Tom Hollander (born 25 August,
[secure.greatrun.org/results/quickresults.php GreatRun] 1967)
[Good lines and great wines - Telegraph] is an award-winning English actor who has appeared in productions such as
Enigma,
Gosford Park,
Cambridge Spies,
Pride and Prejudice and
Pirates of the Caribbean.
Biography
Early life
Tom Hollander was born in
Bristol and raised in
Oxford,
Oxfordshire and attended the
Dragon School and then
Abingdon School. As a youngster, he was a member of the
National Youth Theatre and the
National Youth Music Theatre[Programme, Landscape with Weapon](then known as The Children's Music Theatre). In 1981, at fourteen years of age, he was awarded the lead role in a BBC dramatization of Leon Garfield's
John Diamond.
[BBC Programme Catalogue] He read English at
Selwyn College, Cambridge while actively participating in the many extracurricular theatre activities that
Cambridge University offers. He was a member of the
Footlights and the president of the Marlowe Society. Fellow student
Sam Mendes directed him in several plays while they were at Cambridge, including a critically acclaimed production of
Cyrano de Bergerac.
["Great British Hopes" - The Times, April 20, 1996] After graduating from university and failing to secure a place at a
drama school, he found work in theatre nevertheless.
Career
Hollander won the 1992
Ian Charleson Award for his performance in
The Way of the World at the
Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.
[Performances - Sunday Times, February 21, 1993] He had been nominated the previous year,
["Glittering Prize" - The Sunday Times, April 20, 1997]] and was again nominated for his performances in
The Government Inspector in 1997.
[Charleson Award - Sunday Times, April 5, 1998]
Hollander's film and television appearances include
Absolutely Fabulous,
Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence,
Wives and Daughters,
Harry,
Gosford Park,
The Lost Prince and
Pride and Prejudice for which he received The
Evening Standard Film Awards Comedy Award, and London Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor. He has worked repeatedly with
Michael Gambon and
Bill Nighy and is a good friend of
James Purefoy. Although highly respected as a
character actor and the recipient of several awards, many of his films will still poke fun at his height (5' 5" / 165 cm).
Hollander recently featured in parts
II and
III of the
Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. He most recently appeared on stage in the premiere of
Joe Penhall's play
Landscape with Weapon at the
The Royal National Theatre. His performance was hailed as "the best performance of a 'real' character ever to grace the National Theatre stage." He also appeared in the
TNT miniseries
The Company as Adrian 'Kim' Philby. In 2008 he had a cameo performance as
King George III in the HBO mini-series
John Adams.
Hollander lives in
Notting Hill, London.
Filmography
