BBC FOUR

Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
name	BBC One
logosize	250px
logofile	BBC One logo.svg
logoalt	In large rounded sans-serif font, the lower-case word "one" is written in white on a red background. To the left in smaller letters, the letters "BBC" in solid white squares is written; the tops of the two words are aligned
logocaption	The BBC One logo since 2006
launch	2 November 1936
picture format	576i (PAL)576i 16:9 (SDTV)1080i (HDTV)
share	21.0%
share as of	June 2011
share source	BARB
owner	BBC
country	United Kingdom
former names	BBC Television Service(2 November 1936 – 8 October 1960) BBC tv(8 October 1960 – 20 April 1964) BBC1(20 April 1964 – 3 October 1997)
web
sister names	BBC TwoBBC ThreeBBC FourBBC NewsBBC ParliamentBBC HD
terr serv 1	Analogue
terr chan 1	''Normally tuned to 1 (To be phased out nationwide by 2012)''
terr serv 2	Freeview
terr chan 2	Channel 1Channel 50 (HD)(Currently being rolled out)
sat serv 1	Freesat
sat chan 1	Channel 101Channel 108 (HD)Channels 950–967 (regional variations)
sat serv 2	Sky
sat chan 2	Channel 101Channel 143 (HD)Channels 971–988 (regional variations)
sat serv 3	Sky (IRL)
sat chan 3	Channel 141
sat serv 4	Astra 2D
sat chan 4	10773H 22000 5/610847V 23000 8/9 (HD)
cable serv 1	Virgin Media
cable chan 1	Channel 101Channel 108 (HD)
cable serv 2	UPC Ireland
cable chan 2	Channel 108Channel 140 (HD)
cable serv 3	UPC Netherlands
cable chan 3	Channel 50
cable serv 4	Ziggo (Netherlands)
cable chan 4	Channel 50
cable serv 5	Numericable (Belgium)
cable serv 6	Naxoo (Switzerland)
cable chan 6	Channel 213
cable serv 7	Cablecom (Switzerland)
cable chan 7	Channel 155
adsl serv 1	TalkTalk TV
adsl chan 1	Channel 1
adsl serv 2	Belgacom TV(Brussels)
adsl chan 2	Channel 67
adsl serv 3	Belgacom TV(Flanders)
adsl chan 3	Channel 23
adsl serv 4	Belgacom TV(Wallonia)
adsl chan 4	Channel 213
adsl serv 5	Bluewin TV(Switzerland)
online serv 1	BBC Online
online chan 1	Watch live (UK only)
online serv 2	BBC iPlayer
online chan 2	Watch live (UK only) }}

BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution. It was later renamed BBC tv until the launch of sister channel BBC Two in 1964, whereupon it was known as BBC1, with the current spelling adopted in 1997. The channel has an annual budget of £1.2 billion. Along with the BBC's other domestic television stations, and many European broadcasters (and some in Asia), it is funded principally by the television licence fee, and therefore shows uninterrupted programming with no commercial advertising at any time. It is currently the most watched television channel in the United Kingdom, ahead of its traditional rival for ratings leadership, ITV1.

The channel was named ''Channel of the Year'' at the 2007 Broadcast Awards.

The Current Channel Controller for BBC One is Danny Cohen, formerly controller of BBC Three. Cohen replaced Jay Hunt following her departure from the BBC in late 2010 to join Channel 4, taking up her new position in January 2011. BBC Vision chief Jana Bennett took temporary control of BBC One between Hunt's departure and Cohen's appointment. Cohen briefly held controller positions of both BBC One and BBC Three until former ITV digital channels head Zai Bennett was confirmed as new BBC Three controller; Bennett, in turn, was replaced at ITV by Angela Jain, who, like Danny Cohen, is a former channel controller of E4.

History

The early years

Baird Television made Britain's first television broadcast, on 30 September 1929 from its studio in Long Acre, London via the BBC's London transmitter, using the electromechanical system pioneered by John Logie Baird. This system used a vertically-scanned image of 30 lines — just enough resolution for a close-up of one person, and with a bandwidth low enough to use existing radio transmitters. Simultaneous transmission of sound and picture was achieved on 30 March 1930, by using the BBC's new twin transmitter at Brookmans Park. By late 1930, 30 minutes of morning programmes were broadcast Monday to Friday, and 30 minutes at midnight on Tuesdays and Fridays, after BBC radio went off the air. Baird broadcasts via the BBC continued until June 1932.

