name	Colin FirthCBE
birth name	Colin Andrew Firth
birth date	September 10, 1960
birth place	Grayshott, Hampshire, England
occupation	Actor
years active	1983–present
spouse	Livia Giuggioli (1997–present); 2 Children
partner	Meg Tilly (1989-1994); 1 Child
children	William (1990), Luca (2001), Mateo (2003)
relatives	Jonathan Firth (brother), Kate Firth (sister) }}

Colin Andrew Firth, CBE (born 10 September 1960) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's ''Pride and Prejudice''. In 2011, Firth received an Academy Award for his portrayal of King George VI in ''The King's Speech'', a performance that also earned him the Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor. The previous year, he received his first Academy Award nomination, for his leading role in ''A Single Man'', a performance that won him a BAFTA Award. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011.

Early life

Firth was born in Grayshott, Hampshire, England. His mother, Shirley Jean (née Rolles), was a comparative religion lecturer at King Alfred's College Winchester (now the University of Winchester), and his father, David Norman Lewis Firth, was a history lecturer (also at King Alfred's) and education officer for the Nigerian Government. Firth has a sister, Kate, and a younger brother, Jonathan, who is also an actor. Firth's parents were raised in India, because his maternal grandparents, Congregationalist ministers, and his paternal grandfather, an Anglican priest, performed missionary work abroad. Firth spent part of his childhood in Nigeria, where his father was teaching.

He lived in St. Louis, Missouri when he was 11. He later attended the Montgomery of Alamein Secondary School (now Kings' School), a state comprehensive school in Winchester, Hampshire, and then Barton Peveril College in Eastleigh, Hampshire. While in Kings' School, he wanted to play the guitar, but the school banned the guitar and saxophone, as they were "not serious instruments", and he was told to play the euphonium instead. His acting training took place at the Drama Centre London.

Career

Film career

In 1983, Firth starred as Guy Bennett the award-winning London stage production of ''Another Country''. That same year, Firth played the role of the apple in several 'Fruit of the Loom' TV advertisements. In 1984, he made his film debut in the screen adaptation of the play, taking the role of Tommy Judd (opposite Rupert Everett as Bennett). In 1986, he starred with Sir Laurence Olivier in ''Lost Empires'', a TV adaptation of J. B. Priestley's novel, then in 1987 he appeared alongside Kenneth Branagh in the film version of J. L. Carr's ''A Month in the Country''. In 1989, he played the title role in the film ''Valmont'', and was co-lead in the film ''Apartment Zero''. Firth and other young British actors who were becoming established film actors such as Tim Roth, Gary Oldman, Bruce Payne and Paul McGann were dubbed the 'Brit Pack'.

It was through the 1995 BBC television adaptation of Jane Austen's ''Pride and Prejudice'' that Firth gained wider renown. The serial was a major international success, and Firth gained heartthrob status because of his role as Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, in which he emerged in a wet shirt after a swim. This performance also made him the object of affection for fictional journalist Bridget Jones (created by Helen Fielding), an interest which carried on into the two novels featuring the Jones character. In the second novel, ''Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason'', the character even meets Firth in Rome. As something of an in-joke, when the novels were adapted for the cinema, Firth was cast as Jones's love interest, Mark Darcy. Continuing this in-joke, there was a dog called Mr Darcy in the film ''St. Trinian's'', which Firth's character accidentally kills.

Firth had a supporting role in ''The English Patient'' (1996) and since then, has starred in films such as ''Fever Pitch'' (1997), ''Shakespeare in Love'' (1998), ''Relative Values'' (2000), ''Bridget Jones's Diary'' (2001), ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' (2002), ''Love Actually'' (2003), ''What a Girl Wants'' (2003), ''Hope Springs'' (2003), ''Girl with a Pearl Earring'' (2003), ''Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason'' (2004), ''Nanny McPhee'' (2005), ''Where The Truth Lies'' (2005), ''Then She Found Me'' (2007) with Helen Hunt, ''The Last Legion'' (2007) with Aishwarya Rai, ''When Did You Last See Your Father?'' (2008), the film adaptation of ''Mamma Mia!'' (2008), and ''Easy Virtue'', which screened at the Rome Film Festival to excellent reviews. In 2009, he starred in ''A Christmas Carol'', an adaptation of Charles Dickens's novel ''A Christmas Carol'' using the performance capture procedure, playing Scrooge's optimistic nephew Fred, alongside Jim Carrey, who played Scrooge.

He has also appeared in several television productions, including ''Donovan Quick'' (an updated version of ''Don Quixote'') (1999) and ''Conspiracy'' (2001), for which he received an Emmy nomination. Colin Firth's most recent role is in the Toronto International Film Festival debuted film, ''Genova''.

At the 66th Venice International Film Festival in 2009, Colin Firth was awarded the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for his role in Tom Ford's ''A Single Man'' as a college professor grappling with solitude after his longtime partner dies. Fashion designer Tom Ford made his director's debut with this movie. This role has earned Firth career best reviews and Academy Award, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, BAFTA, and BFCA nominations; he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in February 2010.

Firth starred in the 2010 film ''The King's Speech'' as Prince Albert, Duke of York/King George VI. The film details him working to overcome his speech impediment while becoming monarch of the United Kingdom at the outbreak of World War II. At the Toronto Film Festival, the film was met with a standing ovation. The TIFF release of ''The King's Speech'' fell on Colin's 50th birthday and was called the "best 50th birthday gift". On 16 January 2011, he won a Golden Globe for his performance in ''The King's Speech'' in the category of Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama. The Screen Actors Guild recognized Firth with the award for Best Male Actor for ''The King's Speech'' on 30 January 2011. In February 2011, he won the best actor award at the 2011 BAFTA awards. He received an Academy Award for Best Actor in a motion picture for ''The King's Speech'' on 27 February 2011.

Firth will appear in the 2012 adaptation of the John Le Carré novel ''Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'', directed by Tomas Alfredson, also starring Ralph Fiennes, Gary Oldman, and Tom Hardy. In May 2011, Firth began filming ''Gambit'', written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen and directed by Michael Hoffman, co-starring Cameron Diaz.

Other work

Firth played William Shakespeare in a comedy special entitled ''Blackadder: Back & Forth''. Edmund Blackadder runs into Firth's character while he is working on ''Macbeth'', asks him to sign the script for him, and then punches him, saying "That is for every schoolboy and schoolgirl for the next 400 years!".

He was a guest host of ''Saturday Night Live'' in 2004, alongside musical guest Norah Jones.

Firth performed in theatre frequently between 1983 and 2000. He starred in ''Three Days of Rain'' as lead character Ned/Walker, as well as ''The Caretaker'', ''Desire Under the Elms'', and ''Chatsky''.

He served as executive producer for the 2007 documentary produced by his wife, Livia Giuggioli, ''In Prison My Whole Life''. The film questions the trial proceedings and evidence used against political activist and former Black Panther member, Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is on death row for the 1981 killing of a Philadelphia police officer, Daniel Faulkner.

Firth is also a Jury Member for the digital studio Filmaka, a platform for undiscovered filmmakers to show their work to industry professionals.

On 13 January 2011, he was presented with the 2,429th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 2011, Firth collaborated with colleagues at the University College London to conduct a study probing differences in the volume of various brain regions in conservatives and liberals, with the results suggesting that conservatives have greater amygdala volume and liberals have greater volume in their anterior cingulate cortex.

Writer

Firth's first published work, "The Department of Nothing", appeared in ''Speaking with the Angel'' (2000). This collection of short stories was edited by Nick Hornby and was published to benefit the TreeHouse Trust, in aid of autistic children. Firth had previously met Hornby during the filming of the original ''Fever Pitch''. Colin Firth contributed with his writing for the book, ''We Are One: A Celebration of Tribal Peoples'', released in 2009. The book explores the culture of peoples around the world, portraying both its diversity and facing threats. It counts with the contributions of many western writers, such as Laurens van der Post, Noam Chomsky, Claude Lévi-Strauss; and also indigenous peoples, such as Davi Kopenawa Yanomami and Roy Sesana. The royalties from the sale of this book go to the indigenous rights organisation, Survival International.

Personal life

Firth resides in Chiswick, London. In 1989, he entered into a romantic relationship with actress Meg Tilly, his co-star in ''Valmont''. In 1990, she gave birth to a son, William "Will" Joseph Firth, and they made their home near the Lower Mainland of B.C., Canada. Firth remains in contact with Will and with Tilly's two other children, for whom he was a stepfather. In 1994, after he and Tilly had separated, Firth became involved with actress Jennifer Ehle, his co-star in ''Pride and Prejudice''; the two eventually broke up. Firth is married to Italian film producer/director Livia Giuggioli and lives in both London and Italy. They have two sons, Luca (born March 2001) and Mateo (born August 2003). Firth started to learn Italian when he and Giuggioli began to date and he now is fluent in the language.

In April 2011, ''Time'' magazine included Firth in its list of the world's 100 Most Influential People.

Activism

Firth has been a long-standing supporter of Survival International, a non-governmental organisation that defends the rights of tribal peoples. Speaking in 2001, he said, "My interest in tribal peoples goes back many years... and I have supported [Survival] ever since." In 2003, during the promotion of the movie ''Love Actually'', he spoke in defense of the tribal people of Botswana, condemning the Botswana government's eviction of the Gana and Gwi Bushmen from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. He says of the Bushmen, "These people are not the remnants of a past era who need to be brought up to date. Those who are able to continue to live on the land that is rightfully theirs are facing the 21st century with a confidence that many of us in the so-called developed world can only envy."

Firth has been involved in a campaign to stop the deportation of a group of asylum seekers, because he believed that they might be murdered on their return to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Firth argued that "To me it's just basic civilisation to help people. I find this incredibly painful to see how we dismiss the most desperate people in our society. It's easily done. It plays to the tabloids, to the Middle-England xenophobes. It just makes me furious. And all from a government we once had such high hopes for". As a result of the campaign, a Congolese nurse was given a last-minute reprieve from deportation.

Firth has also been involved in the Oxfam global campaign Make Trade Fair, in which several other celebrities participated as well in order to bring more attention to the issues involved. The campaign has focused on several trade practices seen as unfair to third world producers especially, including dumping, high import tariffs, and labour rights such as fair wages. Firth remains deeply committed to this cause, making efforts such as supporting fair trade coffee in his daily life, as he believes "[i]f you're going to sustain commitment to any of this, ... [y]ou've got to get involved on an ordinary every day basis." He has further contributed to this cause by opening (with a few collaborators) an eco-friendly shop in West London, Eco. The shop offers fair trade and eco-friendly goods, as well as expert advice on making spaces more energy efficient.

