Jim Broadbent

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 Laverick Broadbent and sculptress Doreen "Dee" (Findlay) 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).

Is the only Oscar-winning actor in the Superman films who has only won a single Oscar. Marlon Brando won for On the Waterfront (1954) and The Godfather (1972); Gene Hackman for The French Connection (1971) and Unforgiven (1992); and Kevin Spacey for The Usual Suspects (1995) and American Beauty (1999). Broadbent only won for Iris (2001).

He is the son of Roy Broadbent, who was involved in converting a Methodist Church into a theater. It was later renamed the Broadbent Theater after his death in 1971.

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).

Was offered the part of Del Boy in BBC's Sitcom Only Fools and Horses (1981), but declined the role. But he did guest-star in three episodes of the show as DCI Rory Slater.

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.

Considered for the roles of Dr. Armstrong, Roger Derebridge, Lamson, Kelly and the Brash Guard in Lifeforce (1985).

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 (1991), 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.

His mother, who died in 1995, suffered from Alzheimer's Disease.

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.

Plays former President Richard Nixon in Dirty Tricks (2000). Nixon was previously played by Anthony Hopkins in Nixon (1995). Hopkins also appeared in Shadowlands (1993) as C.S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), in which Broadbent appeared.

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), 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.

At The Orange British Academy Film Awards on Monday January 28th 2002, he was nominated for the best Performance by an Actor in a leading role Award for his role in the film Iris (2001).

Nominated for a 2004 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for Winnie-the-Pooh.

Child evacuees features as a major theme in two of his family films. In The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) he portrays a host to children leaving London during the Second World War. He later portrayed a former child evacuee in Paddington (2014).

Considered for the role of Wilbur Turnblad in Hairspray (2007).

Has portrayed Santa Claus in two different films; Arthur Christmas (2011) and Get Santa (2014).

As of 2016, he has appeared in four films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Crying Game (1992), Moulin Rouge! (2001), Gangs of New York (2002) and Brooklyn (2015).