The BBC began its own regular television programming from the basement of Broadcasting House, London on 22 August 1932. The studio moved to expanded quarters at 16 Portland Place, London in February 1934, and continued broadcasting the 30-line images, carried by telephone line to the medium wave transmitter at Brookmans Park, until 11 September 1935, by which time advances in all-electronic television systems made the electromechanical broadcasts obsolete.

After a series of test transmissions and special broadcasts that began in August, regular BBC television broadcasts officially resumed on 1 October 1936, from a converted wing of Alexandra Palace in London, housing two studios, various scenery stores, make-up areas, dressing rooms, offices, and even the transmitter itself, now broadcasting on the VHF band. BBC television initially used two systems, on alternate weeks: the 240-line Baird intermediate film system and the 405-line Marconi-EMI system, each making the BBC the world's first regular high-definition television service, broadcasting Monday to Saturday from 15:00 to 16:00 and 21:00 to 22:00. The two systems were to run on a trial basis for six months; early television sets supported both resolutions. However, the Baird system, which used a mechanical camera for filmed programming and Farnsworth image dissector cameras for live programming, proved too cumbersome and visually inferior, and was dropped in February 1937.

Initially, the station's range was officially a 25-mile (40 km) radius of the Alexandra Palace transmitter—in practice, however, transmissions could be picked up a good deal further away, and on one occasion in 1938 were picked up by engineers at RCA in New York, who were experimenting with a British television set.

Wartime closure

On 1 September 1939, two days before Britain declared war on Germany, the station was unceremoniously taken off air with little warning. It was feared by the government that the VHF transmissions would act as a beacon to enemy aircraft homing in on London. Also, many of the television service's technical staff and engineers would be needed for the war effort, in particular on the RADAR programme. The last programme aired was a Mickey Mouse cartoon, ''Mickey's Gala Premiere'' (1933), which was followed by test transmissions and an announcement of the afternoon schedule, which did not air.

According to figures from Britain's Radio Manufacturers Association, 18,999 television sets had been manufactured from 1936 to September 1939, when production was halted by the war.

Postwar

BBC Television returned on 7 June 1946 at 15:00. Jasmine Bligh, one of the original announcers, made the first announcement, saying, 'Good afternoon everybody. How are you? Do you remember me, Jasmine Bligh?'. The Mickey Mouse cartoon of 1939 was repeated 20 minutes later.

Postwar broadcast coverage was extended to Birmingham in 1949 with the opening of the Sutton Coldfield transmitting station, and by the mid 1950s most of the country was covered.

Alexandra Palace was the home base of the channel until the early 1950s when the majority of production moved into Lime Grove Studios (closed 1991), then in 1960 to the purpose-built BBC Television Centre at White City, also in London, where the channel is still based.

Television News continued to use Alexandra Palace as its base — by early 1968 it had even converted one of its studios to colour — before moving to purpose-built colour facilities at Television Centre on 20 September 1969.

The BBC held a monopoly on television broadcasting in the United Kingdom until the first ITV station was launched in 1955. The competition quickly forced the channel to change its identity and priorities following a large reduction in its audience figures.

The station was renamed BBC1 when BBC2 was launched in April 1964. At midnight on 15 November 1969, simultaneously with ITV and two years after BBC2, the channel officially began 625-line PAL colour programming with a broadcast of a concert by Petula Clark. In the weeks leading up to 15 November, BBC1 had unofficially transmitted the occasional programme in colour to test its system. Stereo audio transmissions, using the NICAM digital stereo sound format began on BBC1 at some point in 1986, as with BBC2, and were gradually phased in across BBC TV output, although it took until August 31 1991 for the service to begin officially. During this time, both commercial analogue broadcasters, ITV and Channel 4 had officially begun stereo transmissions using the BBC-developed NICAM system.

Wide-screen programming was introduced on digital platforms in 1998.

In terms of audience share, the most successful period for BBC1 was under Bryan Cowgill between 1973–1977, when the channel achieved an average audience share of 45 per cent. This period is still regarded by many as a golden age of the BBC's output, with the BBC achieving a very high standard across its entire range of series, serials, plays, light entertainment and documentaries.

Since the launch of multichannel television, BBC One's share of the viewers has declined, although not as fast as ITV's, leading the channel to once again become the most watched in the last decade.

By the 1980s, the channel had launched the first breakfast television programmes and returned to its previous form under the controller of the channel at the time, Michael Grade.

