in 1964 by Nobel laureate Harold Pinter and first published in 1965. The original Broadway production won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Play and its 40th-anniversary Broadway production at the Cort Theatre was nominated for a 2008 Tony Award for "Best Revival... - 1969: BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting RoleBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting RoleBest Actor in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film...
– The Bofors GunThe Bofors GunThe Bofors Gun is a 1968 British drama film directed by Jack Gold and starring Nicol Williamson, Ian Holm and John Thaw. It was based on the play Events While Guarding The Bofors Gun by John McGrath. It portrays the British peacetime occupation of West Germany following the Second World War.-Cast:*... - 1979: Royal Television Society Award for Best Performance - The Lost BoysThe Lost Boys (docudrama)The Lost Boys is an award-winning 1978 docudrama mini-series produced by the BBC, written by Andrew Birkin, and directed by Rodney Bennett. It is about the relationship between Peter Pan creator J. M...
- 1981: BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Chariots of FireChariots of FireChariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
- 1981: Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film FestivalThe Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
Best Supporting Actor (Special Award) – Chariots of Fire - 1985: Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting ActorBoston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
- BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Dance with a StrangerDance with a StrangerDance with a Stranger is a 1985 British drama film, directed by Mike Newell. Telling the story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain in the fifties, this moving biographical British film won critical acclaim, and brought particular notice to the careers of both Miranda Richardson...
, DreamchildDreamchildDreamchild is a 1985 British drama film produced by Verity Lambert, directed by Gavin Millar and written by Dennis Potter. It stars Coral Browne, Ian Holm, Peter Gallagher, Nicola Cowper and Amelia Shankley and is a fictionalized account of Alice Liddell, the child who inspired Lewis Carroll's...
and WetherbyWetherbyWetherby is a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Wharfe, and has been for centuries a crossing place and staging post on the Great North Road, being mid-way between London and Edinburgh... - 1985: FantasportoFantasportoFantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to commercial feature films, auteur films and experimental projects from all over the world, Fantasporto has created enthusiastic audiences, ranging from...
for Best Actor - Dreamchild - 1988: CableACE AwardCableACE AwardThe CableACE Award was an award that was given from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in American cable television programming...
for Best Actor in a Theatrical or Dramatic Special - The Browning Version - 1993: Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actor - MoonlightMoonlight (play)Moonlight is a play written by Harold Pinter, which premiered at the Almeida Theatre, in London, in September 1993.-Setting:THREE MAIN PLAYING AREAS:rehashes his youth, loves, lusts, and betrayals with his wife, [Bel], while simultaneously his two sons [Fred and Jake] — clinical, conspiratorial,...
- 1993: Evening Standard Award for Best Actor - Moonlight
- 1997: Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading RoleGenie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading RoleThe Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian actor.-1st Genie Awards:* Christopher Plummer, Murder by Decree...
- The Sweet HereafterThe Sweet Hereafter (film)The Sweet Hereafter is a 1997 Canadian film written and directed by Atom Egoyan. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Russell Banks.-Plot:... - 1997: Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorKansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorThe Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor is an award given by the Kansas City Film Critics Circle to honor the best achievements in acting.-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:*...
- The Sweet Hereafter - 1997: National Board of Review Award for Best CastNational Board of Review Award for Best CastThe National Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble is an annual film award given by the National Board of Review.-1990s:...
- The Sweet Hereafter - 1997: Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorToronto Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorThe Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor is one of the annual awards given by the Toronto Film Critics Association.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
- The Sweet Hereafter - 1997: Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actor - King LearKing LearKing 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...
- 1997: Evening Standard Award for Best Actor - King Lear
- 1998: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor – King Lear
- 2001: Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best CastPhoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best CastThe Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast is an annual award given by the Phoenix Film Critics Society.-2000s:*2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring...
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - 2003: Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
- 2003: National Board of Review Award for Best Cast - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- 2003: Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- 2007: Annie AwardAnnie AwardThe Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production – RatatouilleRatatouille (film)Ratatouille is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the eighth film produced by Pixar, and was directed by Brad Bird, who took over from Jan Pinkava in 2005...
Nominations
- 1979: British Academy Television Award for Best ActorBritish Academy Television Award for Best Actor- 1950s :*1955 Paul Rogers — *1956 Peter Cushing — *1957 Michael Gough — *1958 Michael Hordern — *1959 Donald Pleasence — - 1960s :*1960 Patrick McGoohan — *1961 Lee Montague —...
– The Lost BoysThe Lost Boys (docudrama)The Lost Boys is an award-winning 1978 docudrama mini-series produced by the BBC, written by Andrew Birkin, and directed by Rodney Bennett. It is about the relationship between Peter Pan creator J. M...
and Do You Remember? - 1981: Academy Award for Best Supporting ActorAcademy Award for Best Supporting ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
– Chariots of FireChariots of FireChariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice.... - 1985: BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting RoleBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting RoleBest Actor in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film...
– Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes - 1985: Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor – DreamchildDreamchildDreamchild is a 1985 British drama film produced by Verity Lambert, directed by Gavin Millar and written by Dennis Potter. It stars Coral Browne, Ian Holm, Peter Gallagher, Nicola Cowper and Amelia Shankley and is a fictionalized account of Alice Liddell, the child who inspired Lewis Carroll's...
- 1989: British Academy Television Award for Best Actor – Game, Set, and Match
- 1996: BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – The Madness of King GeorgeThe Madness of King GeorgeThe Madness of King George is a 1994 film directed by Nicholas Hytner and adapted by Alan Bennett from his own play, The Madness of George III. It tells the true story of George III's deteriorating mental health, and his equally declining relationship with his son, the Prince of Wales, particularly...
- 1997: Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorChicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorThe Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor is an annual award given by the Chicago Film Critics Association.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:...
- The Sweet HereafterThe Sweet Hereafter (film)The Sweet Hereafter is a 1997 Canadian film written and directed by Atom Egoyan. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Russell Banks.-Plot:... - 1997: Online Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorOnline Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorThe Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor is an annual film award given by the Online Film Critics Society to honor the best lead actor of the year.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
- The Sweet Hereafter - 1999: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a MoviePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a MovieThis is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.-1950s:*1952: Thomas Mitchell*1953: no award*1954: Robert Cummings – 12 Angry Men*1955: Lloyd Nolan – Caine Mutiny Court Marshal...
– King Lear - 2001: Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActorLas Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActorThe Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Supporting Actor is an award given by the Las Vegas Film Critics Society to honor the best supporting actor of the year.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - 2001: Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- 2001: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a Movie – The Last of the Blonde BombshellsThe Last of the Blonde BombshellsThe Last of the Blonde Bombshells is a 2000 British-American television film directed by Gillies MacKinnon. The script by Alan Plater focuses on the efforts of a recently widowed woman to reunite the members of the World War II-era swing band with which she played saxophone.It features Carry On...
- 2003: Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best CastPhoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best CastThe Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast is an annual award given by the Phoenix Film Critics Society.-2000s:*2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring...
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings... - 2004: Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture - The Aviator