In a 2006 interview with French magazine ''Madame Figaro'', Firth was asked "Quelles sont les femmes de votre vie?" (Who are the women of your life?). Firth replied: "Ma mère, ma femme et Jane Austen" (My mother, my wife and Jane Austen). He was awarded an honorary degree on 19 October 2007 from the University of Winchester. In October 2009 at the London Film Festival, Firth launched a film and political activism website, Brightwide, along with his wife Livia.

During to the 2010 General Election Firth announced his support for the Liberal Democrats, having previously been a Labour supporter, citing asylum and refugees' rights as a key reason for his change in affiliation. In December 2010, Firth publicly dropped his support of the Liberal Democrats, citing their U-turn on tuition fees as one of the key reasons for his disillusionment. He also said that while he no longer supports the Liberal Democrats, he is currently without an affiliation. Firth appeared in literature to support changing the British electoral system from first-past-the-post to alternative vote for electing Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the unsuccessful Alternative Vote referendum in 2011.

He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours for services to drama.

Filmography

+ List of film and television credits
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1984		Tommy Judd
1984		Armand Duval	Television film
1985		(young) Alexander Scherbatov
1985	''Dutch Girls	Neil Truelove	Television film
1986	''Lost Empires''	Richard Herncastle	Television mini-series
1987	''''	Tom Birkin
1987	''Pat Hobby: Teamed with Genius''	Rene Wilcox
1987	''''	adult Colin Craven	Hallmark Hall of Fame
1988	''Tumbledown''		Television filmRoyal Television Society Award for Best ActorNominated — British Academy Television Award for Best Actor
1989	''Apartment Zero''	Adrian LeDuc
1989		Valmont
1990		Joseph Prince
1990	''Wings of Fame	Brian Smith
1991		Alan	Play for television
1993	''Hostages''		Television – HBO
1993	''''	Richard Courtois	Also known as ''The Advocate''
1994	''Master of the Moor''	Stephen Whalby	Television film - UK
1994	''Playmaker''	Michael Condron/Ross Talbert
1994	''''	Freddie Page	Play for television – UK
1995		Simon Westward
1995		Fitzwilliam Darcy
1995	''''	Charles Holroyd	Play for television – UK
1996	''''	Geoffrey Clifton	Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1997	''''	Jess Clark
1997		Paul Ashworth
1997	''Nostromo''	Charles Gould	Television mini-series
1998	''Shakespeare in Love''	Lord Wessex	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1999	''Blackadder: Back & Forth''	William Shakespeare	Short film
1999	''Donovan Quick''	Donovan Quick/Daniel Quinn	Television film – UK
1999	''My Life So Far''	Edward Pettigrew
1999	''''	Matthew Field
1999	''''	The Master	Masterpiece Theater
2000	''Relative Values''	Peter Ingleton
2001		Mark Darcy	European Film Awards Audience Award for Best ActorNominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting RoleNominated — Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2001		Wilhelm Stuckart	Television film – HBONominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor – Miniseries or a MovieNominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
2001	''We Know Where You Live''	Himself	Benefit for Amnesty International
2001		Allen Portland	Television film – HBO, also known as ''Londinium''
2002	''''	Jack Worthing
2003		Johannes Vermeer	Nominated—European Film Awards Audience Award for Best Actor
2003		Colin Ware
2003	''Love Actually''	Jamie Bennett	Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
2003		Henry Dashwood
2004		Mark Darcy
2004		Ben Slater
2005	''Nanny McPhee''	Cedric Brown
2005	''Where the Truth Lies''	Vince Collins
2006	''Born Equal''	Mark Armitage	Television film – UK
2007	''''	Ambrosius Aurelianus
2007	''And When Did You Last See Your Father?''	Blake Morrison
2007	''Then She Found Me''	Frank
2007		Geoffrey Thwaites
2007	''In Prison My Whole Life''	Himself
2008	''''	Richard Bratton
2008		Harry Bright
2008		Jim Whittaker
2008		Joe
2009	''''	Fred
2009		Lord Henry Wotton
2009	''''	George Falconer	Austin Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleChlotrudis Award for Best ActorDetroit Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorLondon Film Critics Circle Award for British Actor of the YearSan Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorSan Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorSanta Barbara International Film Festival – Outstanding Performance of the YearVancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorVolpi CupNominated — Academy Award for Best ActorNominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated — Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaNominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead MaleNominated — Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaNominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading RoleNominated — Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated — Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association for Best Actor
2009	''St. Trinian's II: The Legend of Fritton's Gold''	Geoffrey Thwaites
2010	''''		Academy Award for Best ActorAlliance of Women Film Journalists Eda Award for Best ActorAustin Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleBritish Independent Film Award for Best ActorBroadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorChicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorDenver Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorDetroit Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorFlorida Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorGolden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaIowa Film Critics Award for Best ActorItalian Online Movie Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleKansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorLondon Film Critics Circle Award for British Actor of the YearLondon Film Critics Circle Award for Actor of the YearLos Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNational Movie Award for Performance of the YearNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorNorth Texas Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorOnline Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorPhoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorSan Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorSatellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion PictureScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading RoleSoutheastern Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorSt. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorVancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorWashington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated — Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best ActorNominated — Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated — Evening Standard British Film Award for Best ActorNominated — Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated — Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated — San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated — Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated — Utah Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
2010		Tom Phillips
2010		Steve	with Keira Knightley
2011		Bill Haydon
2012		Harry Deane	filming

References

Further reading

External links

Colin Firth Interview Part One and Part Two June 2010. Latest Colin Firth Interview Feb 2011 New Statesman

Colin Firth Life in Pictures Interview recorded at BAFTA London - December 2010

theartsdesk Q&A; with Colin Firth Transcript of series of in-depth interviews, February 2011

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:1960 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Alumni of the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design Category:Alumni of the Drama Centre London Category:Alumni of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Category:Audio book narrators Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Actor Academy Award winners Category:Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:English film actors Category:English radio actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:European Film Awards winners (people) Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from East Hampshire (district) Category:People from Winchester

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birth name	Mary Louise Streep
birth date	June 22, 1949
birth place	Summit, New Jersey, U.S.
nationality	American
spouse	Don Gummer(m.1978–present; 4 children)
children	4 (including Mamie Gummer and Grace Gummer)
partner	John Cazale(1976-78, his death)
occupation	Actress
years active	1971–present }}

Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film. She is widely regarded as one of the most talented and respected actresses of the modern era.

Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's ''The Playboy of Seville'', before her screen debut in the television movie ''The Deadliest Season'' in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with ''Julia''. Both critical and commercial success came quickly with roles in ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978) and ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' (1979), the former giving Streep her first Oscar nomination and the latter her first win. She later won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in ''Sophie's Choice'' (1982).

Streep has received 16 Academy Award nominations, winning two, and 25 Golden Globe nominations, winning seven, more nominations than any other actor in the history of either award. Her work has also earned her two Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Cannes Film Festival award, four New York Film Critics Circle Awards, five Grammy Award nominations, a BAFTA award, an Australian Film Institute Award and a Tony Award nomination, amongst others. She was awarded the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.

Early life and background

Streep was born Mary Louise Streep in Summit, New Jersey, the daughter of Mary Wolf (née Wilkinson), a commercial artist and former art editor, and Harry William Streep, Jr., a pharmaceutical executive. She has two brothers, Dana and Harry. Her paternal ancestry originates in Loffenau, Germany, from where her second great-grandfather, Gottfried Streeb, emigrated to the United States, and where one of her ancestors served as mayor. Another line of her father's family was from Giswil, a small town in Switzerland. Her maternal ancestry originates in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Her eighth great-grandfather, Lawrence Wilkinson, was one of the first Europeans to settle Rhode Island. Streep is also a distant relative of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, and records show her family were among the first purchasers of land in Pennsylvania.

She was raised a Presbyterian, and grew up in Bernardsville, New Jersey, where she attended Bernards High School. She received her B.A., in Drama at Vassar College in 1971 (where she briefly received instruction from actress Jean Arthur), but also enrolled as an exchange student at Dartmouth College for a quarter before it became coeducational. She subsequently earned an M.F.A. from Yale School of Drama. While at Yale, she played a variety of roles onstage, from the glamorous Helena in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' to an eighty-year old woman in a wheelchair in a comedy written by then-unknown playwrights Christopher Durang and Albert Innaurato. "It was immediately apparent," said then-dean Robert Brustein, "that she was destined for greatness."

Career

Early career

Streep performed in several theater productions in New York after graduating from Yale School of Drama, including the New York Shakespeare Festival productions of ''Henry V'', ''The Taming of the Shrew'' with Raúl Juliá, and ''Measure for Measure'' opposite Sam Waterston and John Cazale, who became her fiancé. She starred on Broadway in the Brecht/Weill musical ''Happy End'', and won an Obie for her performance in the all-sung off-Broadway production of ''Alice at the Palace''. Streep began auditioning for film roles, and later recalled an unsuccessful audition for Dino De Laurentiis for the leading role in ''King Kong''. De Laurentiis commented to his son in Italian, "She's ugly. Why did you bring me this thing?" and was shocked when Streep replied in fluent Italian. Streep's first feature film was ''Julia'' (1977), in which she played a small but pivotal role during a flashback scene. Streep was living in New York City with her fiancé, Cazale, who had been diagnosed with bone cancer. He was cast in ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978), and Streep was delighted to secure a small role because it allowed her to remain with Cazale for the duration of filming. She was not specifically interested in the part, commenting, "They needed a girl between the two guys and I was it."

She played a leading role in the television miniseries ''Holocaust'' (1978) as an Aryan woman married to a Jewish artist in Nazi era Germany. She later explained that she had considered the material to be "unrelentingly noble", and had taken the role only because she had needed money. Streep travelled to Germany and Austria for filming while Cazale remained in New York. Upon her return, Streep found that Cazale's illness had progressed, and she nursed him until his death on March 12, 1978. She spoke of her grief and her hope that work would provide a diversion; she accepted a role in ''The Seduction of Joe Tynan'' (1979) with Alan Alda, later commenting that she played it on "automatic pilot", and performed the role of Katherine in ''The Taming of the Shrew'' for Shakespeare in the Park. With an estimated audience of 109 million, ''Holocaust'' brought a degree of public recognition to Streep, who was described in August 1978 as "on the verge of national visibility". She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie for her performance.

''The Deer Hunter'' (1978) was released a month later, and Streep was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.

Streep played a supporting role in ''Manhattan'' (1979) for Woody Allen, later stating that she had not seen a complete script and was given only the six pages of her own scenes, and that she had not been permitted to improvise a word of her dialogue. Asked to comment on the script for ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' (1979), in a meeting with the producer Stan Jaffee, director Robert Benton and star Dustin Hoffman, Streep insisted that the female character was not representative of many real women who faced marriage breakdown and child custody battles, and was written as "too evil". Jaffee, Benton and Hoffman agreed with Streep, and the script was revised. In preparing for the part, Streep spoke to her own mother about her life as a mother and housewife with a career, and frequented the Upper East Side neighborhood in which the film was set. Benton allowed Streep to write her dialogue in two of her key scenes, despite some objection from Hoffman. Jaffee and Hoffman later spoke of Streep's tirelessness, with Hoffman commenting, "She's extraordinarily hardworking, to the extent that she's obsessive. I think that she thinks about nothing else but what she's doing."