2000s

Joining the channel as Controller in 2005, Peter Fincham oversaw the commissioning of several successful BBC One programmes including ''Robin Hood'' (2006–2009), ''Jane Eyre'' (2006) and ''How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?'', which was followed by similar shows ''Any Dream Will Do'' and ''I'd Do Anything'' because of its success. His first full year in charge of the channel saw a year-on-year growth in the audience share, with a rise from 22.2% in August 2005 to 23.6% in August 2006.

Fincham also directly initiated the creation of both early evening current affairs and lifestyle programme ''The One Show'' (2006–present), now to run all but two weeks of the year, and the prime time chat show ''Davina'' (2006), the latter being designed as a vehicle for ''Big Brother'' presenter Davina McCall. However, ''Davina'' was a critical and ratings disaster, which Fincham subsequently admitted was personally his fault, although he defended the strategy of experimenting with the BBC One schedule. He continued with this experimentation in January 2007, when he moved the current affairs series ''Panorama'' from its Sunday night slot back to the prime time Monday evening slot from which it had been removed in 2000, most likely in response to a demand from the Board of Governors of the BBC for the channel to show more current affairs programming in prime time.

Fincham's judgement was again called into question, this time by ''The Telegraph'', for his decision to spend £1.2 million replacing the BBC 'Rhythm & Movement' idents, which had been introduced by his predecessor Lorraine Heggessey several years earlier, with the BBC One 'Circle' idents, a set of eight ten-second films, some of which were shot abroad in locations such as Mexico and Croatia. Fincham later found himself having to publicly defend the £18 million salary that the BBC paid presenter Jonathan Ross in 2006, although Ross's BBC One work — primarily consisting of ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' — formed only part of his overall BBC commitment.

In May 2007, Fincham took the decision to drop the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' from BBC One after 21 years on the channel, when its producers significantly raised the price they wanted the BBC to pay for it in a bidding war. Fincham commented that it was 'a big loss', but that BBC One would not pay 'the best part of £300 m'. ''Neighbours'' left the channel in spring 2008 to move to Channel 5.

Fincham was involved in a further controversy in July 2007, when he was accused of misleading BBC One viewers. The incident involved a clip from forthcoming documentary ''A Year with the Queen'' which was shown to journalists during a press conference. It apparently showed the Queen storming out of a session with American photographer Annie Leibovitz over a disagreement about what she should wear, but the BBC subsequently admitted that the scenes used in the trailer had been edited out of their correct order, meaning that a false impression was given. Fincham admitted the error, but rejected calls that he should resign from his position as a result. His future was deemed uncertain following critical comments from BBC Trust Chairman Sir Michael Lyons and he resigned on 5 October 2007.

Programming

In 2010, the top five watched programmes, at their peaks, according to BARB were as follows: #''Eastenders'' 16,410,000 #''World Cup 2010 England Vs Germany '' 15,810,000 #''Strictly Come Dancing'' 14,280,000 #''Come Fly With Me'' 12,470,000 #''Doctor Who'' 12,110,000

_{¹ temporarily replaced by Martin J. O'Connor 1979–1980 ² had not worked for the BBC before appointment}

8.9% of peak programming (30.8% overall) is repeats, with a peak target of 5% in 2008/2009. Programming on this channel costs an average of £162,900 per hour.

With a mission to provide big programmes for all licence-fee payers, it has the main sport, news, current affairs and documentaries. It has historically broadcast children's programmes (now taken from CBBC and CBeebies). The channel remains one of the principal television channels in the United Kingdom and provides 2,508 annual hours of news and weather, 1,880 hours of factual and learning, 1,036 hours of drama, 672 hours of children's, 670 hours of sport, 654 hours of film, 433 hours of entertainment, 159 hours of current affairs, 92 hours of religion and 82 hours of music and arts.

News and current affairs

2,508 annual hours of news and weather (293 in peak, 1,049 of BBC News simulcasts) are provided by regular news programmes ''Breakfast'', the ''News at One'', ''news at Six'' and the ''News at Ten'' (the most-watched UK news programme), each including BBC regional news programmes. All of the three main news bulletins have a lead over their rival programmes on ITV and other terrestrial or cable channels. During the weekend period, three separate bulletins around these three time periods are broadcast and vary in length from 10–25 minutes and are known simply as BBC News. BBC One has also taken overnight simulcasts from the BBC News channel since 1997; the latter in turn simulcasts virtually all of the regular BBC One bulletins.

