Archive for the ‘UK top actors’ tag
British Actor Colin Firth
A MODEST BUT YET CHARISMATIC ACTOR
The excellent Colin Firth deserves even more respect as he had to struggle to get his talent recognized. Fame only came thanks to his perseverance in playing quality roles, equally on stage or on screen.
GROWING UP ABROAD
Colin Andrew Firth was born on September 10, 1960 from two lecturer parents, the second of three children. Although born in Grayshott, Hampshire, Colin spent his early years in Nigeria where the family moved right after. They also lived in the US when Colin was 11, before definitely settling back in England.
Young Colin early showed a keen interest in acting, that will never leave him.
LEAVING HOME
At the age of 18 Colin left his college and family to study with the National Youth Theatre, and later joined the London’s Drama Centre for three years. There he started to give brilliant performances such as Shakespeare’s Hamlet, which got him his West End debut in Another Country in 1983. The film adaptation of the play gave Colin his first screen appearance opposite Rupert Everett.
For the next few years he appeared in a variety of films on TV and cinema. He was eventually acclaimed for his role in the BBC’s film Tumbledown (1989) which got him the Royal Television Society best actor award and a BAFTA nomination.
A SELF MADE ACTING CAREER
Colin’s first international breakthrough happened in 1995 with another BBC’s production, Pride and Prejudice, also aired in the US. His portrayal of Fitzwilliam Darcy won him another BAFTA nomination for Best actor.
Next year he played the stoic husband of Kristin Scott Thomas in the Award winner The English Patient, and therefore definitely found his way to Hollywood.
For his first US hit Colin co-starred Gwyneth Paltrow in the British directed and successful Shakespeare in Love (1998). Next he was able to show his acting skills as an eccentric inventor in My Life So Far (1999).
Colin gained even more fame as a touching romantic character playing Marc Darcy in the blockbuster Bridget Jone’s Diary (2001) and its sequel The Edge of Reason (2004).
From this point Colin went on developing his versatile acting. He won an Emmy nomination for his performance in HBO’s Conspiracy (2001), played in the high profile film The Importance of Being Earnest (2002), joined the romantic cast of Love Actually (2003), portrayed painter Johannes Vermeer in Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003), or co-starred Meryl Streep in the adaptation of Mamma Mia! (2008).
Looking for more challenges Colin tried himself in dramatic films like in the thriller Genova (2008), or with A Single Man (2009) as he beautifully portrayed a gay British professor in the 1960s. The film directed by Tom Ford earned Colin more awards and nominations.
PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
Colin’s known first love was Meg Tilly, his partner in Valmont in 1989. One year later she gave birth to a son, William.
After breaking up in 1994 he started a relationship with another co-starred actress, Jennifer Ehle.
Later he deeply fell in love with Italian film producer Livia Giuggioli. They got married in Italy in 1997 and had two sons, Luca in 2001 and Mateo in 2003. They now live in London.
THE CONSECRATION
No surprise that Colin Firth is listed on the 2010 important cinema names, associated with one of the year’s biggest success, The King’s Speech. He delivers an astonishing performance as King George VI who tries to overcome one of the worst British national crisis by implementing an important speech, getting the precious help of a trivial therapist (Geoffrey Rush). The film and cast received widespread acclaim and won many nominations and awards, including a SAG and Golden Globe for Best actor for Colin. Finally winning an Academy Award best leading actor for the British film. The first time a British actor has taken the award for more than 20 years. We salute you colin. What a great film The King’s Speech.
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London Actor Gary Oldman
GIFTED FOR PORTRAYING
Gary Oldman is anything but a conventional actor. He may have chosen to portray psychotic and ambiguous personalities he is yet recognized as a talented actor, for he has played each single role with the greatest intensity.
GROWING UP
Leonard Gary Oldman was born on March 21, 1958, in New Cross, South London, from an Irish housewife mother, and a welder father who was an alcoholic and left home when Gary was 7 years old.
Not the best student in class he left school by the age of 16 and did some small jobs.
LEAVING HOME
Gary soon realized how much the theatre was attracting him and joined the Young People’s Theater in Greenwich. He then attended the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama until 1979, which allowed him to play on stage regularly. He fast became famous for his charisma that got him the role in Edward Bond’s drama The Pope’s Wedding in 1985. Acclaimed by critics Gary won two British top awards.
ACTING CAREER
Gary’s first film break happened in 1986 with biopic Sid and Nancy in which he played punk icon Sid Vicious. One year later he beautifully portrayed gay playwright Joe Orton in Stephen Frears’s Prick up your Ears that gained him a BAFTA award nomination.
His talent to fit himself in any acting role by changing faces or accents opened the doors to Hollywood. In 1988 he first casted a city attorney in Criminal Law.