Streep drew critical acclaim for her performance in each of her three films released in 1979: the romantic comedy ''Manhattan'', the political drama ''The Seduction of Joe Tynan'' and the family drama, ''Kramer vs. Kramer''. She was awarded the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress, National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress and National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress for her collective work in the three films. Among the awards won for ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' were the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.

1980s

After prominent supporting roles in two of the 1970s' most successful films, the consecutive winners of the Academy Award for Best Picture, ''The Deer Hunter'' and ''Kramer vs. Kramer'', and praise for her versatility in several supporting roles, Streep progressed to leading roles. Her first was ''The French Lieutenant's Woman'' (1981). A story within a story drama, the film paired Streep with Jeremy Irons as contemporary actors, telling their modern story as well as the Victorian era drama they were performing. A ''New York Magazine'' article commented that while many female stars of the past had cultivated a singular identity in their films, Streep was a "chameleon", willing to play any type of role. Streep was awarded a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work.

Her next film, the psychological thriller, ''Still of the Night'' (1982) reunited her with Robert Benton, the director of ''Kramer vs. Kramer'', and co-starred Roy Scheider and Jessica Tandy. Vincent Canby, writing for ''The New York Times'' noted that the film was an homage to the works of Alfred Hitchcock, but that one of its main weaknesses was a lack of chemistry between Streep and Scheider, concluding that Streep "is stunning, but she's not on screen anywhere near long enough".

As the Polish holocaust survivor in ''Sophie's Choice'' (1982), Streep's emotional dramatic performance and her apparent mastery of a Polish accent drew praise. William Styron wrote the novel with Ursula Andress in mind for the part of Sophie, but Streep was very determined to get the role. After she obtained a pirated copy of the script, she went to Alan J. Pakula and threw herself on the ground begging him to give her the part. Streep filmed the "choice" scene in one take and refused to do it again, as she found shooting the scene extremely painful and emotionally exhausting. Among several notable acting awards, Streep won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. Roger Ebert said of her performance, "Streep plays the Brooklyn scenes with an enchanting Polish-American accent (she has the first accent I've ever wanted to hug), and she plays the flashbacks in subtitled German and Polish. There is hardly an emotion that Streep doesn't touch in this movie, and yet we're never aware of her straining. This is one of the most astonishing and yet one of the most unaffected and natural performances I can imagine."

She followed this success with a biographical film, ''Silkwood'' (1983), in which she played her first real-life character, the union activist Karen Silkwood. She discussed her preparation for the role in an interview with Roger Ebert and said that she had met with people close to Silkwood to learn more about her, and in doing so realized that each person saw a different aspect of Silkwood. Streep concentrated on the events of Silkwood's life and concluded, "I didn't try to turn myself into Karen. I just tried to look at what she did. I put together every piece of information I could find about her... What I finally did was look at the events in her life, and try to understand her from the inside."

Her next films were a romantic drama, ''Falling in Love'' (1984) opposite Robert De Niro, and a British drama, ''Plenty'' (1985). Roger Ebert said of Streep's performance in ''Plenty'' that she conveyed "great subtlety; it is hard to play an unbalanced, neurotic, self-destructive woman, and do it with such gentleness and charm... Streep creates a whole character around a woman who could have simply been a catalogue of symptoms."

''Out of Africa'' (1985) starred Streep as the Danish writer Karen Blixen and co-starred Robert Redford. A significant critical success, the film received a 63% "fresh" rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Streep co-starred with Jack Nicholson in her next two films, the dramas ''Heartburn'' (1986) and ''Ironweed'' (1987), in which she sang onscreen for the first time since the television movie, ''Secret Service'', in 1977. In ''A Cry in the Dark'' (1988), she played the biographical role of Lindy Chamberlain, an Australian woman who had been convicted of the murder of her infant daughter in which Chamberlain claimed her baby had been taken by a dingo. Filmed in Australia, Streep won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, a Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival, the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress and was nominated for several other awards for her portrayal of Chamberlain.

In ''She-Devil'' (1989), Streep played her first comedic film role, opposite Roseanne Barr. Richard Corliss, writing for ''Time,'' commented that Streep was the "one reason" to see the film and observed that it marked a departure from the type of role for which she had been known, saying, "Surprise! Inside the Greer Garson roles Streep usually plays, a vixenish Carole Lombard is screaming to be cut loose."

1990s

From 1984 to 1990, Streep won six People's Choice Awards for Favorite Motion Picture Actress and, in 1990, was named World Favorite.

In the 1990s, Streep continued to choose a great variety of roles, including a drug addicted movie actress in a screen adaptation of Carrie Fisher's novel ''Postcards from the Edge'', with Dennis Quaid and Shirley MacLaine. Streep and Goldie Hawn had established a friendship and were interested in making a film together. After considering various projects, they decided upon ''Thelma and Louise'', until Streep's pregnancy coincided with the filming schedule, and the producers decided to proceed with Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis. They subsequently filmed the farcical black comedy, ''Death Becomes Her'', with Bruce Willis as their co-star. ''Time'''s Richard Corliss wrote approvingly of Streep's "wicked-witch routine" but dismissed the film as "''She-Devil'' with a make-over".

Biographer Karen Hollinger describes this period as a downturn in the popularity of Streep's films, which reached its nadir with the failure of ''Death Becomes Her'', attributing this partly to a critical perception that her comedies had been an attempt to convey a lighter image following several serious but commercially unsuccessful dramas, and more significantly to the lack of options available to an actress in her forties. Streep commented that she had limited her options by her preference to work in Los Angeles, close to her family, a situation that she had anticipated in a 1981 interview when she commented, "By the time an actress hits her mid-forties, no one's interested in her anymore. And if you want to fit a couple of babies into that schedule as well, you've got to pick your parts with great care."

Streep appeared with Glenn Close in the movie version of Isabel Allende's ''The House of the Spirits'', the screen adaptation of ''The Bridges of Madison County'' with Clint Eastwood, ''The River Wild'', ''Marvin's Room'' (with Diane Keaton and Leonardo DiCaprio), ''One True Thing'', and ''Music of the Heart'', in a role that required her to learn to play the violin, She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for "The Bridges of Madison County", "Music of the Heart" (where she plays the role of Roberta Guaspari) and "One True Thing".

2000s

Streep entered the 2000s with Steven Spielberg's ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'', a science fiction film about a child-like android, played by Haley Joel Osment, uniquely programmed with the ability to love, voicing the Blue Fairy. The same year, Streep co-hosted the annual Nobel Peace Prize concert with Liam Neeson in Oslo, Norway, and began work on Spike Jonze's comedy-drama ''Adaptation'' (2002), in which she portrayed real-life journalist Susan Orlean. Lauded by critics and viewers alike, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, and won Streep her fourth Golden Globe in the Best Supporting Actress category. Also in 2002, Streep appeared alongside Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore in Stephen Daldry's ''The Hours'', based on the 1999 novel of the same title by Michael Cunningham. Focusing on three women of different generations whose lives are interconnected by the novel ''Mrs. Dalloway'' by Virginia Woolf, the film was generally well-received and won all three leading actresses a Silver Bear for Best Actress the following year.

thumb|right|upright|Streep in 2004 The following year, Streep had a cameo as herself in the Farrelly brothers comedy ''Stuck on You'' (2003) and reunited with Mike Nichols to star with Al Pacino and Emma Thompson in the HBO adaptation of Tony Kushner's six-hour play ''Angels in America'', the story of two couples whose relationships dissolve amidst the backdrop of Reagan Era politics. Streep, who was cast in four different roles in the mini-series, received her second Emmy Award and fifth Golden Globe for her performance. In 2004, Streep was awarded the AFI Life Achievement Award by the Board of Directors of the American Film Institute, and appeared in Jonathan Demme's moderately successful remake ''The Manchurian Candidate'', co-starring Denzel Washington, playing a U.S. senator and a manipulative, ruthless mother of a vice-presidential candidate. The same year, she played the supporting role of Aunt Josephine in ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' alongside Jim Carrey, based on the first three novels in Snicket's book series. The black comedy received generally favorable reviews from critics, and won the Academy Award for Best Makeup.

Streep's was next cast in the 2005 comedy ''Prime'', directed by Ben Younger. In the film, she played Lisa Metzger, the Jewish psychoanalyst of a divorced and lonesome business-woman, played by Uma Thurman, who enters a relationship with Metzger's 23-years-old son (Bryan Greenberg). A modest mainstream success, it eventually grossed US$67.9 million internationally. In 2006, she, along with Lily Tomlin, portrayed the last two members of what was once a popular family country music act in Robert Altman's final film ''A Prairie Home Companion''. A comedic ensemble piece featuring Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Kline and Woody Harrelson, the film revolves around the behind-the-scenes activities at the long-running public radio show of the same name. The film grossed over US$26 million, the majority of which came from domestic markets. Commercially, Streep fared better with a role in ''The Devil Wears Prada'' (2006), a loose screen adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's 2003 novel of the same name. Portraying the powerful and demanding fashion magazine editor and boss of a recent college graduate (played by Anne Hathaway) Miranda Priestly, Streep's performance drew rave reviews from critics and later earned her many award nominations, including her record-setting 14th Oscar bid, as well as another Golden Globe. Upon its commercial release, the film became Streep's biggest commercial success yet, grossing more than US$326.5 million worldwide.

In 2007, Streep was cast in four different films. She portrayed a wealthy university patron in Chen Shi-zheng's much-delayed feature drama ''Dark Matter'' (2007), a film about of a Chinese science graduate student who becomes violent after dealing with academic politics at a U.S. university. Inspired by the events of a 1991 tragedy at the University of Iowa. and initially scheduled for a 2007 release, producers and investors decided to shelve ''Dark Matter'' out of respect for the Virginia Tech massacre in April 2007. The drama received negative to mixed reviews upon its limited 2008 released. Streep played a U.S. government official, who investigates an Egyptian foreign national in Washington, D.C. suspected of terrorism in the Middle East, in the political thriller ''Rendition'' (2007), directed by Gavin Hood. Keen to get involved into a thriller film, Streep welcomed the opportunity to star in a film genre she usually was not offered scripts for and immediately signed on to the project. Upon its release, ''Rendition'' became a failure, and received mixed reviews.

