
One of England's most versatile character actors, Jim Broadbent was born on May 24, 1949, in Lincolnshire, the youngest son of furniture maker Roy Broadbent and sculptress Dee Broadbent. Jim attended a Quaker boarding school in Reading before successfully applying for a place at an art school. His heart was in acting, though, and he would later transfer to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Following his 1972 graduation, he began his professional career on the stage, performing with the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and as part of the National Theatre of Brent, a two-man troupe which he co-founded. In addition to his theatrical work, Broadbent did steady work on television, working for such directors as Mike Newell and Stephen Frears. Broadbent made his film debut in 1978 with a small part in Jerzy Skolimowski's The Shout (1978). He went on to work with Frears again in The Hit (1984) and with Terry Gilliam in Time Bandits (1981) and Brazil (1985), but it was through his collaboration with Mike Leigh that Broadbent first became known to an international film audience. In 1990 he starred in Leigh's Life Is Sweet (1990), a domestic comedy that cast him as a good-natured cook who dreams of running his own business. Broadbent gained further visibility the following year with substantial roles in Neil Jordan's The Crying Game (1992) and Mike Newell's Enchanted April (1992), and he could subsequently be seen in such diverse fare as Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Widows' Peak (1994), Richard Loncraine's highly acclaimed adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III (1995) and Little Voice (1998), the last of which cast him as a seedy nightclub owner. Appearing primarily as a character actor in these films, Broadbent took center stage for Leigh's Topsy-Turvy (1999), imbuing the mercurial W.S. Gilbert with emotional complexity and comic poignancy. Jim's breakthrough year was 2001, as he starred in three critically and commercially successful films. Many would consider him the definitive supporting actor of that year. First he starred as Bridget's dad (Colin Jones) in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), which propelled Renée Zellweger to an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Next came the multiple Oscar-nominated film (including Best Picture) Moulin Rouge! (2001), for which he won a Best Supporting Actor BAFTA award for his scene-stealing performance as Harold Zidler. Lastly, came the small biopic Iris (2001/I), for which he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as devoted husband John Bayley to Judi Dench's Iris Murdoch, the British novelist who suffered from Alzheimer's disease. The film hit home with Jim, since his own mother had passed away from Alzheimer's in 1995.
Movie | Magik | Garret | 2019 |
Movie | Dirty Tricks | Richard Nixon | 2019 |
Series | Coke E-ling Rengra | Alfred Salteena | 2019 |
Movie | The Sense of an Ending | Tony Webster | 2017-03-10 |
Series | Ready Steady Cook | Professor Horace Slughorn | 2016 |
Movie | War and Peace | Prince Bolkonsky | 2016-01-03 |
Movie | Bridget Jones's Baby | Mr. Colin Jones | 2016-09-16 |
Movie | The Legend of Tarzan | Prime Minister | 2016-06-29 |
Movie | Eddie the Eagle | BBC Commentator | 2016-02-26 |
Series | War and Peace | Prince Bolkonsky | 2016-01-03 |
Movie | The Go-Between | Old Leo | 2015-09-20 |
Movie | The Lady in the Van | Underwood | 2015-11-13 |
Series | London Spy | Scottie | 2015-11-09 |
Movie | London Spy | Scottie | 2015-11-09 |
Movie | Brooklyn | Father Flood | 2015-10-20 |
Movie | The Weather Inside | Britischer Botschafter | 2015-09-29 |
Movie | Postman Pat: The Movie | CEO (voice) | 2014-05-23 |
Movie | Big Game | Herbert | 2014-09-05 |
Movie | Paddington | Samuel Gruber | 2014-11-28 |
Movie | Get Santa | Santa Claus | 2014-12-05 |
Movie | The Harry Hill Movie | Cleaner | 2013-12-20 |
Movie | Closed Circuit | Attorney General | 2013-08-28 |
Movie | Filth | Dr. Rossi | 2013-09-23 |
Movie | The Great Train Robbery | DI Frank Williams | 2013-12-18 |
Movie | Le Week-End | Nick Burrows | 2013-10-04 |
Movie | The Phone Call | Stan (voice) | 2013-10-01 |
Movie | Nina Conti: Her Master's Voice | Himself | 2012-03-11 |
Movie | Cloud Atlas | Captain Molyneux / Vyvyan Ayrs / Timothy Cavendish / Korean Musician / Prescient 2 | 2012-10-26 |
Movie | The Iron Lady | Denis Thatcher | 2011-12-30 |
Movie | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 | Horace Slughorn | 2011-07-07 |
Series | Exile | 2011-05-01 | |
Movie | Arthur Christmas | Santa (voice) | 2011-02-22 |
Series | Good Luck Charlie | Sam Longson | 2010-04-04 |
Movie | Another Year | Tom | 2010-11-05 |