He then played several important figures, such as Lee Harvey Oswald in Oliver Stone’s JFK (1991), or the dark Count in Coppola’s Dracula (1992).
Gary’s reputation later led him to mostly play villains in big productions, while increasing his notoriety. He was a terrorist opposite Nicolas Cage in Air Force One (1997), and the pathetic Zorg in Luc Besson‘s innovative The Fifth Element (1997).
Recently Gary seemed to have turned into more likable characters although he still appeared in blockbusters. He casted Harry Potter’s godfather in three of the sequels from 2004, before joining another film franchise hit as Gotham Lieutenant Jim Gordon in Batman Begins (2005) and in The Dark Knight (2008).
PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
Gary’s first wife was Lesley Manville. She gave birth to their son Alfie in 1988.
In 1990 he got married for the second time with actress Uma Thurman, who was twelve years younger. They divorced after two years.
Next he got engaged with Isabella Rossellini, but it did not work out.
In 1997, he got married again, with photographer Donya Fiorentino. Together they had Gulliver Flynn (born in 1997) and Charlie John (born in 1999). But again they divorced in 2001. Donya accused him of taking drugs and abusing her, but it has been legally proven she was lying and Gary won custody of their sons.
The late wife of Gary is Alexandra Edenborough who he married in 2008.
A RESOURCEFUL MAN
Unfortunately Gary also had to face alcohol addiction, sure not helped by his father’s background. But after some occasional police arrests he forced himself into detox and achieved to come out sober.
That is when he decided to raise money to make his own first film. Financially supported by Luc Besson, he directed and produced Nil by Mouth in 1997, the semi-autobiographical story of a working class family dealing with alcoholism. The film turned out to be fully acclaimed and won Kathy Burke a Cannes award.
The question now is, why he did not continue with directing?
London Actor Tim Roth
A GENIUS ACTOR
Many of us think Tim Roth is an American actor. That’s because he is able to imitate any accent. The genius actor has always carefully chosen the most challenging roles, and played them with lots of talent.
A TOUGH START IN LIFE
Timothy Simon Smith was born on May 14, 1961 in London. His mother was a teacher and a painter, and his father a journalist, who gave the name Roth to the family. They raised Tim in the comfortable middle-class suburb of West Dulwich, but his low capacity for study forced him to go to a rough school in Brixton, where he first had to fake his cockney accent to avoid persecution. Later he attended Camberwell Art College to study sculpture, but quickly dropped it to start acting in fringe theatre plays.
His first TV role came after an audition for Alan Clarke’s movie Made in Britain (1982). He was immediately impressive as an angry skinhead. His other big role on TV was in Mike Leigh’s Meantime (1984).
AN INDEPENDENT ACTING CAREER
In 1984 Tim made his debut in cinema in The Hit, directed by Stephen Frears. His acting as a professional killer made him a young promising actor. And after long years of mostly TV acting he proved his talent to be real in Robert Altman’s Vincent and Theo, and in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, co-starring Gary Oldman, both in 1990.
Since Tim has always showed big interest for indie cinema, he got lucky when he moved to Los Angeles and caught the attention of Quentin Tarantino. The director gave him his US breakthrough in his heist film Reservoir Dogs (1992), and later in the cult Pulp Fiction (1994). Their third collaboration happened with the anthology Four Rooms (1995), in which Tim’s acting as the bellboy was stunning. Meanwhile he was getting an Academy Award nomination for Rob Roy (1995), and a good leading role in Little Odessa (1994).
Next he tried himself in a more eclectic selection of films, most of the time playing the bad guy. He sang for Woody Allen in Everyone Says I Love You (1996), played a pianist in European film La Leggenda del Pianista sull’Oceano (1998), was the dangerous gorilla general in Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes (2001), and co-starred Sam Shepard and Jessica Lange in Wim Wenders’ Don’t Come Knocking (2005). In 2007 he appeared in Michael Haneke’s self US remake of Funny Games, and accepted the leading role in Francis Ford Coppola’s Youth Without Youth. His last film was again a US blockbuster when he played the villain in The Incredible Hulk (2008).
In fact Tim has picked American big budget productions without giving up on his mainstream indie films. Only a proof of what a contrasted and accomplished actor he is.
FATHER OF THREE SONS
Tim’s first partner was Lori Baker, with who he had Jack in 1984.
In 1993 Tim married Nikki Butler, a Californian fashion designer. They have two sons: Timothy, born in 1995, and Cormac, born in 1996.
WHAT’S NEXT?
In 1999 Tim went behind the camera to direct Alexander Stuart’s novel The War Zone, about incest. The film was well received by critics, but he never directed again.
Since 2009 Tim is back on TV, but on the US Fox TV. He is psychologist Dr Cal Lightman in the series Lie to Me. The series should go on through 2011.
