Jim Broadbent facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jim Broadbent
Broadbent in 2012
Born	James Broadbent (1949-05-24) 24 May 1949 (age 76) Holton cum Beckering, Lincolnshire, England
Education	London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1971–present
Spouse(s)	Anastasia Lewis ​ (m. 1987)​

James Broadbent (born 24 May 1949) is a famous English actor. He has starred in many films and TV shows. Jim Broadbent is known for playing a wide range of characters. He has won many important awards, including an Academy Award and two BAFTA Awards.

Broadbent became well-known for his roles in movies like Iris (2001), where he won an Oscar. He also won a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Moulin Rouge! (2001). He has appeared in popular film series too. These include the Harry Potter movies as Horace Slughorn, and the Paddington films as Samuel Gruber.

On TV, Broadbent played Roy Slater in the comedy show Only Fools and Horses. He also won a BAFTA TV Award for his role as Lord Longford in the film Longford (2006). In 2017, he appeared in the popular fantasy series Game of Thrones as Archmaester Ebrose.

Early Life and Education

Jim Broadbent was born on 24 May 1949. His birthplace was Holton cum Beckering, Lincolnshire, England. His parents, Doreen and Roy Broadbent, were both artists and amateur actors. They even started their own acting group called the Holton Players.

Jim's parents were conscientious objectors during World War II. This means they chose not to fight in the war. Instead, they worked on the land. In 1970, the Holton Players bought an old chapel. They turned it into a theatre with 100 seats. They named it the Broadbent Theatre to honor Jim's father, Roy.

Broadbent went to Leighton Park School in Reading. After that, he briefly studied art. He then decided to study acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He finished his studies there in 1972.

Early Acting Career (1971–1989)

Jim Broadbent started his acting career on stage. He often worked with Patrick Barlow in shows for The National Theatre of Brent. He played Wallace, an assistant to Barlow's character. They performed funny, less-than-serious versions of historical and religious stories. These shows were very popular at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and in London.

In 1978, Broadbent had two voice roles in the radio series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He played Vroomfondel and Shooty. Many years later, in 2018, he returned to the series. He voiced the character Marvin in the Hexagonal Phase radio series.

Towards the end of the 1970s, Broadbent began to appear in small roles on TV and in films. He was in The Shout and an episode of Play for Today. He also appeared in Not the Nine O'Clock News.

The Broadbent Theatre in Wickenby, Lincolnshire. It was named after Jim's father, Roy Broadbent.

During this time, he also performed in plays like Kafka's ... (1986) and Our Country's Good (1988). He also worked with director Mike Leigh on stage. His early film roles included The Hit (1984) and two films by Terry Gilliam: Time Bandits (1981) and Brazil (1985).

Broadbent is well-known for playing DCI Roy Slater in the comedy show Only Fools and Horses. He appeared in three episodes between 1983 and 1991. Interestingly, he was first offered the main role of Del Boy in the series. However, he had to turn it down because of other acting jobs. He also made guest appearances in other comedy shows. These included Happy Families and Victoria Wood As Seen on TV. In 1988, he played Prince Albert in Blackadder's Christmas Carol.

Becoming a Well-Known Actor (1991–2007)

Jim Broadbent's big break in films came with Mike Leigh's comedy-drama Life Is Sweet (1990). In the 1990s, he became a respected character actor. He appeared in films like Enchanted April (1991) and The Crying Game (1992). He also worked with Woody Allen in Bullets Over Broadway (1994). He was in Richard III (1995) and The Borrowers (1997). He ended the decade playing the writer Sir William S. Gilbert in another Mike Leigh film, Topsy-Turvy (1999).

On TV in the 1990s, Broadbent played Jim Morley in Gone to the Dogs. He also had the main role of Peter Duffley in the comedy The Peter Principle. In 1999, he made a memorable appearance as the eleventh Doctor in a Doctor Who spoof called Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death.