Each year 159 hours of current affairs programmes are broadcast on BBC One, including ''Panorama'' and ''Watchdog''. Politics is also covered, with programmes such as ''Question Time'' and ''This Week''. ''Crimewatch'', a programme appealing for help in unsolved crimes, is broadcast monthly.

Factual and learning

Whilst nature documentaries such as ''Planet Earth'' are the most familiar part of the 1,880 annual BBC One hours of factual and learning, this also includes lifestyle-format daytime programmes and a number of ''reality television'' formats and the ''One Life'' strand.

Drama

BBC One is the BBC's home of drama, with 1,036 hours each year. There are four half-hour episodes of ''EastEnders'' each week(not shown on Wednesdays), with an omnibus episode at the weekend, plus hospital dramas ''Casualty'' and ''Holby City''. In recent years the BBC's innovative dramas such as ''Doctor Who'', ''Spooks'', ''Luther'', ''Hustle'', ''Waterloo Road'', ''Robin Hood'', ''Torchwood'', ''Life on Mars'', ''Ashes to Ashes'', and ''Merlin'' have defeated ITV in the ratings. In May 2009, BBC One broadcast a mini-series called ''Moving On''. Other popular dramas on BBC One include crime dramas such as ''New Tricks (TV series)'', a programme of which even episode repeats have beaten ITV ratings on numerous occasions.

Children's

BBC One has traditionally been the home to children's television, as children's programming such as ''Blue Peter'' had been broadcast on the channel prior to the Children's BBC strand, and sections such as Watch with Mother airing previously on the channel. This became more pronounced with the launch of Children's BBC, later to be renamed CBBC. This new strand broadcast primarily on BBC One in the late afternoons with Saturday and Sunday mornings also proving a notable time slot for children's programmes with Saturday morning programming, such as ''Going Live!'' and ''Live & Kicking'', each lasting two to three hours being most notable. The launch in 2002 of dedicated digital channels for this content — CBBC and CBeebies — did not affect this provision. The channel broadcasts 672 hours of children's programmes each year, over two hours each day, mostly in the late afternoon on weekdays, as Saturday morning programming was switched to BBC Two in 2006 following a three month trial.

Sport

BBC One broadcasts 765 hours of sport each year. This includes Premier League football highlights on ''Match of the Day'', tennis from Wimbledon, horse racing such as the Grand National, the London Marathon plus other international athletics and swimming events, the Olympic Games, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Snooker tournaments, and more. The BBC shows The Football League Show for Football League highlights and League Cup coverage. Formula 1 motor racing is also shown, Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's main race.

On 18 January 2010, the BBC introduced a local Football League highlight show called ''Late Kick Off''. The BBC also shows the ''League Cup'' final, and show 10 Football League matches live from the 2009/10 season. The BBC showed the 2010 World Cup. The group stage matches were split with ''ITV'', and the BBC got first pick of matches from the second round.

Film

British and international films are broadcast for 654 hours each year on BBC One. This is mainly late-night fillers with some box office hits at Christmas and holiday periods. Films are sometimes used to fill the Saturday evening slot when no sport or entertainment programmes are due to be aired.

Entertainment

433 hours of entertainment are broadcast by BBC One each year. This includes game shows like ''National Lottery'', ''Total Wipeout'', quiz shows like ''Have I Got News for You'', several events and talent shows such as ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and the ''Eurovision Song Contest'', and chat shows such as ''The Graham Norton Show''. Often each year, there are programmes trying to find a star for, usually, an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. The latest of these shows ended 22 May 2010 and was ''Over the Rainbow''.

Religion

The annual 92 hours of religious programming comprise weekly editions of recorded ''Songs of Praise'', Christian services and other shows from independent production companies. Mentorn Oxford produces ''Heart and Soul'', described as “a new multifaith programme featuring a panel and a studio audience”, followed by ''Life from the Loft'' which is made by the Leeds-based company True North. In 2005 BBC One was criticised for reducing the amount of religious programming, previously 101 hours per year.

Comedy

BBC One broadcasts many comedy programmes, often on Friday nights. These include the highly successful ''Little Britain'', no longer in production (though ''Little Britain USA'' is syndicated from American network HBO), as well as multi-award winning ''Gavin and Stacey'', which were both transferred from BBC Three. One of the most popular BBC comedy shows was ''Only Fools and Horses''. Current comedies showing on the channel are stand-up comedy show ''Live at the Apollo'', sitcom ''Outnumbered'', and satirical quiz show ''Have I Got News For You''. Saturday evening is also a popular slot for a comedy show such as ''Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow'' and ''The Armstrong and Miller Show''.

