Jim Broadbent Biography

JIM BROADBENT

Date of Birth: May 24, 1949

This Lincolnshire, England son is one of Britain's most versatile character actors, with a long list of credits ranging from screwball comedy to weighty drama. He began his acting career late when he snagged a small part in the 1978 horror flick The Shout. Jim has worked in all three acting fields—film, television and theater. His theatrical credits include Sam Mendes' production of Habeas Corpus, as well as Kafka's Dick, The Government Inspector and Goosepimples.

British television audiences recognize his work in Wide-Eyed and Legless, Birth of a Nation: Tales Out of School and the award-winning A Sense of History. In America, he might be better known for his appearance as Bridget's Dad in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) or as William "Boss" Tweed in Gangs of New York (2002).

During the '90s, Jim weaved in and out of a series of hit-and-miss films, including The Crying Game (1992), Richard III (1995), The Borrowers (1997) and The Avengers (1998).

In 2002, Broadbent earned his first Academy Award as well as a Golden Globe for his work in Iris (2001) as Best Supporting Actor. The same year, he earned a BAFTA award for Moulin Rouge (2001). He earned a BAFTA TV Award nomination in 2004 for his work in the TV movie The Young Visiters, based on the novel The Young Visiters (or Mr Salteena's Plan), published in Britain in 1919 and written by Daisy Ashford who was only nine at the time (The book was published with spelling errors intact, which explains the spelling error in the title). Some of his other roles include the role of Professor Horace Slughorn in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011), the voice of Santa in Arthur Christmas (2011) and the part of Denis Thatcher in the Oscar-winning drama The Iron Lady (2012).

Broadbent's more recent films include John Crowley's Oscar-nominated drama Brooklyn (2015) with Saoirse Ronan, the Golden Globe-nominated dramedy The Lady in the Van (2015) with Maggie Smith, the biopic Eddie the Eagle (2016), the adventure reboot The Legend of Tarzan (2016), the romantic sequel Bridget Jones's Baby (2016), and the drama The Sense of an Ending (2017) with Michelle Dockery, Charlotte Rampling and Emily Mortimer. His latest work is in the family-friendly film Paddington 2 (2018).

Broadbent has been married to Anastasia Lewis since 1987.

Filmography

Paddington 2 (2018)
The Sense of an Ending (2017)
Bridget Jones's Baby (2016)
Ethel & Ernest (2016)
The Sense of an Ending (2016)
The Legend of Tarzan (2016)
Eddie the Eagle (2016)
Das Wetter in geschlossenen Räumen (2016)
The Lady in the Van (2015)
Brooklyn (2015)
Get Santa (2014)
Paddington (2014)
Big Game (2014)
Postman Pat: The Movie (2014)
The Harry Hill Movie (2013)
Filth (2013)
Le Week-End (2013)
Closed Circuit (2013)
Cloud Atlas (2012)
The Iron Lady (2011)
Arthur Christmas (2011)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
Another Year (2010)
Perrier's Bounty (2009)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
The Damned United (2009)
The Young Victoria (2009)
Inkheart (2008)
Tales of the Riverbank (2008)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007)
Hot Fuzz (2007)
Free Jimmy (2006)
Art School Confidential (2006)
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
Valiant (2005)
Robots (2005)
Sprung! The Magic Roundabout (2005)
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004)
Vera Drake (2004)
Vanity Fair (2004)
Around the World in 80 Days (2004)
Tooth (2004)
Bright Young Things (2003)
Nicholas Nickleby (2002)
Gangs of New York (2002)
The King's Beard (2002)
Iris (2001)
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
Topsy-Turvy (1999)
Little Voice (1999)
The Avengers (1998)
The Borrowers (1998)
Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997)
The Secret Agent (1996)
Rough Magic (1995)
Richard III (1995)
Princess Caraboo (1994)
Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
Widows' Peak (1994)
The Crying Game (1992)
Enchanted April (1991)
Life Is Sweet (1990)
Erik the Viking (1989)
Vroom (1988)
Running Out of Luck (1987)
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
The Good Father (1985)
Brazil (1985)
The Hit (1984)
Uliisses (1982)
Time Bandits (1981)
Phoelix (1980)
The Dogs of War (1980)
Breaking Glass (1980)
The Passage (1979)
German Soldier (uncredited) The Life Story of Baal (1978)
The Shout (1978)
The Go-Between (1971)