B < > Baal Babies Grow Old Back to Methuselah Bad Weather George Baker Sean Baker The Balcony Bandits Teresa Banham Barbarians Frances Barber The Barbican Howard Barker Peter Barnes Desmond Barrit Bartholomew Fair John Barton Linda Bassett Bastard Angel Alan Bates Simon Russell Beale Sean Bean The Beast Maureen Beattie Francis Beaumont Beauty and the Beast The Beaux' Stratagem Becket Samuel Beckett Beckett Shorts The Beggar's Opera Brendan Behan Katy Behean Aphra Behn Belcher's Luck Believe What You Will Christopher Benjamin Paul Bentall John Berger Sarah Berger Cicely Berry Suzanne Bertish Kirsty Besterman Paul Bettany The Bewitched Bingo Birdsong The Birthday Party The Bite of the Night Colin Blakely Claudie Blakley Marjorie Bland Brian Blessed The Blue Angel The Body Michael Bogdanov Robert Bolt Edward Bond Samantha Bond Ken Bones Hugh Bonneville Laurence Boswell John Bott Dion Boucicault John Bowe Raymond Bowers Robert Bowman Stephen Boxer Michael Boyd Danny Boyle David Bradley John Bradley Cathryn Bradshaw Kenneth Branagh Brand Breaking the Silence Bertolt Brecht Howard Brenton David Brierley The Bright and Bold Design Stephen Brimson Lewis Jasper Britton Brixton Stories Jim Broadbent The Broken Heart Richard Brome Peter Brook Siân Brooke Brooklyn Academy of Music Bille Brown Susan Brown Brenda Bruce Emily Bruni Giordano Bruno Robert Bryan Georg Büchner Mikhail Afanaseyev Bulgakov Edward Bulwer-Lytton The Bundle Anthony Burgess Alfred Burke Alan Burrett John Bury Judy Buxton Patsy Byrne Lord Byron		Jim Broadbent Born in Lincoln, the son of a furniture maker who established a Lincolnshire commune for conscientious objectors during the war, Jim Broadbent trained at LAMDA and first came to wide notice working for Mike Leigh—Ecstasy (Hampstead Theatre, 1979); Goose-pimples (Hampstead Theatre, 1981)—and as one-half of the National Theatre of Brent. With a face that Phiz could have drawn, he is arguably the most distinctive character actor of his generation. The quintessential Mike Leigh actor, he flirts constantly with caricature: it is a style that allows humour and pain to co-exist. Broadbent's early screen work included small parts in the films Time Bandits (Terry Gilliam, 1981), The Hit (Stephen Frears, 1984), and Brazil (Gilliam, 1985), and Del Boy's nemesis, DCI Roy 'The Slag' Slater, in Only Fools and Horses (BBC, from 1983—he was originally offered the role of Del Boy). Acclaimed performances in Leigh's Life is Sweet (1990), The Crying Game (Neil Jordan, 1992), Bullets Over Broadway (Woody Allen, 1994), Little Voice (Mark Herman, 1998), and, especially, Leigh's Topsy-Turvy (1999), established his reputation internationally, and he has since been in high demand: Bridget Jones's Diary (2001); Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! (2001); Iris (Richard Eyre, 2001, Oscar for Best Supporting Actor); Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York (2002); Nicholas Nickleby (2002); Bright Young Things (Stephen Fry, 2003); Around the World in 80 Days (2004); Vanity Fair (Mira Nair, 2004); Vera Drake (Leigh, 2004); Bridget Jones: the Edge of Reason (2004); The Chronicles of Narnia (2005); Art School Confidential (2006); The Street (BBC, 2006); Longford (Channel Four, 2006); Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright, 2007); And When Did You Last See Your Father? (Anand Tucker, 2007). On the English stage Broadbent has slowly (and regrettably) become an endangered species: the title role in The Government Inspector (Richard Eyre, NT Olivier, 1985); Pekala in Ronald Harwood's The Deliberate Death of a Polish Priest (Kevin Billington, Almeida, 1985); Kafka's father in Alan Bennett's Kafka's Dick (Eyre, Royal Court, 1986); Leontes in The Winter's Tale (Steven Pimlott, Sheffield Crucible, 1987); Sergeant Kite in The Recruiting Officer and Harry/Arscott in Timberlake Wertenbaker's Our Country's Good (Max Stafford-Clark, Royal Court, 1988); Chandebise/Poche in Feydeau's A Flea in Her Ear (Richard Jones, Old Vic, 1989); Arthur Wicksteed in Alan Bennett's Habeas Corpus (Sam Mendes, Donmar Warehouse, 1996); and Tupolski in Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman (John Crowley, NT Cottesloe, 2003). He was at the RSC for one season (1982/83): Austin Donohue/Weir in Peter Flannery's Our Friends in the North (John Caird, TOP (a few performances only, February), Pit); Colonel in Tom Stoppard's Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (Trevor Nunn, Barbican); and Pat in Peter Whelan's Clay (Bill Alexander, Pit).	Actor, b. Lincoln, 1949 Education: Leighton Park School, Reading; London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art RSC: Joined 1982 Seasons: 1982, Feb. (Strat.)-82/83 (Lond.)
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		A Dictionary of the Royal Shakespeare Company by Simon Trowbridge | Copyright © Simon Trowbridge, 2003-04 | HOME