Secrets & Lies

Background:

British actor Timothy Spall is best remembered for his boorish, highly dysfunctional blue-collar roles, which includes roles in the BBC movie "Home Sweet Home" (1981), "Life Is Sweet" (1991) and "Secrets & Lies" (1996).

The actor, who initially was known in his native England for playing Barry Taylor in the hit TV series ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' (1983-2004), has also starred in such films as "The Sheltering Sky" (1990), "Topsy-Turvy" (1999), ''Rock Star'' (2001), "Nicholas Nickleby" (2002), ''The Last Samurai'' (2003), ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' (2004), "The Last Hangman" (2005) and "Enchanted" (2007). He gained international recognition as Peter Pettigrew in ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' (2004) and ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' (2005).

Spall will star alongside Johnny Depp in Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" and with Maggie Smith in the novel-based "From Time to Time." He will also provide his voice, along with Ewan McGregor, for the comedy "Jackboots on Whitehall." He now plays Eddie McEvoy in the BBC TV series "The Street" (2006-Present), alongside Jane Horrocks, Jim Broadbent and Sue Johnston.

The 5' 7" actor has been married since 1981 and has three children. He was diagnosed with leukemia in 1996, but is now recovered. On December 31, 1999, he was named an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Leukemia Survivor

Childhood and Family:

The third of four sons of a postal worker father and a hairdresser mother, Timothy Leonard Spall was born on February 27, 1957, in Battersea, London, England. He trained at the National Youth Theatre and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), where he was awarded the school's prestigious Bancroft Gold Medal for most promising actor.

Since 1981, Spall has been married to Shane, with whom he has three children: Pascale (born 1976), Rafe Spall (born 1983; actor; appeared in the films "The Calcium Kid,” 2004 and "Hot Fuzz,” 2007) and Mercedes (born 1985).

In 1996, Spall was diagnosed with leukemia but is now recovered. On his battle with leukemia, he once said, "I didn't know what made me ill but stress had something to do with it and the point is now to head off stress at the pass. It made me aware of things and become more selective. I am less worried about employment. I really do my homework so I am not getting stressed on the set because I don't know what I'm doing."

Spall was named an Officer of the Order of British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on New Year's Eve, 1999. He now lives in a large house in Forest Hill, a suburb of south-east London.

Life Is Sweet

Career:

Timothy Spall decided to build an acting career thanks to the role of the Cowardly Lion he played in a school production of ''The Wizard of Oz.'' His well-received performance in the play was noticed by his drama teacher who later suggested he study the craft at the National Youth Theatre. He recalled, "She said to me, 'I've never told any of my pupils this before, because acting is a terrible profession, but I recommend work with the National Youth Theatre.'"

The aspiring actor subsequently went to RADA at age 19 where he portrayed the title roles in "Macbeth" and "Othello." He then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1979 and stayed for about two years performing in "The Merry Wives of Windsor," "Cymbeline," "The Three Sisters" and "Nicholas Nickleby."

Spall made his early film appearance in director Edward Bennett's little-seen adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's play, "The Life Story of Baal" (1978). He followed it up with a film role in Franc Roddam's "Quadrophenia" (1979; starring Phil Daniels and Sting), based on the 1973 rock opera album of the same name by The Who.

In the early 1980s, Spall made his first collaboration with director Mike Leigh in the BBC drama/comedy film "Home Sweet Home" (1982, also starring Eric Richard and Tim Barker). The next year, he gained more recognition when he joined the ensemble cast of the popular British sitcom "Auf Wiedersehen, Pet" (1983-2004), as Barry Taylor, a bashful, boring, bumbling electrician with a large vocabulary and a motorbike.

During his lengthy stint on "Auf Wiedersehen, Pet," Spall was reunited with Leigh in a stage play he directed titled "Smelling a Rat" (1988). He then appeared in Bernardo Bertolucci's Golden Globe-winning adaptation of Paul Bowles' 1949 romantic novel, "The Sheltering Sky" (1990; starring Debra Winger and John Malkovich). But it was "Life Is Sweet" (1990), a tale of everyday survival, that became Spall's first feature collaboration with writer/director Mike Leigh in which he portrayed the role of the pitiful Aubrey, a failed entrepreneur who offers a mother (played by Alison Steadman) a part-time job at his newly-opened and immediately-doomed restaurant.

Spall was first seen by American audiences as a guest star in two episodes (1992 and 1993) of ABC’s Emmy-winning TV series "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles," followed by a turn as a comedy player on HBO’s Special "Tracey Ullman: A Class Act." Back to his native England, Spall got his own show called "Frank Stubbs Promotes" (aka ''Frank Stubbs''), a comedy/drama in which he portrayed the title role of a down-on-his-luck promoter of actors, entertainers, sportsmen and newcomers. The show stayed on the air from 1993 to 1994.

After the demise of his show, Spall co-starred with Brenda Blethyn in the British comedy series "Outside Edge" (1994). Two years later, in 1996, he received international recognition for his starring role as Maurice Purley in Leigh’s Oscar-nominated drama "Secrets & Lies." For his performance, Spall earned an ALFS nomination for British Actor of the Year.