In 2001, Broadbent starred in three very successful films. These were Bridget Jones's Diary, Moulin Rouge!, and Iris. For his role in Iris, he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2002, he was in Gangs of New York and Nicholas Nickleby.

In 2005, Broadbent appeared in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. He played Professor Kirke. That same year, he lent his voice to animated films like Robots and Valiant. He also joined Rowan Atkinson in his Spider-Man parody, Spider-Plant Man.

Broadbent played the main role in the TV film Wide-Eyed and Legless. This drama was based on a true story about a wife's fight against a serious illness. In 2006, he played Frank Pakenham in the Channel 4 drama Longford. This role earned him a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe. In 2007, he appeared as Inspector Frank Butterman in the action-comedy film Hot Fuzz. In 2008, he starred as physicist Sir Oliver Lodge in the BBC drama Einstein and Eddington.

Continuing Success (2008–Present)

Jim Broadbent in 2007

Broadbent also appeared in the fourth Indiana Jones film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). He starred alongside Harrison Ford and Cate Blanchett. In 2009, he played King William IV in The Young Victoria. Broadbent joined the Harry Potter film series as Horace Slughorn. He appeared in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011).

In 2009, he played Sam Longson, the chairman of Derby County football club, in the film The Damned United. In 2010, he voiced Major Mouse in radio and TV ads for an energy company. He also starred as the older Logan Mountstuart in the TV show Any Human Heart. He had a main role in Exile, a BBC One drama.

Jim Broadbent at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival

In 2010, Broadbent worked again with director Mike Leigh in Another Year. In 2012, he played Denis Thatcher in The Iron Lady, opposite Meryl Streep. That same year, he also starred in Cloud Atlas with Tom Hanks and Halle Berry. In 2014, he starred in Le Week-End.

In 2015, Broadbent was in the Oscar-nominated film Brooklyn. He also appeared in The Lady in the Van (2015). In 2015, he became the voice of a Voice Trumpet in the new Teletubbies series. Since 2016, Broadbent has narrated the Kevin the Carrot Christmas adverts for Aldi in the UK. In the 2020 advert, he played Santa Claus. Broadbent has also appeared in the popular Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017) films.

In 2016, he was cast in the seventh season of the HBO series Game of Thrones. In 2017, he starred in the film The Sense of an Ending. On 28 May 2018, he played Gloucester in the BBC Two production of King Lear. He acted alongside Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.

In 2018, he played Hans Christian Andersen in the play A Very Very Very Dark Matter in London. In 2020, Broadbent starred in the TV series Black Narcissus. He also starred opposite Helen Mirren in the comedy-drama film The Duke. This film premiered in 2020 and was released in cinemas in 2021.

In 2018, a graphic novel called Dull Margaret was published. It was a collaboration between cartoonist Dix and Broadbent. The novel was inspired by a 1563 painting. In 2024, he was involved in the third Paddington Bear film, Paddington in Peru.

Film and Television Roles

Selected Films

Selected Television

Personal Life

Jim Broadbent has been married to Anastasia Lewis since 1987. She is a painter and used to design theatre sets. Jim does not have his own children, but Anastasia has two sons from a previous relationship.

Broadbent mainly lives in the Lincolnshire Wolds in England. He also has a home in London. He is an atheist.

Awards and Recognitions

Jim Broadbent has won many awards for his acting. He received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Iris (2001). In the same year, he won a British Academy Film Award for his performance in Moulin Rouge! (2001).

In 2007, he won a British Academy Television Award for his work in the TV film Longford (2007). He has also won two Golden Globe Awards for Iris (2001) and Longford (2007). He was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for his roles in The Gathering Storm (2002) and Longford (2007).

Broadbent was offered an OBE honor in 2002. However, he politely turned it down. He felt that there were other people who deserved it more than actors. He also mentioned that he didn't want to "celebrate" the British Empire. He is an Honorary Associate of the London Film School.

See also

In Spanish: Jim Broadbent para niños