Also in 2007, Streep had a short role alongside Vanessa Redgrave, Glenn Close and her eldest daughter Mamie Gummer in Lajos Koltai's drama film ''Evening'', based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Susan Minot. Switching between the present and the past, it tells the story of a bedridden women, who remembers her tumultuous life the mid-1950s. The film was released to lukewarm reactions by critics, who called it "beautifully filmed, but decidedly dull [and] a colossal waste of a talented cast." Streep's last film of 2007 was Robert Redfords ''Lions for Lambs'', a film about the connection between a platoon of United States soldiers in Afghanistan, a U.S. senator, a reporter, and a California college professor.

thumb|right|220px|Streep with her fellow cast and all four members of ABBA at the Swedish premiere of ''Mamma Mia!'' in July 2008. In 2008, Streep found major commercial success when she starred in Phyllida Lloyd's ''Mamma Mia!'', a film adaptation of the musical of the same name, based on the songs of Swedish pop group ABBA. Co-starring Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, and Colin Firth, she played a single mother and a former backing singer, whose daughter (Seyfried), a bride-to-be who never met her father, invites three likely paternal candidates to her wedding on an idyllic Greek island. An instant box office success, ''Mamma Mia!'' became Streep's highest-grossing film to date, with box office receipts of US$602.6 million, also ranking it first among the highest-grossing musical films of all-time. Nominated for another Golden Globe, Streep's performance was generally well-received by critics, with Wesley Morris of the ''Boston Globe'' commenting "the greatest actor in American movies has finally become a movie star." Streep's other film of 2008 was ''Doubt'' featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis. A drama revolving around the stern principal nun (Streep) of a Bronx Catholic school in 1964 who brings charges of pedophilia against a popular priest (Hoffman), the film became a moderate box office success, but was hailed by many critics as one of the best of 2008. The film received five Academy Awards nominations, for its four lead actors and for Shanley's script.

In 2009, Streep played chef Julia Child in Nora Ephron's ''Julie & Julia'', co-starring Amy Adams and Stanley Tucci. The first major motion picture based on a blog, it contrasts the life of Child in the early years of her culinary career with the life of young New Yorker Julie Powell (Adams), who aspires to cook all 524 recipes in Child's cookbook ''Mastering the Art of French Cooking'' in 365 days, a challenge she described on her popular blog, ''The Julie/Julia Project'', that would make her a published author. The same year, she also starred in Nancy Meyers' romantic comedy ''It's Complicated'', with Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. She also received nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for this film. Streep also lent her voice to Mrs. Felicity Fox in the stop-motion film ''Fantastic Mr. Fox''.

2010s

In July 2010, it was announced that Streep will star in an upcoming comedy entitled ''Mommy & Me'' alongside Tina Fey who will play her daughter. The film is being directed by Stanley Tucci. Streep has also been cast as Margaret Thatcher in ''The Iron Lady'', a look at the Prime Minister during the Falklands War and her years in retirement.

Accents and dialects

Streep is well known for her ability to imitate foreign and domestic accents, from Danish in ''Out of Africa'' and Italian in ''The Bridges of Madison County'' to a Midwestern dialect in ''A Prairie Home Companion''. In ''A Cry in the Dark'' she colored Australian English with New Zealand tonalities. For her role in the film ''Sophie's Choice'', she took a language course in Polish for four months, so as to interpret a young Pole perfectly. Despite the accolades accorded to her, Streep has responded to praise with the assertion that adopting accents is an element she simply considers an obvious part of her task in creating characters. When asked whether accents help her get into character, she responded, 'I'm always baffled by this question... How could I play that part and talk like me?' When questioned as to how she reproduces different accents, Streep replied, 'I listen.'

Theatre

In New York City, she appeared in the 1976 Broadway double bill of Tennessee Williams' ''27 Wagons Full of Cotton'' and Arthur Miller's ''A Memory of Two Mondays''. For the former, she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Her other early Broadway credits include Anton Chekhov's ''The Cherry Orchard'' and the Bertolt Brecht-Kurt Weill musical ''Happy End'' in which she originally appeared off-Broadway at the Chelsea Theater Center. She received Drama Desk Award nominations for both productions. Once Streep's film career flourished, she took a long break from stage acting.

In July 2001, Streep returned to the stage for the first time in more than twenty years, playing Arkadina in the Public Theater's revival of Anton Chekhov's ''The Seagull''. The staging, directed by Mike Nichols, also featured Kevin Kline, Natalie Portman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Marcia Gay Harden, and John Goodman.

In August and September 2006, she starred onstage at The Public Theater's production of ''Mother Courage and Her Children'' at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. The Public Theater production was a new translation by playwright Tony Kushner (''Angels in America''), with songs in the Weill/Brecht style written by composer Jeanine Tesori (''Caroline, or Change''); veteran director George C. Wolfe was at the helm. Streep starred alongside Kevin Kline and Austin Pendleton in this three-and-a-half-hour play in which she sang and appeared in almost every scene.

Music

After appearing in ''Mamma Mia!'', Streep's rendition of the song "Mamma Mia" rose to popularity in the Portuguese music charts, where it peaked at #8 in October 2008.

At the 35th People's Choice Awards, her version of ''Mamma Mia'' won an award for "Favorite Song From A Soundtrack". In 2008, Streep was nominated for a Grammy Award (her fifth nomination) for her work on the ''Mamma Mia!'' soundtrack.

Personal life

Meryl Streep was engaged to actor John Cazale until his death in March 1978. Streep married sculptor Don Gummer on September 15, 1978. They have four children: Henry "Hank" Wolfe Gummer (born November 13, 1979), Mary Willa "Mamie" Gummer (born August 3, 1983), Grace Jane Gummer (born May 9, 1986), and Louisa Jacobson Gummer (born June 12, 1991). Both Mamie and Grace are actresses. Hank is a musician who performs under the name Henry Wolfe.

When asked if religion plays a part in her life in an interview in 2009, Streep replied, "I follow no doctrine. I don't belong to a church or a temple or a synagogue or an ashram."

Awards

Streep holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations of any actor, having been nominated sixteen times since her first nomination in 1979 for ''The Deer Hunter'' (thirteen for Best Actress and three for Best Supporting Actress). Streep is also the most-nominated performer for a Golden Globe Award (with 25 nominations) and, with her overall seventh win for ''Julie & Julia'' in 2010, has won the most Golden Globes (excluding special awards).

In 1998, Women in Film awarded Streep with the Crystal Award for outstanding women who have helped expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.

In 2003, Streep was awarded an honorary César Award by the French ''Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma.'' In 2004, at the Moscow International Film Festival, Streep was honored with the Stanislavsky Award for the outstanding achievement in the career of acting and devotion to the principles of Stanislavsky's school. Also in 2004, Streep received the AFI Life Achievement Award. In 2009, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts by Princeton University. In 2010, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree by Harvard University.

Streep received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998, and May 27, 2004 was proclaimed "Meryl Streep Day" by Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields.

Filmography

See also

List of people from New Jersey

List of American actresses

References

Bibliography

Napoleon, Davi (1991). ''Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater.'' Includes discussion of Streep's performance in Robert Kalfin's production of ''Happy End'' at the Chelsea Theater and on Broadway. Iowa State University Press. ISBN-0-8138-1713-7.

''Finding Herself: The Prime of Meryl Streep'' by Molly Haskell, ''Film Comment'', May/June 2008.

External links

merylstreeponline.net, Streep's official website

Meryl Streep at BAFTA forty-minute webcast, January 2009

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name	Craig Ferguson
birth date	May 17, 1962
birth place	Glasgow, Scotland
medium	Stand-up, television, film, music, books
nationality	Scottish, American
active	1980–present
genre	Observational comedy, satire/political satire/news satire
subject	Everyday life, popular culture, self-deprecation, politics
website	''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''
spouse	Anne Hogarth (1983–86) (divorced)Sascha Corwin (1998–2004) (divorced) 1 childMegan Wallace-Cunningham (2008–present) 1 child
notable work	Host of ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''Nigel Wick on ''The Drew Carey Show''Glaswegian in ''One Foot in the Grave''Gobber in ''How to Train Your Dragon'' }}

Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, actor, director, author, and producer. He is the host of ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'', an Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody Award-winning late-night talk show that airs on CBS. In addition to hosting that program and performing stand-up comedy, Ferguson has written two books: ''Between the Bridge and the River'', a novel, and ''American on Purpose'', a memoir. He became a citizen of the United States in 2008.

Before his career as a late-night television host, Ferguson was best known in the United States for his role as the office boss, Nigel Wick, on ''The Drew Carey Show'' from 1996 to 2003. After that, he wrote and starred in three films, directing one of them.

Early life

Ferguson was born in the Stobhill Hospital in the Springburn district of Glasgow, Scotland to Robert and Janet Ferguson, and raised in nearby Cumbernauld, growing up "chubby and bullied". When he was six months old, he and his family moved from their Springburn apartment to a council house in Cumbernauld. They lived there as Glasgow was re-housing many people following damage to the city from World War II. Ferguson attended Muirfield Primary School and Cumbernauld High School. At age sixteen, Ferguson dropped out of Cumbernauld High School and began an apprenticeship to be an electronics technician at a local factory of American company Burroughs Corporation.

His first visit to the United States was as a teenager to visit an uncle who lived on Long Island, near New York City. When he moved to New York City in 1983, he worked in construction in Harlem. Ferguson later became a bouncer at a nightclub, Save the Robots.

Career

British career

Ferguson's experience in entertainment began as a drummer in a rock band called Exposure. He then joined a punk band called The Bastards from Hell. The band, later renamed "Dreamboys", and fronted by vocalist Peter Capaldi, performed regularly in Glasgow from 1980 to 1982. Ferguson credits Capaldi for inspiring him to try comedy.

After a nerve-wrecking, knee-knocking first appearance, he decided to create a character that was a "parody of all the über-patriotic native folk singers who seemed to infect every public performance in Scotland." The character, "Bing Hitler" (actually coined by Capaldi as Ferguson started with the monogram of "Nico Fulton" but admittedly later stole the name for his "own nefarious ends"), premiered in Glasgow, and subsequently became a hit at the 1986 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. A recording of his stage act as Bing Hitler was made at Glasgow's Tron Theatre and released in the 1980s; a Bing Hitler monologue ("A Lecture for Burns Night") appears on the compilation cassette ''Honey at the Core.''

Ferguson's first television appearance was as Confidence on BBC sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' during the episode "Confidence and Paranoia".

Ferguson made his starring television debut in ''The Craig Ferguson Show'', a one-off comedy pilot for Granada Television, which co-starred Paul Whitehouse and Helen Atkinson-Wood. This was broadcast throughout the UK on 4 March 1990, but was not made into a full series.

He has also found success in musical theatre. Beginning in 1991, he appeared on stage as Brad Majors in the London production of ''The Rocky Horror Show'', alongside Anthony Head, who was playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter at the time. In 1994, Ferguson played Father MacLean in the highly controversial production of ''Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom'' at the Union Chapel in London. The same year, he appeared again at the Edinburgh Fringe, as Oscar Madison in ''The Odd Couple'', opposite Gerard Kelly as Felix and Kate Anthony as Gwendolin Pidgeon, who is now much better known as Aunty Pam in ''Coronation Street''; the play, which was relocated to 1990s Glasgow, later toured Scotland.

