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Popular British character actor, Tom Wilkinson, was born on December 12, 1948, in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. His family moved to Canada for a few years when he was a child. When he returned to England, Wilkinson attended and graduated from the University of Kent at Canterbury with a degree in English and American Literature, and then enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Within days of his graduation, Wilkinson received work in theatre in Camden. By the 1980's, the actor had joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and was singled out for his supporting work in a 1981 production of Hamlet and for his starring turn as poet T.S. Eliot in the 1983 biographical drama Tom and Viv at the Royal Court Theatre. In 1986 Wilkinson received a Critics' Circle award for his efforts in Ibsen's Ghosts.
Wilkinson first became active in film and television in the mid-1970s, in England. He made the films, Sakharov, Squaring the Circle, and starred opposite Vanessa Redgrave in the film Weatherby in 1985. He appeared in the TV miniseries, First Among Equals, and by 1988, he was seen on American TV screens, first as Ernest Simpson, the husband who loses his wife Wallis to the future Duke of Windsor in the movie The Woman He Loved, and later in The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank.
Wilkinson played Helen Mirren's long-suffering partner, Peter Rawlins, in the drama series Prime Suspect and starred as DI Charlie Resnick in a couple of very popular TV movies. He was nominated for a
Wilkinson became more familiar to international audiences in 1995, when he made Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility, which was followed by Smilla's Sense of Snow and his real breakthrough performance in The Full Monty (1997). Other movies Wilkinson made include, The Governess, Rush Hour, Shakespeare in Love, The Patriot, and Chain of Fools.
In 2001, Wilkinson was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the grieving father in In the Bedroom. He went on to play Dr. Chasuble in The Importance of Being Earnest, and was nominated for a Golden Globe award for his role in Normal in 2004. He had starring roles in Girl With a Pearl Earring, If Only, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and A Way Through the Woods.
Wilkinson won a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy for his supporting actor role in miniseries John Adams. Wilkinson played Benjamin Franklin. He was nominated for several awards for his role as Arthur Eden in Michael Clayton, and was nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of James Baker in the made-for-TV movie Recount. He also played Lenny Cole in RocknRolla, Friedrich Fromm in Valkyrie and Howard Tully in Duplicity.
Wilkinson and his wife are the parents of two daughters.
Last updated: March 24, 2009.
