| Tom Hollander | |
|---|---|
 Tom Hollander, May 2007 |
|
| Born | 25 August 1967 Bristol, England |
| Occupation | actor |
Thomas Anthony "Tom" Hollander (born 25 August 1967)[1][2] is an English actor who has appeared in productions such as Enigma, Gosford Park, Cambridge Spies, Pride and Prejudice and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Contents |
Biography
Early life
Tom Hollander was born in Bristol and raised in Oxford, Oxfordshire and attended the Dragon School and then Abingdon School. As a youngster, he was a member of the National Youth Theatre and the National Youth Music Theatre[3](then known as The Children's Music Theatre). In 1981, at fourteen years of age, he was awarded the lead role in a BBC dramatization of Leon Garfield's John Diamond.[4] He read English at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He was a member of the Footlights and the president of the Marlowe Society. Fellow student Sam Mendes directed him in several plays while they were at Cambridge, including a critically acclaimed production of Cyrano de Bergerac.[5] After finishing university and failing to secure a place at a drama school, he found work in theatre nevertheless.
Career
Hollander won the 1992 Ian Charleson Award for his performance in The Way of the World at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.[6] He had been nominated the previous year,[7] and was again nominated for his performances in The Government Inspector in 1997.[8]
Hollander's film and television appearances include Absolutely Fabulous, Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence, Wives and Daughters, Harry, Gosford Park, The Lost Prince and Pride and Prejudice for which he received The Evening Standard Film Awards Comedy Award, and London Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor. He has worked repeatedly with Michael Gambon and Bill Nighy and is a good friend of James Purefoy. Although highly respected as a character actor and the recipient of several awards, many of his films will still play on his height (5' 5" / 165 cm). Hollander has created several memorable comedic characters that draw more on his physical energy and intensity than his height, such as the "brilliantly foul-mouthed" Leon in BBC Two's Freezing, described in The Times as a "braying swirl of ego and mania".[9]
Like other experienced actors in Britain, Hollander has lent his vocal talents to a number of roles for BBC radio including Mosca in 2004's Volpone for Radio 3, and Frank Churchill in Jane Austen's Emma for Radio 4. He has voiced a young John Merrick, the "Elephant Man"; a disembodied head named Enzio in an urban gothic comedy and recently, Leon Theremin, the Russian inventor famous for the electronic instrument that bears his name. He provided the vocal texture for Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange recently with a "smooth, almost lyrical, crisp voice" that accomplished the task of rendering the extensive and unique slang of the book instantly understandable to readers.[10]
Hollander provided a curious blend of sophistication and petty cruelty as Lord Cutler Beckett, the "heavy" in parts II and III of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. From the popular films, he returned to the stage with the premiere of Joe Penhall's play Landscape with Weapon at the The Royal National Theatre. The play tracks the disintegration of an ordinary man realizing the consequences of his life's work, and his performance was hailed as "the best performance of a 'real' character ever to grace the National Theatre stage."[citation needed] He also appeared in the TNT miniseries The Company as Harold Adrian Russell Kim Philby. In 2008 he made a notable cameo appearance as King George III in the HBO mini-series John Adams, and ended the year as a memorable Col. Heinz Brandt in Valkyrie.
In 2009, Hollander played a symphonic cellist in Joe Wright's The Soloist. It was his second outing for Wright, who cast him to great effect as the fevered suitor Mr. Collins in 2005's Pride and Prejudice. Hollander appeared in the lead role in Armando Iannucci's In the Loop as Secretary of State for International Development Simon Foster MP, which opened 17 April 2009. He also appeared as John Ruskin in BBC2's Desperate Romantics
Hollander lives in Notting Hill, London.
Selected Filmography
- Gracie! (2009) (TV) - Monty Banks
- Desperate Romantics (2009) - John Ruskin
- In the Loop (2009) - Simon Foster
- The Soloist (2009) - Graham Claydon[11]
- Valkyrie (2008) - Colonel Heinz Brandt
- John Adams (2008) - King George III (Episode 4: "Reunion")
- Freezing (2008) - Leon
- Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) - Sir Amias Paulet
- The Company (2007) (TV) - Kim Philby
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End (2007) - Lord Cutler Beckett
- Land of the Blind (2006) - Maximilian II (a.k.a. "Junior")
- A Good Year (2006) - Charlie
- The Darwin Awards (2006) - Henry
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) - Lord Cutler Beckett
- Pride and Prejudice (2005) - Mr. Collins
- The Libertine (2004) - Sir George Etherege
- Paparazzi (2004) - Leonard Clark
- Stage Beauty (2004) - Sir Peter Lely
- Cambridge Spies (2003) (TV) - Guy Burgess
- The Lost Prince (2003) (TV) - King George V
- Possession (2002) - Euan
- Lawless Heart (2001) - Nick
- Gosford Park (2001) - Lieutenant-Commander Anthony Meredith
- Enigma (2001) - Logie
- Maybe Baby (2001)- Ewan Proclaimer
- Wives and Daughters (1999) (TV) - Osborne Hamley
- Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence (1998) - Daniel
- Bedrooms and Hallways (1998) - Darren
- Some Mother's Son (1996) - Farnsworth
References
- ^ http://secure.greatrun.org/results/quickresults.php GreatRun
- ^ Ray, Jonathan (13 March 2007). "Good lines and great wines". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/3334815/Good-lines-and-great-wines.html. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
- ^ Programme, Landscape with Weapon
- ^ Fox, Chloe (3 April 2009). "Tom Hollander interview: on 'In the Loop'". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/5077345/Tom-Hollander-interview-on-In-the-Loop.html. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
- ^ "Great British Hopes". The Times. 20 April 1996.
- ^ "Prized Performances". The Sunday Times. 21 February 1993.
- ^ "Glittering Prize". The Sunday Times. 20 April 1997.
- ^ "Ian Charleson Award". The Sunday Times. 5 April 1998.
- ^ "Cold comfort in Medialand". London: The Times. 21 February 2008.
- ^ "Audio Reviews: A Clockwork Orange". Publishers Weekly. Week of 30 July 2007.
- ^ http://www.scribd.com/doc/6657111/The-SoloistNotesFinal101008-2 The Soloist Production Notes
External links
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