1949-05-24 Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England, UK
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.
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A Boy Called Christmas | Father Vodol | 2021-11-11 |
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Six Minutes to Midnight | Charlie | 2020-10-15 |
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The Duke | Kempton Bunton | 2020-09-04 |
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Dolittle | Lord Thomas Badgley | 2020-01-01 |
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Children In Need 2019: Got It Covered | Self | 2019-10-30 |
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Black '47 | Kilmichael | 2018-09-05 |
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King of Thieves | Terry Perkins | 2018-09-04 |
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New Town Utopia | Lewis Silkin MP | 2018-05-04 |
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King Lear | Earl of Gloucester | 2018-05-28 |
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Paddington 2 | Samuel Gruber | 2017-11-09 |
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Birds Like Us | Horozovich (voice) | 2017-05-05 |
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The Sense of an Ending | Tony Webster | 2017-03-10 |
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The Legend of Tarzan | Prime Minister | 2016-06-29 |
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Magik | Garret | 2016-12-25 |
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Eddie the Eagle | BBC Commentator | 2016-02-26 |
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Ethel & Ernest | Ernest Briggs (voice) | 2016-10-28 |
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Bridget Jones's Baby | Mr. Colin Jones | 2016-09-14 |
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Das Wetter in geschlossenen Räumen | Britischer Botschafter | 2015-09-29 |
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Brooklyn | Father Flood | 2015-10-20 |
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The Go-Between | Old Leo | 2015-09-20 |
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The Lady in the Van | Underwood | 2015-11-13 |
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Paddington | Samuel Gruber | 2014-11-24 |
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Big Game | Herbert | 2014-09-05 |
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The One and Only Mike Leigh | Himself | 2014-11-24 |
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Postman Pat: The Movie | CEO (voice) | 2014-05-23 |
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Get Santa | Santa Claus | 2014-12-05 |
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Filth | Dr. Rossi | 2013-09-23 |
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Le Week-End | Nick Burrows | 2013-10-04 |
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Chance Meeting | 2013-10-08 | |
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Closed Circuit | Attorney General | 2013-08-28 |
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The Harry Hill Movie | Cleaner | 2013-12-20 |
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The Phone Call | Stan (voice) | 2013-10-20 |
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Cloud Atlas | Captain Molyneux / Vyvyan Ayrs / Timothy Cavendish / Korean Musician / Prescient 2 | 2012-10-26 |
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Nina Conti: Her Master's Voice | Himself | 2012-03-11 |
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Arthur Christmas | Santa (voice) | 2011-11-10 |
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The Iron Lady | Denis Thatcher | 2011-12-30 |
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 | Horace Slughorn | 2011-07-07 |
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Any Human Heart | Logan Mountstuart (Older) | 2010-06-30 |
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Another Year | Tom | 2010-11-05 |
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Horace Slughorn | 2009-07-07 |
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The Damned United | Sam Longson | 2009-03-27 |
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Perrier's Bounty | Jim McCrea | 2009-09-11 |
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The Young Victoria | King William IV | 2009-03-04 |
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Einstein and Eddington | Sir Oliver Lodge | 2008-11-29 |
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Tales of the Riverbank | G.P. (voice) | 2008-02-07 |
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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Dean Charles Stanforth | 2008-05-21 |
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Lost and Found | Narrator (voice) | 2008-12-24 |
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Inkheart | Fenoglio | 2008-12-11 |
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And When Did You Last See Your Father? | Arthur Morrison | 2007-10-05 |
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Hot Fuzz | Inspector Frank Butterman | 2007-02-14 |
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Longford | Lord Longford | 2006-10-26 |
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Slipp Jimmy fri | Stomowskij (voice) | 2006-04-21 |
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Art School Confidential | Jimmy | 2006-05-05 |
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Valiant | Sergeant (voice) | 2005-03-25 |
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The Magic Roundabout | Brian (voice) | 2005-02-02 |
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Spider-Plant Man | Batman | 2005-03-11 |
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The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | Professor Kirke | 2005-12-07 |
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Robots | Madame Gasket (voice) | 2005-03-10 |
