Julian FellowesBirth Place: Cairo, Egypt Date of Birth: August 17, 1949 Heritage: Egyptian Famous for: Writer of 'Gosford Park' (2001) Contact Julian Fellowes | 
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Writer of Gosford Park Background: Academy Award winner and Golden Globe nominee Julian Fellowes was an actor for more than twenty years before reaching stardom as the writer of the Robert Altman-directed “Gosford Park” (2001). Thanks to his sharp wit, the screenplay won Fellowes his Oscar and several other awards as well as his Golden Globe nomination. He stated, “I feel as if I'm in 'A Star Is Born' and any moment Norman Maine will come up and whack me in the mouth.” Four years later, he debuted as a director-writer with the Tom Wilkinson-Emily Watson starring vehicle “Separate Lies” (2005), which brought him a National Board of Review Award. When asked why he chose to direct the movie, he said, “You want to work on films you want to see. I like complicated grown-up stories without the sort of polarities, where the morality is difficult and you don't know whose side you're on and you keep changing. That interests me. I'm not so interested by things where, 'This is the good guy and this is the bad guy. She's the heroine and that's it.' Of course those films are fun, too. I don't mean to poo poo. I like 'I, Robot.' But just for me personally to work on, I wanted a complicated morality because I think life is complicated. We are always making choices that are not good choices. They seem good at the time and then later you're having to get yourself out of them.” Fellowes' more recent and upcoming writing credits include “Piccadilly Jim” (2004), “Vanity Fair” (2004), “the Julian Fellowes Investigates: A Most Mysterious Murder” series (2004-2005, TV), “The Young Victoria” (2008), “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell” (2008) and “From Time to Time” (2009, also a director). He also penned the critically acclaimed novel “Snobs” (2005) and the script to the new West End musical “Mary Poppins” (2006). An in-demand character player, Followes appeared in a number of miniseries and made-for-television films throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He portrayed The Prince Regent in the CBS film “The Scarlet Pimpernel” (1982), D'Arcy in HBO's “Fellow Traveller” (1989), Noel Coward in the syndicated biopic “Goldeneye” (1990) and Lord Richmond in the miniseries “Aristocrats” (1999), among others. More recently, he is known as the Scottish nobleman on the BBC series “Monarch of the Glen” (2000-2005). Followes has also collected several film credits, including his debut, “Priest of Love” (1981), “Damage” (1992), “Shadowlands” (1993), “Savage Hearts” (1997), “Regeneration” (1997), “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997), “Place Vendome” (1998) and “Shergar” (1999). Outside the spotlight, Fellowes is the husband of Emma Kitchener, a Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Michael of Kent. He is the father of a 16-year-old son, Peregrine. He is a passionate fan of the TV soap “Coronation Street.” Son of a diplomat, Fellowes' relatives include Sir James Fellowes, Physician to the Forces during the period of Britain's George III, and Admiral Sir Thomas Fellowes, who served with Lord Nelson.
Childhood and Family: Julian Alexander Fellowes was born on August 17, 1949, in Cairo, Egypt. He is the youngest of four sons to Peregrine Fellowes, a diplomat, and Olwen. Julian was raised in an aristocratic family and attended Wetherby School and the prestigious Ampleforth College in York. After earning a degree in English Literature from the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, he attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art before moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting. Julian later returned to England and on April 28, 1990, he married Emma Joy Kitchener, who is a Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Michael of Kent and the great-great-niece of the 1st Earl Kitchener. The couple had a son, Peregrine Kitchener-Fellowes, in 1991. Currently, Julian and his family reside in Dorset, England, near the cottage once owned by writer Thomas Hardy. He has two dogs named Meg and Humbug.
