Nigel Hawthorne

**Nigel Hawthorne** was born in Coventry, England on 5 April 1929. Raised in South Africa. Returned to the UK in the 1950s. Extensive theatre work in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. His portrayal of "Sir Humphrey Appleby" in the BBC comedy Yes Minister (1980) won him international acclaim in the 1980s. In 1992, he was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for his "George III" in Alan Bennett's hit stage play, "The Madness of King George III".

He portrayed Georgie Pillson on Mapp & Lucia TV series aired in 1985-86 on Channel 4.

## Trivia

* He was vegetarian.
* Honorary Patron of independent film production company, Salmac Productions.
* He was created a Knight Bachelor in the 1999 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to drama.
* He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1987 Queen's New Year Honours List for his services to drama.
* Has received numerous awards including: Clarence Derwent and SWET Awards for "Privates on Parade" - and the 'Broadcasting Press Guild' Award, plus two BAFTA Awards (1981) and (1982), for his role as "Sir Humphrey Appleby" in Yes Minister (1980).
* 2001 - Battled a recurrence of pancreatic cancer which was thought in remission after surgical therapy.
* Educated by the Christian Brothers in South Africa.
* Survived by his partner, writer Trevor Bentham.
* He lived quietly in a 15th-century manor house,
* He didn't get on well with Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes during the making of Demolition Man (1993).
* He did a small uncredited cameo in the Crimson Insurance short film by Terry Gilliamthat is part of Monty Python's Monty Python (1983) - he is the man that is walking by the building when the anchors are raised.
* He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1992 (1991 season) for Best Actor for his performance in "The Madness of George III" at the Royal National Theatre. For his performance in its film adaptation La pazzia di Re Giorgio (1994), he was nominated for Oscar of Best Actor in a Leading Role.
* One of his last major projects was the Anglo-Japanese stage adaptation of "King Lear" in Japan.
* He was awarded the 1992 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Madness of George III.
* He was awarded the 1991 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actor for his performance in The Madness of King George III.
* Has played a former King of England (George III in La pazzia di Re Giorgio (1994) ) and a former President of the United States (Martin Van Buren in Amistad (1997) ).
* Was supposedly considered early on for the role of Gandalf in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
* His performance in "Shadowlands" on Broadway won him the 1991 Tony and New York Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Actor for his performance.
* Won Broadway's 1991 Tony Award as Best Actor (Play) for "Shadowlands."
* Among the actors offered the part of "Captain Striker" (played by 'Keith Barron') inDoctor Who (1963): Enlightenment.
* Was originally cast as "Sir William Gull" in From Hell (2001) but, when his cancer prevented him from working in the film, was replaced by Ian Holm.
* He was considered for the roles of Hans Fallada, Sir Percy Helestine, Dr. Bukovsky and Dr. Armstrong in Space Vampires (1985).
* Although he played Maggie Smith's son in Riccardo III (1995), he was more than five years her senior in real life.
* Is one of 13 actors who have received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of a real-life king. The others in chronological order are Charles Laughton for Le sei mogli di Enrico VIII (1933), Robert Morley for Maria Antonietta (1938), Basil Rathbonefor Un vagabondo alla corte di Francia (1938), Laurence Olivier for Enrico V (1944) andRiccardo III (1955), José Ferrer for Giovanna d'Arco (1948), Yul Brynner for Il re ed io(1956), John Gielgud for Becket e il suo re (1964), Peter O'Toole for Becket e il suo re(1964) and Il leone d'inverno (1968), Robert Shaw for Un uomo per tutte le stagioni(1966), Richard Burton for Anna dei mille giorni (1969), Kenneth Branagh for Enrico V (1989), and Colin Firth for Il discorso del re (2010).

## References

* Content originally appeared on IMD: Nigel Hawthorne.