After enjoying success at the Edinburgh Festival, Ferguson appeared on ''Red Dwarf'', STV's ''Hogmanay Show'', his own show ''2000 Not Out'', and the 1993 ''One Foot in the Grave'' Christmas special ''One Foot in the Algarve.''

In 1993, Ferguson presented his own series on Scottish archaeology for Scottish Television entitled ''Dirt Detective.'' He travelled throughout the country examining archaeological history, including Skara Brae and Paisley Abbey.

U.S. career

After cancellation of his show ''The Ferguson Theory'', Ferguson moved to Los Angeles in 1994. His first U.S. role was as baker Logan McDonough on the short-lived 1995 ABC comedy ''Maybe This Time'', which starred Betty White and Marie Osmond.

His breakthrough in the U.S. came when he was cast on ''The Drew Carey Show'' as the title character's boss, Mr. Wick, a role that he played from 1996 to 2003. He played the role with an over-the-top posh English accent "to make up for generations of English actors doing crap Scottish accents." In his comedy special "A Wee Bit O' Revolution", he specifically called out James Doohan's portrayal of Montgomery Scott on Star Trek as the foundation of his "revenge". (At the end of one episode, though, Ferguson broke the fourth wall and began talking to the audience at home in his regular Scottish accent.) His character was memorable for his unique methods of laying employees off, almost always "firing Johnson", the most common last name of the to-be-fired workers. Even after leaving the show in 2003, he remained a recurring character on the series for the last two seasons, and was part of the 2-part series finale in 2004.

During production of ''The Drew Carey Show'', Ferguson devoted his off-time as a cast member to writing, working in his trailer on set in-between shooting his scenes. He wrote and starred in three films: ''The Big Tease'', ''Saving Grace'', and ''I'll Be There'', which he also directed and for which he won the Audience Award for Best Film at the Aspen, Dallas and Valencia film festivals. He was named Best New Director at the Napa Valley Film Festival. These were among other scripts that, "... in the great tradition of the movie business, about half a dozen that I got paid a fortune for but never got made." His other acting credits in films include ''Niagara Motel'', ''Lenny the Wonder Dog'', ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'', ''Chain of Fools'', ''Born Romantic'', ''The Ugly Truth'', ''How to Train Your Dragon'', ''Kick-Ass'' and ''Winnie the Pooh''.

Ferguson has been touring the United States and Canada with a stand-up comedy show, and performed at Carnegie Hall on 23 October 2010.

''The Late Late Show''

In December 2004, it was announced that Ferguson would be the successor to Craig Kilborn on CBS's ''The Late Late Show''. His first show as the regular host aired on 3 January 2005. By May 2008, Ben Alba, an American television historian and an authority on U.S. talk shows, said Ferguson "has already made his mark, taking the TV monologue to new levels with an underlying story. But he is only just starting ... He is making up his own rules: It's the immigrant experience."

''The Late Late Show'' averaged 2.0 million viewers in its 2007 season, compared with 2.5 million for ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''. In April 2008, ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' beat ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' for weekly ratings (1.88 million to 1.77 million) for the first time since the two shows went head-to-head with their respective hosts.

By the end of 2009, Craig Ferguson topped Jimmy Fallon in the ratings with Ferguson getting a 1.8 rating/6 share and Fallon receiving a 1.6 rating/6 share.

Ferguson's success on the show has led at least one "television insider" to say he is the heir apparent to take over David Letterman's role as host of ''The Late Show''.

Television and appearances

Craig Ferguson has made guest appearances on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', ''Late Show with David Letterman'', ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', ''Rachael Ray'', ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'', ''The Howard Stern Show'', ''The Daily Show'', ''The View'', ''Loveline'', ''Real Time with Bill Maher'', ''The Soup'', ''The Talk'' and ''The Dennis Miller Show''. He also co-hosted ''Live with Regis & Kelly'' with Kelly Ripa.

On 4 January 2009 Ferguson was a celebrity player on ''Million Dollar Password''.

thumb|272px|Ferguson in April 2008

In 2009, Ferguson made a cameo live-action appearance in the episode "We Love You, Conrad" on ''Family Guy''. Ferguson hosted the 32nd annual People's Choice Awards on 10 January 2006. ''TV Guide'' magazine printed a "Cheers" (Cheers and Jeers section) for appearing on his own show that same evening. From 2007 to 2010, Ferguson hosted the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on 4 July, broadcast nationally by CBS. Ferguson was the featured entertainer at the 26 April 2008 White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, DC.

Ferguson co-presented the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama with Brooke Shields in 2008. He has done voice work in cartoons, including being the voice of Barry's evil alter-ego in the "With Friends Like Steve's" episode of ''American Dad''; in ''Freakazoid!'' as Roddy MacStew, Freakazoid's mentor; and on ''Buzz Lightyear of Star Command'' as the robot vampire NOS-4-A2. Most recently, he was the voice of Susan the boil on ''Futurama'', which was a parody of Scottish singer Susan Boyle. He makes stand-up appearances in Las Vegas and New York City. He headlined in the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal and in October 2008 Ferguson taped his stand up show in Boston for a Comedy Central special entitled ''A Wee Bit o' Revolution'', which aired on 22 March 2009.

British television comedy drama ''Doc Martin'' was based on a character from Ferguson's film ''Saving Grace'' – with Ferguson getting writing credits for 12 episodes. On 6 November 2009 Ferguson appeared as himself in a ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' special titled ''SpongeBob's Truth or Square''. He hosted Discovery Channel's 23rd season of ''Shark Week'' in 2010. Ferguson briefly appeared in Toby Keith's ''"Red Solo Cup"'' music video released on 10 October 2011.

Literature

Ferguson's novel ''Between the Bridge and the River'' (ISBN 9780811853750) was published on 10 April 2006. Ferguson appeared at the Los Angeles Festival of Books, as well as other author literary events. "This book could scare them", Ferguson said. "The sex, the violence, the dream sequences and the iconoclasm. I think a lot of people are uncomfortable with that. I understand that. It was very uncomfortable to write some of it." ''Publishers Weekly'' called it "a ''tour de force'' of cynical humor and poignant reverie, a caustic yet ebullient picaresque that approaches the sacred by way of the profane." His novel ''Between the Bridge and the River'' is dedicated to his son and to his grandfather, Adam. Ferguson revealed in an interview that he is writing a sequel to the book, to be titled "The Sphynx of the Mississippi". He also stated in a 2006 interview with David Letterman that he intends for the book to be the first in a trilogy.

Ferguson signed a deal with HarperCollins to publish his memoirs. The book, entitled ''American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot'', focuses on "how and why [he] became an American" and covers his years as a punk rocker, dancer, bouncer and construction worker as well as the rise of his career in Hollywood as an actor and comic. It went on sale 22 September 2009 in the United States. On 1 December 2010 the audiobook version was nominated for a Best Spoken Word Album Grammy.

In July 2009, Jackie Collins was a guest on ''The Late Late Show'' to promote her new book ''Married Lovers''. Collins said that a character in her book, Don Verona, was based on Ferguson because she was such a fan of him and his show.

Personal life

As mentioned on ''The Late Late Show'' on 3 August 2009, Ferguson holds an FAA Private Pilot's License issued 31 July 2009. Ferguson announced on the 8 April 2011 broadcast that he is pursuing an instrument rating.

Ferguson is also a fan of Scottish football team Partick Thistle F.C. as well as the British television show Doctor Who.

Ferguson has three tattoos: his latest, the Join, or Die political cartoon on his right forearm; a Ferguson family crest with the Latin motto ''Dulcius ex asperis'' ("Sweeter out of [or from] difficulty") on his upper right arm in honour of his father; and the Ingram family crest on his upper left arm in honour of his mother. He has often stated that his ''Join, or Die'' tattoo is to signal his patriotism.

Family

In an episode of ''The Late Late Show'' that aired 8 December 2008, a sombre Ferguson talked about his mother, Janet (3 August 1933 – 1 December 2008). He ended the program by playing her favourite song, "Rivers of Babylon" by Boney M.

Ferguson has two sisters (one older and one younger) and one older brother. His elder sister's name is Janice and his brother's name is Scott. His younger sister, Lynn Ferguson Tweddle, is also a successful comedienne, presenter, and actress, perhaps most widely known as the voice of Mac in the 2000 stop-motion animation film ''Chicken Run''. She is currently a writer on ''The Late Late Show''.

Ferguson has married three times and divorced twice as a result of what he describes as "relationship issues". His first marriage was to Anne Hogarth from 1983 to 1986, during which time they lived in New York. From his second marriage (to Sascha Corwin, founder and proprietor of Los Angeles' SpySchool), he has one son, Milo Hamish Ferguson, born in 2001. He and Corwin share custody of Milo, and live near each other in Los Angeles. On 21 December 2008, Ferguson married art dealer Megan Wallace-Cunningham in a private ceremony on her family's farm in Chester, Vermont. Ferguson announced 14 July 2010 on Twitter that they were expecting a child. He wrote: "Holy crackers! Mrs F is pregnant. How did that happen? ... oh yeah I know how. Another Ferguson arrives in 2011. The world trembles." The child, a boy named Liam James, was born 31 January 2011.

Alcohol problems

A recovering alcoholic, Ferguson has been sober since 18 February 1992. Because of this, he declared he wouldn't mock Britney Spears' much-publicized alcohol problems in 2007. He said he had considered committing suicide on Christmas Day 1991, but when offered a drink by a friend for celebrating the holiday, he was distracted from jumping off Tower Bridge in London as he had planned.

Citizenship

Holding dual citizenship, Ferguson is both a naturalized citizen of the United States and a British citizen.

During 2007, Ferguson, who at the time held only British citizenship, used ''The Late Late Show'' as a forum for seeking honorary citizenship from every state in the U.S. He has received honorary citizenship from Nebraska, Arkansas, Virginia, Montana, North Dakota, New Jersey, Tennessee, South Carolina, South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska, Texas, Wyoming, Pennsylvania and Indiana, and was "commissioned" as an admiral in the tongue-in-cheek Nebraska Navy. Governors Jon Corzine (New Jersey), John Hoeven (North Dakota), Mark Sanford (South Carolina), Mike Rounds (South Dakota), Rick Perry (Texas), Sarah Palin (Alaska) and Jim Gibbons (Nevada) sent letters to him that made him an honorary citizen of their respective states. He received similar honors from various towns and cities, including Ozark, Arkansas; Hazard, Kentucky; and Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

Ferguson became an American citizen on 1 February 2008 and broadcast the taking of his citizenship test as well as his swearing in on ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''.

