Tom Wilkinson

Biography

Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson OBE (born 5 February 1948) is a British actor in 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 the comedy film The Full Monty (1997), he received the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He has 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 other notable films include 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 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).

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, 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.

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.

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).