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The Borrowers
Time Bandits
The Good Father
Enchanted April
Princess Caraboo
Wedding Gift
Widow's Peak
Hero's and Villians
The Last Englishman
Doctor Who - The Curse Of Fatal Death
Gang's of New York
Jim attended school in Reading and went on to graduate from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in 1972. He began his professional career as Acting Assistant Stage Manager at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. A significant breakthrough came in 1976 when he appeared in Ken Campbell's 'Illuminatus' a 12 hour sci-fi extravaganza in which he played a dozen characters.
Jim's career began on the stage. His rich theatrical background includes: �The Recruiting Officer�; �Our Country's Good�; �Kafka's Dick� by Alan Bennett, and �The Government Inspector� at the Royal National Theatre, both for director Richard Eyre; �Goosepimples� and �Ecstasy� for Mike Leigh; and �Our Friends in the North� with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was also half of the two-man theatre company, The National Theatre of Brent, in their epic productions of �The Greatest Story Ever Told�, �The Complete Guide to Sex�, �The Messiah� and �Revolution�, playing such diverse roles as God, Mrs. Simpson, Robespierre, John the Baptist, Lord Reith and Marie Antoinette.
Broadbent's film career began in the late seventies. He has said that he always expected to see more success in his later years and true to form, he has gone on to star in some top films. Most notably Jim played the librettist William S Gilbert in Mike Leigh's 'Topsy Turvy'. He recently played Zidler in Baz Lurhmann's spectacular "Moulin Rouge" (with Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor) and Bridget's dad in 'Bridget Jones's Diary'. He has starred in 'The Avengers' (with Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman and Sean Connery), 'Little Voice' (with Michael Caine and Jane Horrocks), 'The Borrowers' (with John Goodman) and Ian McKellen's 'Richard III'. He played Mr. Worrell in the excellent 'Princess Caraboo' (with Phoebe Cates), Woody Allen's 'Bullets Over Broadway' and Neil Jordan's 'The Crying Game'. Check the filmography page for more details.
Broadbent's distinguished and wide-ranging work for British television includes: �Long Distance Information�, �The Last Company Car� and �Walter� with Ian McKellen, all directed by Stephen Frears; �Birth Of A Nation� and �Tales Out of School�, directed by Mike Newell; and three dramas by Alan Bennett: �Intensive Care�, �Our Winnie� and �The Insurance Man� In addition, Broadbent wrote and starred in the award-winning short film 'A Sense of History' directed by Mike Leigh. He has starred in two series of sitcom, �The Peter Principle� as Peter Duffley, in 1997 and 2000. He also starred in ITV's six-part comedy-dramas �Gone to the Dogs� and �Gone to Seed,� and in such classic comedies as �Not The Nine O'clock News,� Roy Slater in �Only Fools and Horses� (he famously turned down the role of Del Boy), the first season of �Black Adder�, and �The Victoria Wood Show�
Jim has recently had regular cause to be seen out in his dinner jacket winning the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival for his performance as the librettist WS Gilbert in Mike Leigh's film, 'Topsy Turvy'. He also won the London Evening Standard Film Award for Best Actor for 'Topsy Turvy' and the London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actor of the Year. Jim also received nominations for his role in 'Topsy Turvy' from BAFTA, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards and British Independent Film Awards. He was also nominated by the Screen Actors Guild Awards for an Outstanding Performance in 'Little Voice'.
Latest: The National Board of Review has just awarded Jim Broadbent with Best Supporting Actor for his roles in 'Moulin Rouge' and 'Iris'. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has followed suit and also awarded Jim Best Supporting Actor for his roles in 'Moulin Rouge' and 'Iris' (to be presented on Jan 22nd).
'Iris' starring Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent and Kate Winslet is currently premiering in the US. Judi Dench and Kate Winslet will each portray the novelist Iris Murdoch in two distinct periods of her life, with Jim Broadbent and Hugh Bonneville playing her husband John Bayley. Filming started on April 1st at Pinewood Studios and on location in London, Oxford and Suffolk. The film will be released in the US in December 2001.
Jim has recently finished playing a tough New York politician in Martin Scorsese�s gangster film 'The Gangs of New York', which also stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and Daniel Day Lewis. The film was due to open later this year but will now wait until 2002 in order to contend in next year's Oscars. Jim has recently been seen at the cinemas in 'Bridget Jones�s Diary' as Bridget�s dad. He can currently be seen staring opposite Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor in Baz Luhrmann�s outrageous musical movie 'Moulin Rouge' in the larger than life role of Harold Zidler.