Filmography

+ Film
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1992	''The Bogie Man''
1998	''Modern Vampires''	Richard
1999	''The Big Tease''	Crawford Mackenzie	Writer
2000		Melander Stevens
2000	''Born Romantic''	Frankie
2000		Matthew Stewart	Writer
2002	''Life Without Dick''	Jared O'Reilly
2002	''Prendimi l'anima'' (''The Soul Keeper'')	Richard Fraser
2003		Paul Kerr	Director, Writer
2004	''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events''	Person of Indeterminate Gender
2004	''Lenny the Wonder Dog''	Dr. Wagner
2005		Fisherman
2006	''Niagara Motel''	Phillie
2007		Ted Truman
2008	''Craig Ferguson: A Wee Bit O' Revolution''
2009		Himself
2010	''The Hero of Color City''
2010		Gobber	Voice only
2010		Himself
2011			Voice only
2011	''Totally Framed''	Jeffrey Stewart
2012		Lord Macintosh	Voice only
2012		David	Post-production
2014	''How to Train Your Dragon 2''	Gobber	Voice only

+Television
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1988	''Red Dwarf''	Confidence
1989	''The Big Gig''	Himself	Regular Comic
1993	''One Foot in the Grave''	Glaswegian beach bully	Christmas Special "One foot in the Algarve"
1994	''The Dirt Detective: A History of Scotland''	Travel documentary series	Host
1994	''The Ferguson Theory''	Himself	Host
1995–1996	''Maybe This Time''	Logan McDonough	18 episodes
1995–1997	''Freakazoid!''	Roddy MacStew	7 episodes
1996–2004	''The Drew Carey Show''	Nigel Wick	170 episodes
2000	''Buzz Lightyear of Star Command''	NOS 4 A2	Voice only, 5 episodes
2005		Oliver Davies	1 episode
2005–present	''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''	Himself	Host
2006	''American Dad!''	Evil Barry	Voice only, Episode: ''With Friends Like Steve's''
2009	''Family Guy''	Himself	Episode: ''We Love You, Conrad''
2009	''SpongeBob's Truth or Square''	Himself	TV movie
2010	''Futurama''	Susan Boil	Episode: ''Attack of the Killer App''
2010	''Shark Week''	Himself	Host
2010	''Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon''	Gobber	Voice only, TV short film

Bibliography

''Between the Bridge and the River''. Chronicle Books, 2006. ISBN 0811853756, ISBN 0811858197.

''American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot''. HarperCollins, 2009. ISBN 0061719544.

Comedy specials

''A Wee Bit o' Revolution'' (Comedy Central) 2009

''Does This Need to Be Said?'' (EPIX, Comedy Central) 2011

Discography

''Live At The Tron'' (as Bing Hitler). Jammy Records, 1986. Catalogue number JRLP 861.

References

External links

Craig Ferguson on Twitter

Craig Ferguson Interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos

Craig Ferguson and Megan Wallace Cunningham

''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''

Category:1962 births Category:American aviators Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American memoirists Category:American novelists Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American screenwriters Category:American television actors Category:American television talk show hosts Category:American voice actors Category:Living people Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:People from Glasgow Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:People with nocturnal enuresis Category:Scottish comedians Category:Scottish emigrants to the United States Category:Scottish memoirists Category:Scottish novelists Category:Scottish screenwriters Category:Scottish television actors Category:People from Cumbernauld Category:Actors from New York City Category:Actors from Los Angeles, California

de:Craig Ferguson es:Craig Ferguson fr:Craig Ferguson it:Craig Ferguson ja:クレイグ・ファーガソン no:Craig Ferguson pl:Craig Ferguson ru:Фергюсон, Крейг simple:Craig Ferguson fi:Craig Ferguson sv:Craig Ferguson zh:克雷格·费格斯

name	The Kings
background	group_or_band
origin	Vancouver, BC, Canada
genre	Rock, pop
years active	1977–present
current members	David Diamond Mister Zero Peter Nunn Sonny Keyes Peter Kadar Todd Reynolds
past members	Gary Craig Greg Chritchley Josh Broadbent Marty Cordrey Max Styles Randall Coryell Rich Roxborough Whitey Glan Atilla Turi
notable instruments	}}

The Kings are a Canadian band formed in the 1970s, best known for their 1980 North American hit "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide".

Recording history

The Kings were formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Oakville, Ontario in the late 1970s. The original lineup included David Diamond (bass, lead vocals), Sonny Keyes (keyboards, vocals), Max Styles (drums), and Mister Zero (guitar) with Mister Zero and David Diamond serving as the main songwriters with contributions from Sonny Keyes. The Kings were originally known as WhistleKing and rehearsed, performed club gigs, and wrote a considerable number of songs for more than three years.

In early 1980 the band went into Nimbus 9 Studio in Toronto to record their first album. While recording, renowned producer Bob Ezrin visited the studio, listened to the band, and liked what he heard. Together they created the album ''The Kings Are Here'' featuring the hit "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide". Two other singles followed and the band began touring extensively with Bob Seger, Jeff Beck, The Beach Boys and Eric Clapton. During 1980, their rising commercial fortunes culminated in an appearance on Dick Clark's ''American Bandstand'', and the closing spot at the major Heatwave festival in August.

''Amazon Beach'', the 1981 follow-up to ''The Kings Are Here'', produced little in the way of sales, and the band was soon dropped from their label Elektra Records. The Kings soldiered on and released the EP "R.S.V.P" and the live album ''Party Live '85'' on their own Dizzy label, while continuing to tour Canada and the US throughout the remainder of the 1980s. Max Styles left the band in approximately 1982.

Comebacks

The late 1980s were a difficult period for The Kings as they lost their drummer and their record label. As it were, the group was on the verge of a major revival as the single "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide" became a huge radio hit in Chicago getting major play on all of the main rock stations: Classic rock WCKG, Alternative rock WXRT, and Mainstream Rock WLUP, as well as Top 40 powerhouse WLS-AM. The unavailability of the Kings records led Chicago DJ Bob Stroud of WLUP to record his own version of the single with his band Rockestra . Elektra Records unfortunately remained unaware of the burgeoning hit and never reissued the single or album.

The single "Parting Of The Ways" appeared on Bullseye Records compilation ''Unsigned, Sealed and Delivered'' in 1991. This comeback prompted The Kings to return to the studio to record ''Unstoppable'' produced by John Punter, David Diamond and Mister Zero in 1993. ''Unstoppable'' produced several hits in Canada including "Lesson To Learn", "Shoulda Been Me", "Tonight I Got You", "Parting Of The Ways", and the title track "Unstoppable". A phone call in 1999 from Mister Zero to Alan Fletcher at Warner Canada led to the green light needed for Warner to re-issue ''The Kings Are Here..and More'' which allowed fans to get their hit "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide" on CD, which was fully remastered from the original 2 track tapes by Zero . ''...and More'' also contained a few re-mixed tracks from Unstoppable and two previously unreleased tracks -"If The Stars Come Out Tonight" and "Right To The Top". A remixed and more mature version of "If The Stars Come Out Tonight" appeared on ''Because Of You'' released in 2003. Combined original sales and cd sales have passed the platinum mark in Canada but no certification is allowed because of the bonus tracks on the cd, which are the only way the band makes money from that project.

Throughout the remainder of the 1990s, The Kings continued to tour and play live shows around Toronto, but Sonny Keyes' role with The Kings diminished and only Mister Zero and David Diamond remain as permanent members from the original lineup. Sonny Keyes continued to contribute when called upon by Zero and Diamond.

Drummer Atilla Turi and keyboard players Peter Nunn and Rich Roxborough joined Mister Zero and David Diamond on the 2003 Bullseye Records release "Because Of You" (Josh Broadbent - Diamond's son - was also recruited into The Kings to contribute his vocals). "Because Of You" would be The Kings' strongest effort to date with Harry Hess recording alongside producers Zero and Diamond. A video was made for the title track, "It's Up To You" and "The Fools Are In Love" was re-mixed from the ''Amazon Beach'' release. Sonny Keyes co-wrote "A Way You'll Never Be" with Mister Zero.

A reunion of the original lineup of The Kings occurred in the winter of 2001 with Max Styles and Sonny Keyes joining their old mates for Alan Frew's (Glass Tiger) children benefit concert for Camp Trillium in Toronto. They played the benefit concert again in 2002.

In late 2005 The Kings had a full length reunion concert in Toronto which was filmed for inclusion in the DVD documentary being assembled by Mister Zero. The first part of this film to be seen is the incredible video for ''This Beat Goes On/Switchin' to Glide'', released October 2006, which gets thousands of plays on youtube.

Another focus for The Kings was to put as many songs as possible on iTunes, thus having the catalog available worldwide instantly. The album ''The Kings Anthology One'' is the latest addition, 12 songs from different eras including never before heard epic rockers from Whistleking.

In to 2008, The Kings continue to play live shows across southern Ontario and, from time to time, the northern United States. The Kings are also finishing new songs for their next studio album.

Lineups

The Kings 1977 - 1982 # David Diamond (vocals, bass) # Mister Zero (guitar) # Sonny Keyes (keyboards) # Max Styles (drums)

The Kings 1982 - 1999 # David Diamond (vocals, bass) # Mister Zero (guitar) # Sonny Keyes (keyboards) #Peter Nunn (1994) (keyboards) #Marty Cordrey, Whitey Glan, Gary Craig, Randall Coryell, Greg Chritchley, Atilla Turi (drums) #Josh Broadbent (vocals) The Kings 1999 - 2005 # David Diamond (vocals, bass) # Mister Zero (guitar) # Atilla Turi (drums) # Peter Nunn (keyboards) # Rich Roxborough (keyboards) # Josh Broadbent (vocals)

The Kings 2005–present # David Diamond (vocals, bass) # Mister Zero (guitar) # Atilla Turi (drums) # Peter Nunn (keyboards) # Sonny Keyes (keyboards) # Peter Kadar (keyboards) #Josh Broadbent (vocals) #Todd Reynolds (Drums)

Discography

''The Kings Are Here'' album (Elektra, 1980)

''Amazon Beach'' album (Elektra, 1981)

''R.S.V.P'' [4-Song EP] (Dizzy, 1982)

''Party Live '85'' live album (Dizzy, 1985)

''Parting Of The Ways'' single (1991)

''Unstoppable'' CD (Dizzy, 1993)

''Unstoppable'' [W/This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide added] CD (Griffin, 1995)

''The Kings Are Here..and More'' CD (Warner, 2000)

''The Kings Are Here/Amazon Beach'' (2 on 1 CD, Wounded Bird, 2003)

''Because Of You'' CD (2003)

''Anthology One'' CD (2006)

See also

Canadian rock

Music of Canada

References

External links

Official website

Bullseye Records

The Kings: Anatomy of a One-Hit Wonder DVD review

Category:Canadian rock music groups Category:Musical groups from Vancouver

birth name	Gary Leonard Oldman
birth date	March 21, 1958
birth place	New Cross, London, UK
spouse	Lesley Manville (1987–90)Uma Thurman (1990–92)Donya Fiorentino (1997–2001) Alexandra Edenborough (2008–present)
years active	1978–present
occupation	Actor, filmmaker, musician }}

Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor, voice actor, and musician. A member of the 1980s Brit Pack, Oldman came to prominence in the mid-to-late 1980s with a string of performances that prompted pre-eminent film critic, Roger Ebert, to describe him as "the best young British actor around". He portrayed Sid Vicious in his acclaimed first leading role in ''Sid and Nancy'' (1986), and earned a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Actor for his second real-life portrayal, Joe Orton, in ''Prick Up Your Ears'' (1987). Oldman's role in ''Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead'' (1990) brought him an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actor, while his performance as a violent gunman for an Irish American gang in ''State of Grace'' (1990) earned him greater notice and critical acclaim in the United States. His international breakthrough came with his portrayals of Lee Harvey Oswald in ''JFK'' (1991), and Count Dracula in ''Dracula'' (1992)—the latter bringing him the Saturn Award for Best Actor. Oldman also attracted media attention for his marriage to actress Uma Thurman in the early 1990s. He went on to play the villain of a number of popular films in the 1990s, including ''True Romance'' (1993), ''Léon'' (1994) and ''The Fifth Element'' (1997). His performance as a zealous Republican congressman in ''The Contender'' (2000) earned him Screen Actors Guild- and Independent Spirit Award nominations in the Best Supporting Actor category.