Movie | Animals United | Winston | 2010-10-07 |
Movie | Any Human Heart | Logan Mountstuart (Older) | 2010-06-30 |
Series | Any Human Heart | Logan Mountstuart | 2010-11-21 |
Movie | The Young Victoria | King William | 2009-03-04 |
Movie | Tales of the Riverbank | G.P. (voice) | 2008-02-07 |
Movie | Lost and Found | Narrator (voice) | 2008-12-24 |
Movie | Einstein and Eddington | Sir Oliver Lodge | 2008-11-29 |
Series | Toda una dama | Jem Rodney | 2007-11-07 |
Movie | When Did You Last See Your Father? | Arthur Morrison | 2007-10-05 |
Movie | Free Jimmy | Stomowskij (voice) | 2006-04-21 |
Movie | Art School Confidential | Jimmy | 2006-11-10 |
Series | The Street | Unknown | 2006-04-13 |
Movie | Robots | Madame Gasket (voice) | 2005-03-10 |
Movie | The Magic Roundabout | Brian | 2005-01-19 |
Series | Danny Phantom | Fenoglio | 2004-04-03 |
Series | Impact Wrestling | Inspector Frank Butterman | 2004-06-04 |
Movie | Vanity Fair | Mr. Osborne | 2004-09-01 |
Movie | Pride | Eddie (voice) | 2004-06-21 |
Movie | Around the World in 80 Days | Lord Kelvin | 2004-06-16 |
Movie | Vera Drake | Judge | 2004-10-22 |
Movie | Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason | Bridget's Dad | 2004-11-12 |
Movie | Evil | 2003-05-16 | |
Movie | And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself | Harry Aitken | 2003-09-07 |
Movie | Bright Young Things | The Drunken Major | 2003-05-16 |
Movie | Gangs of New York | William "Boss" Tweed | 2002-12-14 |
Movie | Nicholas Nickleby | Mr. Wackford Squeers | 2002-12-27 |
Series | Loving You | Lord Longford | 2002-07-29 |
Movie | The Gathering Storm | Desmond Morton | 2002-04-22 |
Movie | Iris | John Bayley | 2001-12-14 |
Movie | Moulin Rouge! | Harold Zidler | 2001-03-09 |
Series | Beautiful Days | Sergeant (voice) | 2001-03-14 |
Movie | Bridget Jones's Diary | Bridget's Dad | 2001-04-13 |
Movie | Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death | The Doctor | 1999-03-26 |
Movie | Topsy-Turvy | W. S. Gilbert | 1999-09-03 |
Movie | The Avengers | Mother | 1998-08-13 |
Movie | Little Voice | Mr. Boo | 1998-11-05 |
Series | Beast Wars Neo | Ernest the Viking (a Rapist) | 1998-02-03 |
Movie | Smilla's Sense of Snow | Dr. Lagermann | 1997-02-13 |
Movie | The Borrowers | Pod Clock | 1997-12-05 |
Movie | The Secret Agent | Chief Inspector Heat | 1996-11-08 |
Movie | Richard III | The Duke of Buckingham | 1995-12-29 |
Series | Für alle Fälle Stefanie | Jim McCrea | 1995-05-15 |
Movie | Rough Magic | Doc Ansell | 1995-09-07 |
Movie | Widows' Peak | Con Clancy | 1994-05-13 |
Movie | Princess Caraboo | Mr. Worrall | 1994-09-16 |
Movie | Bullets Over Broadway | Warner Purcell | 1994-10-14 |
Series | Inside the Actors Studio | Dean Charles Stanforth | 1994-06-01 |
Movie | Wide Eyed and Legless | Deric Longden | 1993-09-05 |
Movie | A Sense of History | 23rd Earl of Leete | 1992-01-01 |
Movie | The Crying Game | Col | 1992-09-02 |
Series | MGM: When the Lion Roars | Batman | 1992-03-22 |
Series | Murder Most Horrid | Unknown | 1991-11-14 |
Movie | Enchanted April | Frederick Arbuthnot | 1991-11-06 |
Movie | Nona | 1991-10-19 | |
Movie | Life Is Sweet | Andy | 1990-11-15 |
Series | The Staggering Stories of Ferdinand de Bargos | 1989-11-16 | |
Movie | Oliver & Company | 1988-11-18 | |
Movie | Vroom | Donald | 1988-11-11 |
Movie | Blackadder's Christmas Carol | Prince Albert | 1988-01-01 |
Movie | Superman IV: The Quest for Peace | Jean Pierre Dubois | 1987-07-23 |
Series | Inspector Morse | Unknown | 1987-01-06 |
Movie | The Insurance Man | Gutling | 1986-02-22 |
Movie | The Good Father | Roger Miles | 1985-11-01 |
Movie | Brazil | Dr. Jaffe | 1985-12-18 |
Movie | The Hit | Barrister | 1984-09-12 |
Movie | Hot Moves | Unknown | 1984-10-04 |
Series | Blackadder | 1983-06-15 | |
Movie | Birth of a Nation | Geoff Figg | 1983-06-19 |
Movie | Walter and June | Orderly | 1983-04-30 |
Series | Dramarama | Unknown | 1983-09-12 |
Movie | Uliisses | 1982-06-18 | |
Movie | Our Winnie | 1982-11-12 | |
Movie | Intensive Care | Headmaster | 1982-11-09 |
Movie | Walter | Joseph - Orderly | 1982-11-02 |
Movie | Mike Leigh: Making Plays | (Archive Material) | 1982-09-04 |
Movie | Time Bandits | Compere | 1981-07-13 |
Series | Beyond Westworld | Professor Kirke | 1980-03-05 |
Movie | Breaking Glass | Station Porter | 1980-10-01 |
Series | Tales of the Unexpected | Unknown | 1979-03-24 |
Movie | Long Distance Information | Mackaness | 1979-10-11 |
Movie | The Shout | Fielder in cowpat | 1978-01-01 |
Series | Play for Today | Unknown | 1970-10-15 |
Movie | The College Girl Murders | 1967-08-11 | |
Series | The Academy Awards | Unknown | 1953-03-18 |
Movie | The Freshman | Unknown | 1925-09-20 |