Jim BroadbentBirth Place: Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England, UK Date of Birth: May 24, 1949 Heritage: British Famous for: His role as William Schwenck Gilbert in 'Topsy-Turvy' (1999) Contact Jim Broadbent | 
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Longford Background: British character actor Jim Broadbent took home an Oscar and Golden Globe Award for portraying John Bayley in Richard Eyre’s “Iris” (2001), not to mention other honors and nominations. He also delivered noteworthy performances in such films as “Topsy-Turvy” (1999), “Moulin Rouge” (2001), “Nicholas Nickleby” (2002), “When Did You Last See Your Father” (2007) and “The Damned United” (2009). Well known for playing Horace Slughorn in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (2009), he reprised the role for the seventh and final installment in the Harry Potter film series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and 2” (2010 and 2011). On the small screen, Broadbent won a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy nomination for his starring role in “Longford” (2006). He nabbed Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for “The Gathering Storm” (2002), a BAFTA nomination for “The Young Visitors” (2003) and an International Emmy Award for “The Street” (2006). Broadbent began acting as a child in a theater founded by his father before kicking off his professional stage career in the early 1970s. It was also on stage that he initiated his fruitful partnership with director Mike Leigh and has since become a favorite of such noted directors as Mike Newell, Stephen Frears and Terry Gilliam. Broadbent is the Honorary President of the Lindsey Rural Players. He has been married to artist Anastasia Lewis since 1987.
Childhood and Family: James Broadbent was born on May 24, 1949, in Lincoln, England. He is the youngest son of Roy Broadbent, a sculptor, interior designer and furniture maker, and Dee Broadbent, a sculptress. His twin sister died at birth. Both Roy and Dee were also amateur actors and helped found the Lindsey Rural Players. Growing up in the artistic family, young Jim decided to follow in his parents' footsteps and by age 4, had experienced his first taste of acting in a production of “A Doll’s House.” After graduating from Leighton Park School, a Quaker boarding school located in Reading, he was accepted into an art college at Hammersmith, but left his visual arts studies after a year and transferred to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. He graduated from LAMDA in 1972. In 1987, Jim married Anastasia Lewis, a painter and former theater designer. They currently reside in London. The couple also has a home in Lincolnshire.
Career: After completing college, Jim Broadbent got his start as a stage manager at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park while trying to gain theater roles. He finally found homes in the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company where he worked with various British directors, including Richard Eyre (“The Government Inspector” and “Kafka's Dick”), Mike Leigh (“Ecstasy” and “Goosepimples”), Lindsay Anderson, Max Stafford Clark and Trevor Nunn. Broadbent also formed the comedy duo The National Theatre of Brent with Peter Barlow. The two performed together in the productions “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” “The Complete Guide to Sex,” “The Messiah” and “Revolution.” Broadbent's screen career began in the late 1970s with small roles in Jerzy Skolimowski's “The Shout” (starred Alan Bates), Edward Bennett's “The Life Story of Baal” (both 1978) and J. Lee Thompson's “The Passage” (1979). It was followed by appearances in “Phoelix” (1980), “Breaking Glass” (1980), “The Dogs of War” (1980), “Time Bandits” (1981) and “Uliisses” (1982). The actor made his television film debut in “Birth of a Nation” (1982), where he starred as Geoff Figg. It was his second collaboration with director Leigh after “Ecstasy” (1979). Throughout the 1980s, Broadbent acted in a number of films and television programs, including Stephen Frears' “The Hit” (1984), Terry Gilliam's “Brazil” (1985, as Dr. Jaffe), Mike Newel's “The Good Father” (1985, as Roger Miles), “Happy Families” (3 episodes, 1985), the BBC adaptation of “Silas Marner” (1985), “Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV” (4 episodes, 1985-1987), “Blackadder's Christmas Carol” (1988, as Prince Albert) and “Revolution” (1989). In 1987, he made his American feature debut in Sidney J. Furie's “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace,” which starred Christopher Reeve as Superman/Clark Kent. Broadbent revisited the stage in the late 1980s when he landed a role in a revival of the Georges Feydeau comedy “A Flea in Her Ear” at London's Old Vic. Broadbent teamed up again with Leigh in the British film “Life Is Sweet,” in which he starred as Alison Steadman's loving husband Andy. Premiering at the London Film Festival on November 15, 1990, before being released theatrically, the film earned generally favorable reviews from critics and several awards. He was then reunited with Steadman in the British TV series “Gone to the Dogs” (1991). In 1992, Broadbent portrayed the memorable supporting role of Miranda Richardson's husband, Frederick Arbuthno, on the Oscar nominated drama “Enchanted April,” by Mike Newel. He also offered a notable performance as a bartender in Neil Jordan's acclaimed thriller “The Crying Game” and returned to television when he starred in the series “Gone to Seed,” opposite Rufus Sewell. Also that year, he wrote and acted in the 22 minute comedy film “A Sense of History,” which was helmed by Mike Leigh. Next, Broadbent played the husband of Julie Walters in the BBC television production “Wide-Eyed and Legless” (1993, released theatrically in the U.S. as “The Wedding Gift”), by director Richard