Around that same time, Spall was diagnosed with leukemia and briefly retired from acting while undergoing treatment. He has since been in remission and returned to acting as Mr. Venus, a taxidermist, in the miniseries version of Charles Dickens' last novel, "Our Mutual Friend" (1998; alongside Steven Mackintosh and Anna Friel), which earned him a BAFTA TV Award nomination for Best Actor and won him a Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor. He earned another Best Actor BAFTA TV Award for his work opposite Lindsay Duncan in the BBC Two television drama by Stephen Poliakoff, ''Shooting the Past'' (1999). That same year, he had a featured role in Mike Leigh's musical biopic "Topsy-Turvy.” Although the film was not released widely, it received favorable reviews and a number of film festival and Academy Awards. Spall himself received a BAFTA Film Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role and an ALFS Award for Best British Supporting Actor of the Year.

After providing the voice of Nick the rat in the stop-motion animation British film ''Chicken Run'' (2000), Spall co-starred as the warmhearted cab driver in Patrice Chéreau's European drama loosely based on the 1998 novel, "Intimacy" (2001), which handed him a Chlotrudis Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He was then cast as the road manager of a heavy metal band in Stephen Herek's musical drama film starring Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston, "Rock Star" (2001), and co-starred in Peter Cattaneo's comedy film inspired by Stephen Fry's book, "Lucky Break" (2001; with James Nesbitt, Olivia Williams, Christopher Plummer and Bill Nighy), which earned him a British Independent Film Award nomination for Best Actor.

Spall continued to receive good reviews for his acting and was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor for his manic, over-the-top performance as a veteran vacuum cleaner salesman named Tommy in the dark comedy TV movie ''Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise'' (2001). He won a National Board of Review for Best Acting by an Ensemble for his performance in Douglas McGrath's take on Charles Dickens' classic novel, "Nicholas Nickleby" (2002; alongside Charlie Hunnam, Christopher Plummer, Jamie Bell, Anne Hathaway and Jim Broadbent). He was also nominated for a British Independent Film Award and an European Film Award (both for Best Actor) for his work in Mike Leigh's emotional drama set in present-day London, "All or Nothing" (2002), and was nominated for an Australian Film Institute (AFI) award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in Jonathan Teplitzky's crime caper movie set on Australia's Gold Coast, ''Gettin' Square'' (2003; with Sam Worthington and David Wenham).

Next, Spall portrayed the role of Simon Graham, Tom Cruise's interpreter, in Edward Zwick's Oscar-nominated action/drama film "The Last Samurai" (2003) and was cast as Peter Pettigrew in Alfonso Cuarón's Oscar-nominated "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (2004), the third installment of the popular ''Harry Potter'' series based on the novels by J. K. Rowling. He also reappeared in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (2005).

In 2004, Spall portrayed Mr. Poe in Brad Silberling's Oscar-winning film "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" (2004; starring Jim Carrey), an adaptation of Daniel Handler's beloved children's book series, and did voiceover work for a TV commercial for Tesco supermarkets. He also portrayed the title role in Adrian Shergold’s dramatic film, ''The Last Hangman,” which earned him a London Critics Circle Film Award (ALFS) nomination for British Actor of the Year. The film premiered at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the U.K. on April 7, 2006. In the U.S., after a restricted theatrical release during the summer of 2007, the film became available on DVD on October 30, 2007.

Recently, in 2007, Spall was seen as Sugarman, the protective manager of famous magician and escape artist Harry Houdini (portrayed by Guy Pearce), in Gillian Armstrong's supernatural romantic thriller ''Death Defying Acts'' (also starred Catherine Zeta Jones), and Nathaniel, the henchman of Queen Narissa (played by Susan Sarandon), in Kevin Lima's comedy-fantasy-musical film "Enchanted" (also starring Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey). British TV viewers can now catch him starring alongside Jane Horrocks, Jim Broadbent and Sue Johnston in the BBC TV series "The Street" (2006-Present).

Moviegoers can now see Spall in Tim Burton's film adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler musical, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," in which he plays Beadle Bamford, the henchman of the wicked Judge Turpin (played by Alan Rickman). The film was released in the United States on December 21, 2007.

Spall is currently working on his upcoming film projects, "Jackboots on Whitehall," a spoof war movie by Edward McHenry about the Nazis invading England in which he will feature his voice alongside well-known British actors Ewan McGregor, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant and Richard Griffiths, and "From Time to Time," an adventure film by Julian Fellowes based on Lucy M. Boston's series of books, "The Children of Green Knowe." As for his upcoming TV projects, Spall will soon be seen in the miniseries version of Charles Dickens' novel, "Oliver Twist," and an ITV thriller movie titled "Gunrush."

Awards:

• National Board of Review (NBR): Best Acting by an Ensemble, "Nicholas Nickleby," 2002

• Broadcasting Press Guild: Best Actor, "Our Mutual Friend," 1999