Detailed Biography

James "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, and Bridget Jones' Diary. His most recent appearance was in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as the quirky Professor Slughorn.

Early life

Broadbent was born in Lincoln, the son of Doreen "Dee" , a sculptor, and Roy Laverick Broadbent, an artist, sculptor, interior designer, and furniture maker who turned a former church into a theatre named after him. Broadbent's parents were both amateur actors who co-founded the Holton Players acting troupe at Holton cum Beckering; the two were described by the BBC as conscientious objectors who "worked the land" rather than participate in World War II. He had a twin sister who died at birth. Broadbent was educated at Leighton Park School, a Quaker school in Reading, and briefly attended art college before transferring to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art from which he graduated in 1972.

Career

Broadbent's early stagework included a number of productions for The National Theatre of Brent as the downtrodden assistant Wallace to Patrick Barlow's self important actor/manager character Desmond Olivier Dingle. Broadbent and Barlow played many male and female character roles in comically less than epic tellings of historical and religious stories such as The Messiah, The Complete Guide to Sex, The Greatest Story Ever Told , Revolution!!, All The World's A Globe . These were hits at the Edinburgh Fringe, in London and on tour. Later stage work included the original productions of Kafka's Dick and Our Country's Good at the Royal Court Theatre and work for the Royal National Theatre including "The Government Inspector”. Work on the stage with Mike Leigh includes Goosepimples and Ecstasy.

Broadbent made his film debut in 1978 with a tiny role in Jerzy Skolimowski's The Shout, and made his television debut the following year. He went on to work with Stephen Frears , and in The Hit ) and Terry Gilliam and Brazil ) before establishing himself in Mike Leigh's Life Is Sweet . He proved his ability as a character actor in films including The Crying Game , Enchanted April , Bullets Over Broadway , The Borrowers and Little Voice before taking a leading role in another Mike Leigh film, Topsy-Turvy . He played "The Shy Doctor" in the 1999 Comic Relief parody Doctor Who sketch, Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death. In 2001, Broadbent starred in three of the year's most successful films: Bridget Jones's Diary, Moulin Rouge!, for which he won a BAFTA and Iris, for which he won an Oscar for his portrayal of John Bayley. He is regarded as one of cinema's most reliable character actors and has a reputation of being very easy to work with.

Broadbent also appeared as DCI Roy The Slag Slater, an associate character in the enormously popular sitcom Only Fools and Horses. The character appeared in three episodes over an eight-year period. He had originally been offered the lead role of Del Trotter in the series, but he turned it down due to other commitments. He has also played a role in the Inspector Morse series. Other comic roles include the lead role in the sitcom The Peter Principle and occasional guest appearances in Not The Nine O'Clock News and Victoria Wood As Seen On TV. He played Don Speekingleesh in The Queen of Spain's Beard in the first series of The Black Adder in 1983. He also played the role of Prince Albert in Blackadder's Christmas Carol, first broadcast in 1988. He joined Rowan Atkinson again in his Spider-Man spoof Spider-Plant Man, as a disgruntled Batman, jealous of Spider-Plant Man's success.

Broadbent played the title role in Channel 4 drama, Longford in October 2006, earning a BAFTA TV Award, a Golden Globe and a 2007 Emmy nomination for his performance. Broadbent appeared as Inspector Frank Butterman in Hot Fuzz in 2007, the film received very high appraise.

He appeared in the original radio production of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, playing the character Vroomfondel. He was also a regular in Stephen Fry's radio comedy show Saturday Night Fry, which aired on BBC Radio 4 in 1988.

Broadbent plays Dean Charles Stanforth in the fourth film in the Indiana Jones series, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Horace Slughorn in the sixth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In 2008, he starred as pro-Newtonian physicist Sir Oliver Lodge in the fact-based single drama Einstein and Eddington, for the BBC.

Personal life

Broadbent is married to painter and former theatre designer, Anastasia Lewis.