Music and arts

As the weekly popular music chart programme ''Top of the Pops'' was axed (except for the Christmas Day edition), BBC One now broadcasts only 82 hours of music and arts each year. The majority of this is the Alan Yentob fronted ''Imagine'' and classical music concerts such as the BBC Proms.

Daytime

BBC One's daytime line-up was a major factor in it overtaking ITV as the most popular channel in 2000, a position it has held ever since. The morning daytime line-up consists of lifestyle shows, such as ''Homes Under the Hammer'' and ''Bargain Hunt'', the afternoons contain drama with daily soap ''Doctors'' and classic US drama, such as ''Diagnosis: Murder''. Sometimes a drama such as ''Land Girls'' is shown in the afternoons. From 15:05 until 17:05 is the CBeebies/CBBC broadcasting strand, with its own visual identity. Historically, BBC One's most popular daytime programme was ''Neighbours'', with audience figures approaching five million. From 11 February 2008 BBC One dropped ''Neighbours'' and the programme is now broadcast on Channel 5. In its place the quiz show ''The Weakest Link'', moved from BBC Two.

Quotas

28% of "qualifying hours" are made by independent production companies (statutory target is 25%). 99% of peak hours programmes are original productions (target 90%), as are 82% of all hours (target 70%).

Some of the channel's most popular programmes, such as ''Match of the Day'', ''Have I Got News for You'', ''QI'', ''The Apprentice'', ''Gavin and Stacey'', ''Torchwood'' and ''Little Britain'' originally started off on other BBC channels, and moved to BBC One because of their popularity.

Productions

For the first fifty years of its existence, with the exception of films and imported programmes from countries such as the United States and Australia, almost all the channel's output was produced by the BBC's in-house production departments. This changed following the Broadcasting Act 1990, which required that 25% of the BBC's television output be out-sourced to independent production companies. By 2004 many popular BBC One shows were made for the channel by independents, but the in-house production departments continue to contribute heavily to the schedule.

Presentation

BBC One's identity has been symbolised by a globe shown on its idents for most of its existence. In 1962 this was represented as a map of the UK shown between programmes, but in 1963 the globe appeared, changing in style and appearance over the next 39 years.

From 15 November 1969 it became a 'mirror-globe' in several colours and sizes (a globe in front of a curved mirror which reflected a distorted view of the reverse)

On 18 February 1985 the COW (Computer Originated World) debuted. This was a computer-animated globe with the land coloured gold and the sea a transparent blue, giving the impression of a glass globe

On 16 February 1991, the day that BBC2 re-branded, an ethereal crystal-ball-type globe appeared, played out on air from laserdisc

On 4 October 1997 the globe became a red, orange and yellow hot-air balloon, coloured to resemble a globe, flying around various places in the UK

On 29 March 2002 the globe was replaced by a series of idents consisting of people dancing in various styles

On 7 October 2006 a new set of idents based on circles was launched. According to the BBC, the circle symbol both represents togetherness and acts as a nod to the former globe idents

Regional variations

BBC One has individual continuity and opt-outs for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each variant maintains the BBC One logo with the addition of the country name beneath it.

In England, each region has an individual regional news and current affairs programme opt-out as well as a limited amount of continuity. During these opt-outs, the region name is displayed as with the national variations, beneath the main channel logo. ''UK Today'', a news programme, was shown nationally to digital viewers in place of regional programmes when they were unavailable to broadcast on analogue television. The programme was discontinued in 2002 and replaced by a transmission of ''BBC London News'' until all BBC regions were made available digitally.

BBC One Scotland has the greatest level of variation from the generic network, owing to BBC Scotland scheduling Scottish programming on the main BBC Scotland channel, rather than on BBC Two. BBC One Scotland variations include the soap opera ''River City'' and the football programme ''Sportscene'', the inclusion of which causes network programming to be displaced or replaced.

BBC One Wales was considered a separate channel by the BBC as early as its launch in the mid-1960s, appearing as BBC Wales.

Subtitles service

The BBC announced in May 2008 that it had achieved its aim for all programming to have subtitles for viewers with hearing difficulties. The BBC also offers audio description on some popular BBC One programmes for visually impaired-viewers. The percentage of the BBC's total television output with audio description available is 10%, having been increased from 8% in 2008.