Career: A graduate of Cambridge, Julian Fellowes became a member of the Cambridge Footlights comedy group while still an undergraduate, an experience that fueled his decision to launch a career in acting. After completing his degree and attending drama school, he began performing on stage with various companies and in 1976 he got his first taste in front of the TV camera as Tom Grenville in an episode of the British historical drama “Victorian Scandals.” A few more guest roles followed, including one in the BBC series “The Duchess of Duke Street” (1977), before he made his TV-movie debut in 1979's “The Old Crowd.” His first miniseries arrived in 1979's with “My Son, My Son,” based on a novel by Howard Spring. His film acting debut arrived two years later in “Priest of Love” (1981), helmed by Christopher Miles. With the intention of finding more work, Fellowes packed his bags and headed to Los Angeles in 1981. Shortly after, he made his American debut as a Nazi in the CBS biopic “The Bunker” (1981), starring the Emmy-winner Anthony Hopkins as Adolph Hitler. Later that same year, he rejoined Hopkins for the biblical miniseries “Peter and Paul” (CBS), in which Fellowes was cast as the Emperor Nero, and then in 1982, he portrayed The Prince Regent in the CBS movie “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” opposite Anthony Andrews, Jane Seymour and Ian McKellen. Disappointed with his life in Southern California, Fellowes moved back to England and formed a production company with Andrew Morgan called Lionhead Productions. Under the Lionhead banner, he served as associate producer of the syndicated miniseries “A Married Man” (1983), starring Anthony Hopkins. Fellowes continued his acting career by taking on roles in British TV projects like the five-part series “The Old Men at the Zoo” (1983), the based-on-book television movie “Swallows and Amazons Forever!: Coot Club” (1984), the BBC miniseries “Cold Warrior” (1984), “Florence Nightingale” (1985, with Timothy Dalton), “Lord Elgin and Some Stones of No Value” (1986) and the short-lived sci-fi series “Knights of God” (1987). Meanwhile, the American public could see Fellowes in the movie “Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend” (1985) and the HBO drama “Fellow Traveller” (1989), about the Hollywood blacklist of the 1950s. A popular character actor, Fellowes was next seen playing Noel Coward in “Goldeneye” (1990), Neville Marsham in the 150-minute miniseries “For the Greater Good” (1991), by director Danny Byle, Donald Lyndsay in the drama film “Damage” (1992), which starred Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche, and Desmond Arding in “Shadowlands,” a 1993 biography film directed by Richard Attenborough. In 1994, he wrote the script for “Little Lord Fauntleroy,” which was adapted from the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel of the same name. Aired in America on the Disney Channel in 1995, the acclaimed miniseries received an International Emmy. He next scripted and produced a British TV adaptation of Mark Twain's “The Prince and the Pauper” (1996), starring John Bowe and Peter Jeffrey. Back to the big screen, Fellowes played Colonel Dent in Charlotte Bronte's “Jane Eyre” (1996) and was cast as the Bishop in the independent thriller “Savage Hearts” (1997). He also appeared as an army officer in the praised war movie “Regeneration” (1997), starring Jonathan Pryce, was featured as the Minister of Defense in the James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997), Pierce Brosnan's second outing as 007, supported Catherine Denueve in “Place Vendome” (1998) and appeared in “Shergar” (1999). Still in 1999, he also starred as the Lord Richmond on the British miniseries “Aristocrats.” Entering the new millennium, Fellowes joined the cast of the 2000 BBC series “Monarch of the Glen” in the recurring role of a Scottish nobleman named Kilwillie. It was while appearing in the drama series that Fellowes wrote the screenplay for the comedy film “Gosford Park,” directed by Robert Altman and starring Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon and Kristin Scott Thomas. A multiple story-lined drama set in 1932, the movie received a number of awards. For his spectacular effort, Fellowes took home an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and was named Screenwriter of the Year by ShoWest. He also received Best Screenplay honors from the National Society of Film Critics Awards, the Writers Guild of America Awards and the National Society of Film Critics Awards. In 2004, Fellowes wrote the screenplay adaptation of P.G. Wodehouse's comic novel “Piccadilly Jim,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 12, 2005, and starred Sam Rockwell as Jim Crocker. The same year, he also adapted William Makepeace Thackeray's “Vanity Fair,” directed by Mira Nair. Fellowes wrote and was a presenter on the TV movie “Julian Fellowes Investigates: A Most Mysterious Murder - The Case of Charles Bravo” (2004), which spawned three sequels in 2005 with Fellowes reprising his duties in all sequels. In late 2005, Fellowes made his feature directorial debut with “Separate Lies,” a drama starring Tom Wilkinson and Emily Watson that he also scripted. He won a National Board of Review for Best Debut Director and was nominated for British Newcomer of the Year for a London Critics Circle Film Award for his work in the movie. As for his upcoming projects, Fellowes will write the screenplay of the British drama “The Young Victoria” (2008), starring Rupert Friend as Prince Albert and Miranda Richardson as Duchess of Kent, and team up with Christopher Hampton to script the fantasy film “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell” (2008), based on a novel by Susanna Clarke. He will also serve as both a director and a writer on the based-on-novel movie “From Time to Time” (2009), starring Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, Hugh Bonneville and Anne Reid. Apart from writing for film and television, Fellowes also published a bestselling novel in 2004 called “Snobs.” Previously, in the 1970s, he had also written romantic novels under the pseudonym Rebecca Greville. Fellowes also wrote the script to the new West End stage musical “Mary Poppins,” which was produced by Cameron Mackintosh and Disney and opened on Broadway in December 2006.
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