Since the turn of the millennium, Oldman has gained notoriety in heroic roles, such as Sirius Black in the ''Harry Potter'' film series, Jim Gordon in Christopher Nolan's ''Batman'' film trilogy and George Smiley in ''Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy''. In addition to leading and central supporting roles in big-budget films, he has frequently acted in independent films, and television shows such as ''Fallen Angels'' and ''Friends''—his performance in the latter bringing him an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 2001. He is also known for providing the voice of Viktor Reznov in the popular ''Call of Duty'' video game series. Oldman has been cited as an influence by a number of successful actors, and has been described as one of the greatest actors never nominated for an Academy Award. Aside from acting, he has served as a producer on several films, and directed, wrote and co-produced ''Nil by Mouth'' (1997), a film partially based on his own childhood, for which he was nominated for the 1997 Palme d'Or and won two BAFTA Awards. In 2011, ''Empire'' readers voted Oldman an "Icon of Film", in recognition of his contributions to cinema.

Early life

Gary Oldman was born in London, the son of Kathleen (née Cheriton; b. 28 November 1919), a housewife, and Leonard Bertram Oldman (21 May 1921 October 1985), a former sailor who worked as a welder. Oldman has said that his father was an abusive alcoholic who left his family when Oldman was seven. Oldman was an accomplished singer and pianist as a child, but gave up music to pursue an acting career. His inspiration was Malcolm McDowell's performance in 1970 film ''The Raging Moon''. In a 1995 interview with Charlie Rose, Oldman said: "Something about Malcolm [McDowell] just arrested me, and I connected, and I said 'I wanna do ''that'''." Oldman retained his love for music, however, and can be seen singing and playing piano in the 1988 film ''Track 29'', and tracing over pre-recorded versions of Beethoven's music in ''Immortal Beloved''. Oldman attended the South East London Boys' School on Creek Road in Deptford, leaving school at 16.

Film career

''Sid & Nancy'' and foray into American cinema

After graduating with a BA in Acting from Rose Bruford College in Sidcup, Kent in 1978, Oldman spent almost eight years in theatre, winning a number of awards. During this time he appeared in several films such as ''Remembrance'' (1982) and ''Meantime'' (1984) and would have made his screen debut in Don Boyd's ''Gossip'' (1982) if that film had not collapsed. In 1986 he won his first starring role as the Sex Pistols' ill-fated bassist Sid Vicious in the 1986 motion picture ''Sid & Nancy''. The role launched Oldman's career and paved the way for work in Hollywood. Oldman's performance was highly regarded by many, perhaps most notably ex-Sex Pistols vocalist John Lydon, who despite questioning the authenticity of some parts of the film, said of Oldman in his biography: "The chap who played Sid, Gary Oldman, I thought was quite good", and later called him a "bloody good actor". Oldman reportedly lost considerable weight for the role and was briefly hospitalised. His performance was ranked #62 in ''Premiere'' magazine's "100 Greatest Performances of All Time" and #8 in ''Uncut'' magazine's "10 Best actors in rockin' roles", the latter describing his portrayal as a "hugely sympathetic reading of the punk figurehead as a lost and bewildered manchild." After coming to prominence for his portrayal of Vicious, Oldman increased his profile during the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s via starring roles in cult films such as ''Prick Up Your Ears'' (in which he played his second real-life portrayal: troubled playwright Joe Orton), ''Criminal Law'' (which marked Oldman's first use of an American accent), ''The Firm'', ''Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead'' and ''State of Grace'', with Janet Maslin referring to his work as "phenomenal" and Roger Ebert calling him "the best young British actor around." In late 1988, he starred opposite long-time hero Alan Bates in ''We Think the World of You'', and alongside Dennis Hopper and Frances McDormand in ''Chattahoochee'' (1989). Oldman moved to the United States in the early 1990s, where he has since lived. Oldman and other young British actors of the 1980s who were becoming established Hollywood film actors, such as Tim Roth, Bruce Payne, Colin Firth and Paul McGann, were dubbed the 'Brit Pack'.

Mainstream success in the 1990s

In 1991, Oldman starred in what was at that point the most significant role of his career as Lee Harvey Oswald in Oliver Stone's ''JFK''. The following year, he starred as Count Dracula in Francis Ford Coppola's romance-horror ''Dracula''. A commercially successful film adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, it was a box office success worldwide. Oldman's performance is regarded by many as a staple of the horror genre, and was recognised by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films as the best male performance of 1992, who awarded Oldman the prestigious Best Actor award. Oldman would later become a popular portrayer of villains, he playing a violent pimp in ''True Romance'' (1993), corrupt DEA officer Norman Stansfield in ''Léon'' (1994) (ranked #43 in the Online Film Critics Society's "Top 100 Villains of All Time" in 2002) a sadistic prison warden in ''Murder in the First'' (1995) and a futuristic corporate tyrant in ''The Fifth Element'' (1997). Oldman also displayed a skill for world accents; along with the Transylvanian Count Dracula, Oldman played German-born Viennese composer Ludwig van Beethoven in ''Immortal Beloved'', and Russian terrorist Ivan Korshunov in the 1997 blockbuster ''Air Force One''. He also appeared as the Devil in the 1993 promo video to the Guns N' Roses single "Since I Don't Have You". Oldman also served as a Member of Jury at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.

Since 2000

Oldman appeared opposite Jeff Bridges as zealous Republican congressman Sheldon Runyon in ''The Contender'' (2000), in which he was also credited as a producer. He received a Screen Actors Guild award nomination for his performance. In 2001, he starred opposite Anthony Hopkins in ''Hannibal'', as Mason Verger, the only surviving victim of Hannibal Lecter. Oldman reportedly spent six hours per day in the make-up room to achieve the character's hideously disfigured appearance. It marked the second time Oldman had appeared opposite Hopkins, a personal friend who was part of the supporting cast of ''Dracula''. Oldman is uncredited in the film, reportedly over a dispute regarding top billing, which was going to co-star Anthony Hopkins and Julianne Moore. Oldman received an Emmy Award nomination for two guest appearances in ''Friends'' in 2001, appearing in the two-part episode "The One With Chandler and Monica's Wedding" as Richard Crosby, a pedantic actor who insists that "real" actors spit on one another when they enunciate, leading to the famous spitting scene between Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) and himself. Oldman agreed to appear in the series after meeting LeBlanc on the set of ''Lost in Space'' in 1998.

Oldman later landed a major role in the ''Harry Potter'' film series, playing Harry Potter's godfather Sirius Black. Oldman and star Daniel Radcliffe reportedly became very close during the filming of the series. In 2005, Oldman starred as James Gordon in Christopher Nolan's commercially and critically acclaimed ''Batman Begins'', a role he reprised in the even more successful sequel ''The Dark Knight'' (2008) and will reprise again in the upcoming installment ''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012). Oldman co-starred with Jim Carrey in the 2009 version of ''A Christmas Carol'' in which Oldman played three roles. He had a starring role in David Goyer's supernatural thriller ''The Unborn'', released in 2009. In 2010, Oldman co-starred with Denzel Washington in ''The Book of Eli''. He also played a lead role in Catherine Hardwicke's ''Red Riding Hood''. Oldman voiced the role of villain Lord Shen in ''Kung Fu Panda 2''.

Oldman will appear as George Smiley in the 2011 re-adaptation of the John le Carré novel ''Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'', directed by Tomas Alfredson, also starring Colin Firth, Mark Strong and Tom Hardy.

He has also participated in the creation of ''The Legend of Spyro'' games produced by Sierra Entertainment, providing the voice to the Fire Guardian, Ignitus. He also voices Sergeant Reznov in the award-winning video games ''Call of Duty: World at War'' and ''Call of Duty: Black Ops'', the latter of which he also voiced a British scientist by the name of Daniel Clarke.

Other ventures

Filmmaking

In 1997, Oldman directed, produced, and wrote the award-winning ''Nil by Mouth'', a movie partially based on his own childhood. ''Nil By Mouth'' went on to win the BAFTA Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film (shared with Douglas Urbanski) and also the BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay, the Channel 4 Director's Award, and an ''Empire'' Award, and was declared by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts as one of the one hundred best films of all time. Recently, ''Nil By Mouth'' was listed by ''Time Out'' as number two of the top 50 best British films ever.

Oldman and producing partner Douglas Urbanski formed the SE8 GROUP to produce ''Nil By Mouth''. The company also produced ''The Contender'', which also starred Oldman. He was also credited as a producer. Some media outlets reported that Oldman was unhappy with the finished product and felt that DreamWorks had heavily edited the film to reflect their pro-Democratic leanings. These claims were later debunked; Oldman, not a U.S. citizen, was described as "so uninvolved in politics, he has never even declared a party affiliation". Oldman has finished his latest screenplay, ''Chang & Eng'', co-written with Darin Strauss, based on the author's book of the same name; SE8 Group will produce. In September 2006, Nokia Nseries Studio released the Oldman-directed short film ''Donut'', with music by Tor Hyams. The film was shot with an N93 in order to promote the phone. Oldman also directed the music video for "Red Rover", a song from Jewish rap group Chutzpah's second CD ''Hip Hop Fantasy'', shot entirely on the N93. Juliet Landau made a 25-minute documentary about the making of the video. In 2011, he directed a music video for Alex Eden's first single "Kiss Me Like the Woman You Loved" for Side Tracked Records.