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Vanity Fair | Mr. Osborne | 2004-09-01 |
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Pride | Eddie (voice) | 2004-06-21 |
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Tooth | The Rabbit (voice) | 2004-02-13 |
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Around the World in 80 Days | Lord Kelvin | 2004-06-16 |
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Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason | Bridget's Dad | 2004-11-10 |
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Vera Drake | Judge | 2004-10-22 |
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Bright Young Things | The Drunken Major | 2003-05-16 |
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And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself | Harry Aitken | 2003-09-07 |
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The Young Visiters | Alfred Salteena | 2003-12-26 |
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The King's Beard | The Wizard (voice) | 2002-10-02 |
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The Gathering Storm | Desmond Morton | 2002-04-22 |
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Gangs of New York | William "Boss" Tweed | 2002-12-14 |
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Nicholas Nickleby | Mr. Wackford Squeers | 2002-12-27 |
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The Night Club of Your Dreams: The Making of 'Moulin Rouge' | 2001-05-01 | |
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Bridget Jones's Diary | Bridget's Dad | 2001-04-13 |
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Moulin Rouge! | Harold Zidler | 2001-05-24 |
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Iris | John Bayley | 2001-12-14 |
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Topsy-Turvy | W. S. Gilbert | 1999-09-03 |
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Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death | The Doctor | 1999-03-26 |
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Little Voice | Mr. Boo | 1998-11-05 |
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The Avengers | Mother | 1998-08-13 |
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The Borrowers | Pod Clock | 1997-12-05 |
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Smilla's Sense of Snow | Dr. Lagermann | 1997-02-28 |
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The Secret Agent | Chief Inspector Heat | 1996-11-08 |
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Richard III | The Duke of Buckingham | 1995-12-29 |
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Rough Magic | Doc Ansell | 1995-09-07 |
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Widows' Peak | Con Clancy | 1994-05-13 |
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Princess Caraboo | Mr. Worrall | 1994-09-16 |
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Bullets Over Broadway | Warner Purcell | 1994-10-14 |
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Wide-Eyed and Legless | Deric Longden | 1993-09-05 |
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Prince Cinders | Ugly Brother / Policeman (voice) | 1993-12-27 |
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The Crying Game | Col | 1992-09-02 |
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A Sense of History | 23rd Earl of Leete | 1992-01-01 |
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Nona | 1991-10-19 | |
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Enchanted April | Frederick Arbuthnot | 1991-11-06 |
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Life Is Sweet | Andy | 1990-11-15 |
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Erik the Viking | Ernest the Viking (a Rapist) | 1989-09-01 |
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Blackadder's Christmas Carol | Prince Albert | 1988-12-23 |
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Vroom | Donald | 1988-11-11 |
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Superman IV: The Quest for Peace | Jean Pierre Dubois | 1987-07-23 |
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Walter | Joseph - Orderly | 1986-07-01 |
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The Insurance Man | Gutling | 1986-02-22 |
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The Good Father | Roger Miles | 1985-11-01 |
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Silas Marner | Jem Rodney | 1985-12-30 |
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Only Fools and Horses - To Hull and Back | Roy Slater | 1985-12-25 |
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Brazil | Dr. Jaffe | 1985-02-20 |
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The Hit | Barrister | 1984-09-12 |
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Birth of a Nation | Geoff Figg | 1983-06-19 |
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Dead on Time | Priest | 1983-01-01 |
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Walter and June | Orderly | 1983-04-30 |
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Mike Leigh: Making Plays | (Archive Material) | 1982-09-04 |
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Uliisses | 1982-06-18 | |
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Intensive Care | Mr Horsfall | 1982-11-09 |
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Time Bandits | Compere | 1981-07-13 |
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Breaking Glass | Station Porter | 1980-10-01 |
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The Adventures of Frank: Seeds of Ice | Mr. Champing | 1980-11-11 |
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The Passage | 1979-03-09 | |
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Long Distance Information | Mackaness | 1979-10-11 |
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The Shout | Fielder in cowpat | 1978-06-16 |
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The Go-Between | Spectator at Cricket Match (uncredited) | 1971-09-24 |
