Tom Wilkinson

Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson OBE (born 5 February 1948) is a British actor of film, television, and stage. He has received various accolades throughout his career, including a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, a Primetime Emmy Award and nominations for two Academy Awards.
For his role in comedy film The Full Monty (1997) he received the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He's received two Academy Award nominations, one for Best Actor for In the Bedroom (2001) and the other for Best Supporting Actor for Michael Clayton (2007).
Some of his notable films include In the Name of the Father (1993), Sense and Sensibility (1995), The Full Monty (1997), Shakespeare in Love (1998), The Patriot (2000), Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Batman Begins (2005), Valkyrie (2008), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), Selma (2014), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and Denial (2016).
In 2009, he won a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Film for playing Benjamin Franklin in the HBO limited series John Adams (2008).
== Early life ==
Wilkinson was born on 5 February 1948 in Wharfedale, West Riding of Yorkshire, the son of Marjorie and Thomas Wilkinson, a farmer. At the age of 11, the family moved to Kitimat, British Columbia, in Canada, where they lived for five years before returning to the United Kingdom and running a pub in Cornwall. Wilkinson graduated in English and American literature from the University of Kent at Canterbury, while at university, Wilkinson became preoccupied with acting and directing with the University of Kent Drama Society (now called T24 Drama Society). After finishing his degree, Wilkinson then attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, graduating in 1973.
== Career ==
Wilkinson made his acting debut in 1976 and worked on several British television series, most notably the mini-series First Among Equals (1986). He first gained critical acclaim with his appearance as Mr Pecksniff, in the BBC's 1994 adaptation of Martin Chuzzlewit. Wilkinson made only the occasional film, including a brief appearance in 1995's Sense and Sensibility and a villain in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996). After becoming part of the ensemble cast of the comedy drama The Full Monty in 1997, a role which earned him a BAFTA, he began to take film roles more frequently, including supporting roles in Oscar and Lucinda, Wilde, Shakespeare in Love, and The Patriot. He also starred with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in the 1998 film Rush Hour, as the evil British Ambassador/Juntao.
His portrayal of Matt Fowler, in Todd Field's In the Bedroom, received international praise from critics. For the role, he was named Best Actor of the Year by the New York Film Critics' Circle, and went on to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. That success was followed up by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Normal, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Batman Begins, and Separate Lies.
In 2007, Wilkinson played Arthur Edens, an attorney with bipolar disorder, in Michael Clayton and garnered much critical acclaim and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The same year, he played an uncle planning for murder in Woody Allen’s Cassandra's Dream, and played opposite Billy Crudup as children's book writing partners in Dedication.
In 2008, Wilkinson portrayed American polymath Benjamin Franklin in the HBO mini-series John Adams. In the HBO film, Recount, Wilkinson portrayed American political adviser and lawyer, James A. Baker, in Baker's capacity as Chief Counsel to George W. Bush during the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election, receiving an Emmy Award for the former and a nomination for the latter. He also received a Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors' Guild Award nomination for his role in John Adams. He also portrayed Friedrich Fromm, Commander in Chief of the German Reserve Army, alongside Tom Cruise in the 2008 World War II thriller Valkyrie.
In 2010, Wilkinson starred in the horror comedy Burke and Hare, which was directed by John Landis. He portrayed a covert CIA agent in Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer. He played another historical character, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., in the 2011 television miniseries The Kennedys, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie. He and his wife portrayed husband and wife Joe and Rose Kennedy. Earlier that year, he appeared in The Green Hornet and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.
In 2014, Wilkinson portrayed Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th President of the United States, in the historical drama film Selma. In 2016, he portrayed journalist Ewen MacAskill in Snowden and barrister Richard Rampton in Denial.
== Personal life ==
Wilkinson lives in North London with his wife, actress Diana Hardcastle. They have two daughters together, Alice (born in 1989) and Molly (born in 1991).
== Honours ==
Wilkinson received a Doctor of Letters honorary degree from the University of Kent in July 2001.
In the 2005 New Year Honours, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to Drama".
The 6 November 2017 issue of American web comic Girl Genius has an airship from the United Kingdom called "HMA Tom Wilkinson"
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1976	Smuga ciencia 	Chef Ransome 	Wajda's adaptation of Joseph Conrad's The Shadow Line
1984	Parker 	Tom 	
1985	Sylvia 	Keith Henderson 	
1985	Wetherby 	Roger Braithwaite 	
1990	Paper Mask 	Dr. Thorn 	
1993	In The Name of the Father 	Grant Richardson 	
1994	Priest 	Father Matthew Thomas 	
1994	A Business Affair 	Bob 	
1994	Prince of Jutland 	Hardvendel 	
1995	Sense and Sensibility 	Mr. Dashwood 	
1996	The Ghost and the Darkness	Robert Beaumont 	
1997	Smilla's Sense of Snow 	Prof. Loyen 	
1997	The Full Monty 	Gerald Cooper 	
1997	Wilde 	Marquess of Queensberry	
1997	Oscar and Lucinda 	Hugh Stratton 	
1998	The Governess 	Charles Cavendish 	
1998	Rush Hour 	Thomas Griffin / Juntao	
1998	Shakespeare in Love 	Hugh Fennyman 	
Category:Non-Fanon
Category:Voice actors
Category:1948 births
Category:Living people
Category:20th-century English male actors
Category:21st-century English male actors
Category:Alumni of RADA
Category:Alumni of the University of Kent
Category:Audiobook narrators
Category:Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award winners
Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (television) winners
Category:English male film actors
Category:English male stage actors
Category:English male television actors
Category:English male voice actors
Category:Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead winners
Category:Male actors from Kent
Category:Male actors from Yorkshire
Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Category:Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners
Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Category:People from Craven District
Category:Sundance Film Festival award winners