Theatre

Oldman won a scholarship to the Rose Bruford College, where he received a BA in Theatre Arts in 1979. He had initially applied for enrolment into the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, but was refused entry. Oldman told Charlie Rose in 1995 that he was told to "find something else to do for a living". Rose, surprised, asked jokingly, "Have you reminded them of this?", to which Oldman replied that "the work speaks for itself." Following his graduation from Rose Bruford College, he later studied with the Greenwich Young People's Theatre and went on to appear in a number of stage plays including ''The Pope's Wedding'', for which he received ''Time Out'''s Fringe Award for Best Newcomer of 1985–1986 and the British Theatre Association's Drama Magazine Award as Best Actor of 1985. He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company during their 1985–86 London season, appearing in small-scale productions at the Pit and Almeida theatres.

Music

Oldman has had a keen interest in music from an early age. He is a proficient pianist and stated in a 1995 interview with Charlie Rose that he would rather be a musician than an actor. Oldman sang several tracks on the ''Sid and Nancy'' soundtrack, and sang and played live piano in the 1988 movie ''Track 29''. He traced over Beethoven compositions in 1994's ''Immortal Beloved''. He also tutored ''Harry Potter'' star Daniel Radcliffe on bass guitar. Oldman appeared on Reeves Gabrels' album ''The Sacred Squall of Now'', performing a vocal duet with David Bowie on the track "You've Been Around".

Popularity and influence

Oldman has long established a cult following among film fans. He is known for playing the primary antagonist in a number of popular motion pictures, which has seen him referenced in popular culture. MTV's ''Celebrity Deathmatch'' aired a match between Oldman and Christopher Walken, citing their portrayals of many memorable Hollywood villains. Oldman's portrayal of Count Dracula was also spoofed by Jim Carrey on Fox comedy series ''In Living Color''. In 1993, Oldman had a cameo role as the Devil in the promo video to the Guns N' Roses single "Since I Don't Have You"—he also played the Devil in the 2002 BMW short ''Beat The Devil'', alongside Clive Owen, James Brown and Marilyn Manson. He was drafted in to appear on the first ever cover of ''Loaded'' in 1994. On YouTube, Oldman is the subject of a number of tribute videos. In contrast to his often dark on-screen roles, Oldman's affable real-life demeanour has been noted, and he was named as one of ''Empire'' magazine's "100 Sexiest Stars in Film History" in 2007.

Allmovie has described Oldman as "capable of portraying almost any type of character", and as having "consistently amazed viewers with his ability to completely disappear into his roles." His performances during his career have provided inspiration for younger actors who would go on to enjoy successful Hollywood careers. Brad Pitt has described Oldman as his foremost acting "god", while Daniel Radcliffe has cited Oldman as the actor whose career he would most like to emulate. Ryan Gosling has named Oldman as his favourite actor. Other actors who have been influenced by Oldman include: Shia LaBeouf, Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Foster, Johnny Depp, Chris Pine, and Jason Isaacs. ''Dracula'' and ''Hannibal'' co-star, Anthony Hopkins, has described Oldman as "multi-talented", and as possessing "a great genius and flair for creativity." Oldman has garnered critical acclaim for his diverse performances and portrayals of real-life historical figures and is noted for his avoidance of the Hollywood celebrity scene, often being referred to as an "actor's actor". Oldman's performances have gained the admiration of prominent film critics: Roger Ebert has hailed him as "one of the great actors, able to play high, low, crass, noble", while Janet Maslin has called him a "phenomenal" actor who "since ''Sid and Nancy'' has taken on a string of new accents and dramatic identities with stunning ease." Oldman's portrayals of eccentric villains have occasionally polarized critics. He has recently stated, however, that he seeks to play more reserved roles at this stage in his career.

As of 15 December 2009, motion pictures starring Oldman as leading actor or supporting co-star have grossed over $2.5 billion at the United States box office, and over $6 billion worldwide.

Personal life

Despite numerous lead and supporting roles in major Hollywood productions, Oldman is intensely private with his personal life and is known for his stance on celebrity and the ideals of Hollywood, once stating that "being famous, that's a whole other career. And I haven't got any energy for it." Oldman was born and brought up in London, England, but moved to the United States in the early 1990s. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his young family.

Alcohol and legal problems

His problems with alcohol were well known during the early 1990s. After a string of alcohol-fuelled debacles he checked himself into Marworth treatment facility in Waverly Township, Pennsylvania, for alcoholism treatment in 1993. In subsequent interviews Oldman acknowledged his problems with alcohol, and called himself a recovering alcoholic on a 2001 interview with Charlie Rose. In 2001, former wife Donya Fiorentino claimed that Oldman had a drug habit and abused her, a claim which was investigated by the family courts, child custody evaluator, the police, and Los Angeles city attorney. Oldman was awarded legal custody of their children; Fiorentino was granted short court-monitored visits. Today, Oldman lives a teetotal lifestyle and attributes his success in beating his addiction to Alcoholics Anonymous, and has since publicly praised the organisation.

Marriages and family

On 31 December 2008, Oldman married singer Alexandra Edenborough in Santa Barbara, California in a private, formal ceremony.

Oldman has been married four times in total:

Lesley Manville (1987–1990)

Uma Thurman (1990–1992)

Donya Fiorentino (1997–2001)

Alexandra Edenborough (2008–present)

He has four sons: Alfie (b. 1988), from his marriage to Manville, Roberto, adopted with ex-girlfriend ''Isabella Rossellini'', and Gulliver Flynn (b. 20 August 1997) and Charlie John (b. 11 February 1999), from his marriage to Fiorentino. His sister, Laila Morse, is also an actress, best known as Mo Harris in the BBC's long-running series ''EastEnders''; she also had a role in Oldman's directorial debut, ''Nil by Mouth''. Oldman supports South East London football team Millwall.

Filmography

Films

+ Films
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
1982	''Remembrance''	Daniel
1984		Coxy the Skinhead	TV
1984	''Morgan's Boy''	Colin	TV
1985	''Honest, Decent & True''	Derek Bates	TV
1986	''Sid and Nancy''	Sid Vicious
1987	''Prick Up Your Ears''	Joe Orton
1988	''Track 29''	Martin
1988		Ben Chase
1988		Johnny
1988		Clive "Bex" Bissell	TV
1989		Emmett Foley
1990
1990		Jackie Flannery
1990	''Henry & June''	Pop	Credited as Maurice Escargot
1991		Lee Harvey Oswald
1991	''Heading Home''	Ian Tyson	TV
1992		Count Dracula
1993	''True Romance''	Drexl Spivey
1993	''Romeo Is Bleeding''	Jack Grimaldi
1994		Norman Stansfield	Released as ''The Professional'' in the US
1994		Ludwig van Beethoven
1995	''Murder in the First''	Milton Glenn
1995		Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale
1996		Albert Milo
1997	''The Fifth Element''	Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg
1997		Ivan Korshunov
1998		Dr. Zachary Smith
1998	''Quest for Camelot''	Sir Ruber	Voice
1999		Pontius Pilate	TV
2000		Rep. Sheldon Runyon	Also executive producer
2000	''Monsignor Renard''	Unlisted	TV, uncredited
2001	''Nobody's Baby''	Buford Hill	Also producer
2001		Mason Verger
2001	''Friends''	Richard Crosby	TV (2 episodes)
2002	''Interstate 60''	O. W. Grant
2002	''The Hire: Beat the Devil''	The Devil	Short subject
2002	''Greg the Bunny''	Himself	TV (1 episode)
2003	''Tiptoes''	Rolfe
2003	''Sin''	Charlie Strom
2004	''Dead Fish''	Lynch
2004		Sirius Black
2004	''Who's Kyle?''	Scouse
2005	''Batman Begins''
2005		Sirius Black
2006	''The Backwoods''	Paul
2007		Sirius Black
2008
2009		Rabbi Joseph Sendak
2009	''Rain Fall''	Holtzer
2009			Voice
2009	''Planet 51''	General Grawl	Voice
2010	''The Book of Eli''	Carnegie
2011		Father Soloman
2011	''Kung Fu Panda 2''	Lord Shen	Voice
2011	''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2	Sirius Black
2011		George Smiley
2011	''Guns, Girls and Gambling''	Elvis	''Filming''
2012	''The Wettest County in the World''	Floyd Banner	''Filming''
2012	''The Dark Knight Rises''		''Filming''

Video games

+ Video games
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
1998		Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg	Voice
2003	''Medal of Honor: Allied Assault''	Sgt. Jack Barnes	Voice
2003	''True Crime: Streets of LA''	Rasputin "Rocky" KuznetskovAgent Masterson	Voice
2006	''The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning''		Voice
2007	''The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night''		Voice
2008	''The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon''		Voice
2008	''Call of Duty: World at War''	Sgt. Viktor Reznov	Voice
2010	''Call of Duty: Black Ops''	Captain. Viktor ReznovDr. Daniel Clarke	Voice

Awards and nominations

! Year !! Group !! Award !! Film/Show !! Result
		Most Promising Newcomer	''Sid and Nancy''
BAFTA Awards	Best Actor	''Prick Up Your Ears''
1988		ALFS Award for Actor of the Year	''Sid and Nancy''
1990	Independent Spirit Award	Best Leading Male	''Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead''
1992	Saturn Awards	Best Actor	rowspan=2
1993	MTV Movie Awards	Best Kiss (shared with Winona Ryder)
1995	Golden Raspberry Awards	Worst Screen Couple (shared with Demi Moore)
			rowspan="7"
	Best British Director of an Independent Film
Best Original Screenplay by a British Writer of a Produced Independent Film
Edinburgh International Film Festival	Channel 4 Director's Award
	Palme d'Or
	Empire Awards	Best Debut
	Favorite Supporting Actor – Action/Adventure	rowspan="3"
MTV Movie Awards	Best Fight (shared with Harrison Ford)
MTV Movie Awards	Best Villain
1999	Saturn Awards	Best Supporting Actor
	Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Alan J. Pakula Award	rowspan="3"
Independent Spirit Award	Best Supporting Male
Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	''Friends''
USA Film Festival	Master Screen Artist Tribute Award
2003	DVD Exclusive Awards	Best Supporting Actor	''Interstate 60''
2005	Saturn Awards	Best Supporting Actor	''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban''
2008	Scream Awards	Best Supporting Actor	rowspan=2
2009	People's Choice Awards	Best Cast (w/ Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal)
2011	Empire Awards	Film Icon

References

External links

Interview with Gary Oldman on his directorial debut – Nil by Mouth

Category:Alumni of Rose Bruford College Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:English voice actors Category:English video game actors Category:English film actors Category:English film directors Category:English screenwriters Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:People from Deptford Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:Saturn Award winners Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:1958 births Category:Living people

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