Loncraine, Warner Purcell in the Woody Allen comedy “Bullets Over Broadway” (1994), the Duke of Buckingham in “Richard III” (1995, directed by Loncraine), Chief Inspector Heat in Christopher Hampton's “The Secret Agent” (1996) and Pod Clock in Peter Hewitt's “The Borrowers” (1997). In “Little Voice” (1998), a British film directed and scripted by Mark Herman and based on Jim Cartwright's play “The Rise and Fall of Little Voice,” Broadbent gave a fine supporting turn as nightclub owner Mr. Boo and shared a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast for the performance. In 1999, Broadbent starred in “Topsy-Turvy.” For his good performance, he received a Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the 1999 Venice Film Festival, an ALFS for British Actor of the Year at the 2000 London Critics Circle Film Awards, a 2000 Evening Standard British Film for Best Actor, a 2000 BAFTA Film nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, a 2000 British Independent Film nomination for Best Actor and a 2000 Chicago Film Critics Association nomination for Best Actor. Still in 1999, he also appeared with Rowan Atkinson, Huge Grant, Richard E. Grant and Joanna Lumley in “Comic Relief: Doctor Who - The Curse of Fatal Death” (TV). Broadbent's film career gained even more of a boost in 2001 with work in three of the most successful films of the year. He was first cast as Bridget's father in the Renée Zellweger comedy vehicle “Bridget Jones's Diary,” an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Helen Fielding, and Harold Zidler in Baz Luhrmann's musical “Moulin Rouge!,” opposite Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman, Richard Roxburgh and John Leguizamo. For his performance in the latter film, Broadbent picked up a BAFTA Award, a Chlotrudis' Audience Award, a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, a National Broad of Review Award, a Golden Satellite Award and a Screen Actors Guild nomination. His next performance, that of John Bayley in the biographical movie “Iris,” about the Irish novelist Iris Murdoch, brought Broadbent an Academy Award in the category of Best Actor in a Supporting Role. The film, directed by Richard Eyre, also garnered him a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, and a Los Angeles Film Critics Association for Best Supporting Actor. He also received numerous additional nominations for his role. Broadbent was reunited with director Richard Loncraine for the TV film “The Gathering Storm” (2002), where he played Desmond Morton. The role earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television and a Golden Satellite nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television. He went on to appear in Martin Scorsese's “Gangs of New York” (2002), Douglas McGrath's “Nicholas Nickleby (2002), where he shared a National Broad of Review in the category of Best Acting by an Ensemble, Stephen Fry's “Bright Young Things” (2003), “And Starring Pancho Villa” (HBO, 2003) and David Yates' “The Young Visitors” (BBC, 2003), where he netted a BAFTA TV nomination in the category of Best Actor for his performance. In 2003, Broadbent earned a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word Album for his work on “Winnie-The-Pooh.” 2004 found roles in “Tooth” (as the voice of The Rabbit), “Around the World in 80 Days” (as Lord Kelvin), Mira Nair's “Vanity Fair” (as Mr. Osborne), “Vera Drake” and “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.” The next year, he added “The Magic Roundabout,” the animated “Robots” (as the voice of Madame Gasket) and Andrew Adamson's adaptation of C.S. Lewis children's novel “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” (as Professor Kirke) to his impressive resume. After playing Jimmy in Terry Zwigoff's adaptation of Daniel Clowes' comic story “Art School Confidential” (2006), Broadbent enjoyed success on the small screen starring in the TV film “Longford” (2006), opposite Samantha Morton. Under the direction of Tom Hooper, he was handed a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television, a BAFTA TV for Best Actor, a Broadcasting Press Guild for Best Actor, a Royal Television Society for Best Actor - Male, and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie, to mention a few. He also won an International Emmy for Best Performance by an Actor for his role of Stan McDermott in the BBC series “The Street” (also 2006, 3 episodes). In 2007, Broadbent portrayed Inspector Frank Butterman in Edgar Wright's action comedy “Hot Fuzz” and was nominated for a British Independent Film for Best Actor and a London Critics Circle Film ALFS award for British Actor of the Year for his portrayal of Arthur in “When Did You Last See Your Father” (2007). He then provided the voice of G.P. in John Henderson's animated movie “Tales of the Riverbank” (2008), was cast as Dean Charles Stanforth in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008) and appeared in “Einstein and Eddington” and “Inkheart”(both 2008). In 2009, he received a British Independent Film nomination in the category of Best Supporting Actor for playing Sam Longson in “The Damned United” (2009), a biopic directed by Tom Hooper. In addition, he portrayed King William IV, opposite Emily Blunt as Queen Victoria, in Jean-Marc Vallée's “The Young Victoria” (2009), Professor Horace Slughorn in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (2009) and Jim McCrea in Ian Fitzgibbon's “Perrier's Bounty” (2009). Recently, in 2010, Broadbent was cast as the older Logan Mountstuart in an episode of “Any Human Heart” called “Dreams” and starred as Tom in Mike Leigh's comedy feature “Another Year.” He is set to reprise his role of Horace Slughorn in the “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” films, which are set to be released in 2010 and 2011.
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