High-definition

BBC One HD, a simulcast of BBC One in high-definition (HD), launched on 3 November 2010 at 19:00. The channel simulcasts a network version of BBC One in High Definition, but with no regional news programmes. The channel carries HD versions of programmes including ''Holby City'', ''The One Show'', ''Strictly Come Dancing'', ''The Apprentice'', ''The Weakest Link'', ''Doctor Who'' and ''QI''. ''EastEnders'' was also made available in HD as from Christmas Day 2010. All programmes still made in standard-definition are upscaled on the channel and it is intended that by 2012 the vast majority of the channel's output will be in high-definition.

BBC One HD is available on all digital television platforms offering HD channels – Freesat, Freeview HD, Sky (excluding the ROI), UPC Ireland and Virgin Media. It is available in addition to the existing BBC HD channel, which continues to broadcast HD programmes from the BBC's other television channels. The BBC Trust admitted that technical and financial constraints prevent regional variations, which forces the channel off-air during regional news programmes and other regional broadcasts.

The BBC announced on 6 June 2011, that the national variations of BBC One Northern Ireland, BBC One Scotland and BBC One Wales, would launch in 2012.

See also

Oldest television station

List of television programmes broadcast by the BBC

Notes and references

External links

BBC One Service Licence BBC Trust, July 2009

Category:1936 establishments in the United Kingdom Category:BBC television channels in the United Kingdom Category:English-language television stations Category:Television channels and stations established in 1936 Category:Television channels in the United Kingdom

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This is a list of people whose names in English are commonly appended with the phrase "''the Great''", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as ''e Bozorg'' and ''e azam'' in Persian and Urdu respectively.

In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.

The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus) assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "''the Great''".

The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC).

Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.

As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of later generations in using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "The Great" in his lifetime but is rarely called such nowadays, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "The Great". A later Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I - was often called "The Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.

Rulers

Abbas I of Persia (1571-1629), Shah of Iran

Akbar (1542-1605), ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia, mainly India

Alain I of Albret (1440-1522), French aristocrat

Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), King of Macedonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, and all of Mesopotamia

Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446), King of Georgia

Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910), King of León, Galicia and Asturias

Alfred the Great (848/849-899), King of Wessex

Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC), ruler of the Seleucid Empire

Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC), Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty

Ashot I of Iberia “the Great”(died 826/830), presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia),

Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538), ruler of the Songhai Empire

Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927), King of Thailand

Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025), sometimes called "the Great", first King of Poland

Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section)

Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (1736-1809), founder and ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (in what is now Thailand)

Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035), King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden

Casimir III the Great (1310-1370), King of Poland

Catherine the Great (1729-1796), Empress of Russian

Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415), also known as Vikramaditya, ruler of the Gupta empire in India

Charlemagne (died 814), King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans

Chulalongkorn (1853-1910), King of Siam (now Thailand)

Chlothar II (584-629), King of Neustria and King of the Franks

Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157), Margrave of Meissen

Constantine I (c. 272-337), Roman Emperor

Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire

Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC), third ruler of the Persian Empire

Devapala (died 850), ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent

Dionysius I, Greek tyrant of Syracuse

Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065), King of León and Count of Castile

Frederick the Great (1712-1786), King of Prussia

Genghis Khan (1162?-1227), founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire

Gero (c. 900–965), ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594-1632), King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader

Gwanggaeto the Great, King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea

Hanno the Great, the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC

Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)

Henry IV of France (1553-1610), King of France and King of Navarre

Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC), King of Judea

Hugh the Great (898-956), Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris

Hugh Magnus of France (1007-1025), co-King of France

Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (1057-1101)

Humphrey I de Bohun (died c. 1123), Anglo-Norman aristocrat

Ivan III of Russia (1440-1505), Tsar of Russia

John I of Portugal (1358-1433), King of Portugal and the Algarve

John II of Aragon (1398-1479), King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre

Justinian I (483-565), Byzantine Emperor

Kamehameha I (c. 1758-1819), first King of Hawai'i

Kanishka (died c. 127), ruler of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia and parts of India

Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010-1029), King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia

Kublai Khan (1215-1294), Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty

Llywelyn the Great (c. 1172–1240), Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales

Louis I of Hungary (1326-1382), King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland

Mangrai the Great (1238-1317), Lanna, northern Thailand

Emperor Meiji (1852-1912), Emperor of Japan

Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418)

Mithridates II of Parthia (died 88 BC), ruler of the Parthian Empire (in present day Iran)

Mithridates VI of Pontus (134 BC–63 BC), ruler of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom

Mstislav I of Kiev (1076-1132), Grand Prince of Kievan Rus

Narai (1633-1688), King of Ayutthaya (in what is now modern Thailand)

Naresuan (1555-1605), King of Ayutthaya

Odo the Great (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine

Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (912-973)

K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683), ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque

Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1123–1186), King of Sri Lanka

Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (died 1075), King of Croatia

Peter the Great (1672-1725), Tsar of Russia

Peter III of Aragon (1239-1285), King of Aragon and King of Sicily

Pompey (106 BC-48 BC), military and political leader of the late Roman Republic, rival of Julius Caesar

Radama I (1793–1828), first king of greater Madagascar

Raja Raja Chola I (c. 947-1014), Indian emperor of the Cholas.

Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014-1044), Tamil King of India

Ramesses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC), considered the greatest pharaoh of Ancient Egypt

Ram Khamhaeng (around 1237 to 1247-1298), King of Sukhothai (in present day Thailand)

Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona (1082-1131), also Count of Provence and various other counties

Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878), King of Gwynedd (in present day Wales)

Roman the Great (after 1160-1205), Grand Prince of Kiev

Samudragupta (c. 335–375), ruler of the Gupta empire in the Indian subcontinent

Sancho III of Navarre (c. 992-1035), King of Kingdom of Navarre

Sargon of Akkad (died c. 2215 BC), ruler of the Akkadian Empire

Sejong the Great (1397-1450), Korean king

Shapur II (309-379), king of the Sassanid Empire, Persia

Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927), ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire

Stephen III of Moldavia (1433-1504), Prince of Moldavia (Romania)

Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (c. 1308-1355), King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks

Taksin (1734-1782), King of the Thonburi Kingdom (Thailand)

Timur (1336-1405), better known as Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Dynasty

Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151), Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie

Theodoric the Great (454-526), King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Byzantine Empire

Theodosius I (347-395), Roman emperor

Tigranes the Great (140-55 BC), Emperor of Armenia

Tiridates III of Armenia (285-339), King of Armenia

Umar (c. 586 to 590–644), second caliph of the Muslim Empire

Valdemar I of Denmark (1131-1182), King of Denmark

Valentinian I (364-375), Roman Emperor

Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015), ruler of Kievan Rus

Vytautas (c. 1350-1430), archduke of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy

William I, Count of Burgundy (1020-1087), Count of Burgandy and Mâcon

William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030), also Count of Poitou

Xerxes I (519-465 BC), King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia)

Yu the Great (c. 2200-2100 BC), legendary ruler in ancient China

Religious figures

Abraham the Great of Kashkar (ca. 492-586), monk and saint of the Assyrian Church of the East

Abraham Kidunaia (died c. 366, hermit, priest, and Christian saint of Mesopotamia

Albertus Magnus (1193/1206–1280), medieval German philosopher and theologian

Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), early Christian saint of Egypt

Babai the Great (c. 551–628), Assyrian church leader

Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Greek bishop and theologian

Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section)

Euthymius the Great (377-473), abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint

Gertrude the Great (1256-c. 1302), German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint

Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604)

Hiyya the Great, 3rd-century rabbi, Palestine

Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)

Pope Leo I (c. 391 or 400-461)

Macarius of Egypt (c. 300-391), Egyptian hermit

Pope Nicholas I (c. 800-867)

Photius I of Constantinople (c. 810–c. 893), Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople

William of Maleval (died 1157), founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites

Other

Beli Mawr, a figure in medieval Welsh literature and genealogies

Emmy the Great, folk singer

Matteo Rosso the Great, Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III

Prokop the Great, Hussite general in Bohemia

See also

Epithet

List of monarchs by nickname

List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility: G-I

James, son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus

Ajax (mythology), called Ajax the Greater

Notes

Category:Monarchs Great, List of people known as The Category:Greatest Nationals Category:Epithets

bs:Spisak osoba znanih kao Veliki id:Daftar tokoh dengan gelar yang Agung jv:Daftar pamimpin ingkang dipun paringi julukan Ingkang Agung la:Magnus lt:Sąrašas:Žmonės, vadinami Didžiaisiais ja:称号に大が付く人物の一覧 ru:Великий (прозвище) sl:Seznam ljudi z vzdevkom Veliki sv:Lista över personer kallade den store th:รายพระนามกษัตริย์ที่ได้รับสมัญญานามมหาราช vi:Đại đế

Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
birth name	William John Neeson
birth date	June 07, 1952
birth place	Ballymena, Northern Ireland
citizenship	American
alma mater	Queen's University Belfast
spouse	Natasha Richardson (m. 1994–2009; deceased)
religion	Roman Catholic
occupation	Actor
years active	1973–present }}

Liam John Neeson, OBE (born 7 June 1952) is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.

