Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson OBE 5 February 1948 – 30 December 2023 was an English actor. Known for his role on stage and screen, he received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards. In 2005, Wilkinson he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
Tom Wilkinson Facts
- Born : Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson 5 February 1948 Leeds, Yorkshire,
- Died : 30 December 2023 (aged 75
- Alma mater : University of Kent Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
- Occupation : Actor
- Years active :1976–2023
- Spouse: Diana Hardcastle (m. 1988).
- Children: 2
Tom Wilkinson Early life and education
Wilkinson trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before making his West End debut portraying Horatio in Hamlet (1980) for which he received a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He returned to the West End playing Dr. Stockmann in the Henrik Ibsen play An Enemy of the People (1988) receiving a Laurence Olivier Award for Actor of the Year in a Revival nomination.Wilkinson received the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for The Full Monty (1997) as well as two Academy Award nominations, one for Best Actor for In the Bedroom (2001) and Best Supporting Actor for Michael Clayton (2007). Wilkinson He became known as a character actor, acting in numerous films such as In the Name of the Father (1993), Sense and Sensibility (1995), 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 Ghost Writer (2010), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), Belle (2013), Selma (2014), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and Denial (2016).
Wilkinson In 2009, he won a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for playing Benjamin Franklin in the HBO limited series John Adams (2008). His other Emmy-nominated roles were as Roy/Ruth Applewood in the HBO film Normal (2003), James Baker in the HBO film Recount (2008), and Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. in the limited series The Kennedys (2011).
Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinsonwas born on 5 February 1948 in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, the son of Marjorie and Thomas Wilkinson, a farmer. At the age of 11, he moved with his family 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.
Tom Wilkinson Career
Wilkinson made his acting debut in 1976 in the Andrzej Wajda directed thriller Smuga cienia adapted from the Joseph Conrad short novel The Shadow Line.[citation needed] Wilkinson He made his West End debut as Horatio in the 1980 revival of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet at the Aldwych Theatre for which he
received a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He went on to act in supporting roles in the British thriller Parker (1984), the biographical film Sylvia (1985), and the mystery Wetherby (1985).[citation needed] He also worked on several British television series, most notably portraying Raymond Gould in the ITV mini-series First Among Equals (1986). Wilkinson In 1988 he played Dr. Stockmann in the West End revival of Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People at the Playhouse Theatre. For his performance he received a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Actor of the Year in a Revival.In 1993 he had a small role as an Appeal Prosecutor, Grant Richardson in Jim Sheridan’s biographical crime drama In the Name of the Father starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Emma Thompson. He first gained critical acclaim with his appearance as Seth Pecksniff in the BBC’s 1994 adaptation of Martin Chuzzlewit based on the Charles Dickens novel of the same name
Tom Wilkinson 1995–2008: Breakthrough and acclaim
He had a small but important role as the dying father, Mr. Dashwood in the Ang Lee directed Sense and Sensibility (1995), and played a villain in the adventure drama The Ghost and the Darkness (1996). The following year he gained acclaim for his leading role as Gerald Cooper in the ensemble cast comedy drama The Full Monty (1997). For his performance he earned the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Wilkinson That same year he portrayed Marquess of Queensberry in the biographical drama
Wilde and Hugh Stratton in romantic drama Oscar and Lucinda.[citation needed] In 1998 he acted in the British romantic costume drama Shakespeare in Love starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, and Judi Dench. The film received acclaim and Wilkinson with the cast won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. He played the evil British Ambassador/Juntao in the buddy cop movie Rush Hour (1998) starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker and General Lord Cornwallis in the historical war drama film The Patriot (2000) starring Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger.
Tom Wilkinson 2010–2023: Established actor
Wilkinson During this time Wilkinson starred in a string of thrillers including Duplicity (2009), The Conspirator (2010), and The Debt (2010). Also in 2010 he starred in the John Landis directed horror comedy Burke and Hare and portrayed a covert CIA agent in Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer.He gained acclaim portraying Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., in the 2011 television miniseries The Kennedys, for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.He and his wife portrayed husband and wife Joe and Rose Kennedy. Earlier that year, he appeared in the comedy film The Green Hornet and the action film Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.Wilkinson The following year he acted in the British comedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel starring opposite Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, and Maggie Smith. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter praised his performance writing, “Observed with sensitivity and played with a deep well of sorrow by Wilkinson, this story breathes real tenderness into Wilkinson the movie’s reflections on growing older and making peace with past mistakes”.
In 2013 he portrayed Lord Mansfield in the costume drama Belle starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw. The following year Wilkinson portrayed Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th President of the United States, in Ava DuVernay’s historical drama film Selma (2014), and had a role in Wes Anderson’s comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).[citation needed] He had a lead role alongside Vince Vaughn and Dave Franco in the comedy Unfinished Business (2015). In 2016, he portrayed journalist Ewen MacAskill in Snowden starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and barrister Richard Rampton in Denial acting alongside Rachel Weisz and Timothy Spall. Wilkinson He briefly reprised his role as Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. in The Kennedys: After Camelot (2017).[citation needed] He voiced Threarah in the BBC One series Watership Down (2018), and played Peregrine, Earl of Brockenhurst in the Julian Fellowes historical drama Belgravia (2019)
Frank Thomas (designated hitter),Bioraphy
Tom Wilkinson Personal life
Wilkinson lived in North London with his wife, actress Diana Hardcastle. They had two daughters together, Alice (born in 1989) and Molly (born in 1991).
Tom Wilkinson Film
- 2010 The Ghost Writer Paul Emmett
- Burke & Hare Dr. Robert Knox
- Jackboots on Whitehall Albert and Joseph Goebbels Voice
- 2011 The Green Hornet James Reid
- The Conspirator Reverdy Johnson
- The Debt Stefan Gold
- Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol IMF Secretary Uncredited
- 2012 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Sir Graham Dashwood
- The Samaritan Xavier
- 2013 The Lone Ranger Latham Cole
- Belle Lord Mansfield
- Felony Detective Carl Summer
- 2014 The Grand Budapest Hotel Author
- Good People Detective Inspector John Halden
- Selma President Lyndon B. Johnson
- 2015 Unfinished Business Timothy McWinters
- Bone in the Throat Charlie
- Little Boy Fr. Oliver
- Jenny’s Wedding Eddie
- 2016 The Choice Dr. Shep
- Snowden Ewen MacAskill
- Denial Richard Rampton
- This Beautiful Fantastic Alfie Stephenson
- 2018 The Catcher Was a Spy Paul Scherrer
- Burden Tom Griffin
- Dead in a Week or Your Money Back Leslie
- The Happy Prince Fr. Dunne
- The Titan Professor Martin Collingwood