He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in ''Schindler's List'', Michael Collins in ''Michael Collins'', Peyton Westlake in ''Darkman'', Jean Valjean in ''Les Misérables'', Qui-Gon Jinn in ''Star Wars'' (the film ''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'' and an episode of ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars''), Alfred Kinsey in ''Kinsey'', Ras Al Ghul in ''Batman Begins'' and the voice of Aslan in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' film series. He has also starred in several other notable films, from major Hollywood studio releases (eg. ''Excalibur'', ''The Dead Pool'', ''Nell'', ''Rob Roy'', ''The Haunting'', ''Love Actually'', ''Kingdom of Heaven'', ''Taken'', ''Clash of the Titans'', ''The A-Team'', ''Unknown'') to smaller arthouse films (eg. ''Deception'', ''Breakfast on Pluto'', ''Chloe'').

He was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland and educated at Saint Patrick's College, Ballymena Technical College and Queen's University Belfast. He moved to Dublin after university to further his acting career, joining the renowned Abbey Theatre. In the early 1990s, he moved again to the United States, where the wide acclaim for his performance in ''Schindler's List'' led to more high-profile work. He is widowed and lives in New York with his two sons.

Early life

Neeson was born June 7, 1952 in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, and is the son of Katherine Kitty (née Brown), a cook, and Bernard "Barney" Neeson, a caretaker at the local Catholic boys' primary school (Ballymena Boys All Saints Primary School). He was raised Roman Catholic and was called Liam, short for William, after the local priest. He was the third child in the family and the only boy among four siblings; his sisters are Elizabeth, Bernadette, and Rosaline. At age nine, Neeson began boxing lessons at the All Saints Youth Club, and later became Ulster amateur senior boxing champion. At age eleven, Neeson first stepped on stage. His English teacher gave him the lead role in a school play, which he accepted because the girl he was attracted to would be starring. From then on, he kept acting in school productions for the following years. His interest in acting and decision to become an actor was also influenced by minister Ian Paisley, whose church Neeson would sneak into. Neeson has said of Paisley that "He had a magnificent presence and it was incredible to watch this six foot-plus man just bible-thumping away...It was acting but it was also great acting and stirring too."

Neeson was enrolled in 1971 as a physics and computer science undergraduate student at Queen's University Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland, before leaving to work for Guinness.

Liam found a talent for football while in University. He was spotted by Seán Thomas at Bohemian F.C.. There was a club trial in Dublin. He only played one game as a substitute against Shamrock Rovers and was not offered a contract to continue playing.

Career

1978–1999

After leaving university, Neeson returned to Ballymena where he worked in a variety of casual jobs, from a fork-lift operator at Guinness to a truck driver. He also attended teacher training college in Newcastle for two years before again returning to his home town. In 1976, Neeson joined the Lyric Players' Theatre in Belfast where he performed for two years. He got his first film experience in 1977, playing Jesus Christ and Evangelist in the religious film, ''Pilgrim's Progress'' directed by Ken Anderson. Neeson moved to Dublin in 1978 after he was offered a part in a production at the Project Arts Centre. The play was Ron Hutchinson's "Says I, Says He", a drama about The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Neeson acted in several other Project productions and joined the Abbey Theatre. In 1980, filmmaker John Boorman saw him on stage, acting as Lennie Small in ''Of Mice and Men'', and offered him the part of Sir Gawain in the upcoming Arthurian film, ''Excalibur''. After ''Excalibur'', Neeson moved to London, where he continued working on stage, small budget films and television series. He lived with the actress Helen Mirren at this time, whom he met working on ''Excalibur''. Between 1982 and 1987, Neeson starred in five films; most notably alongside Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins in 1984's ''The Bounty'' and Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons in 1986's ''The Mission''. He also starred as a guest actor in the third season of the television series ''Miami Vice'' in 1986.

In 1987, Neeson made a conscious decision to move to Hollywood in order to star in high-profile roles. That year, he starred alongside Cher and Dennis Quaid in ''Suspect''. The role brought Neeson critical applause, but it was 1990's ''Darkman'' that would bring his name to public attention. Although the film was successful, Neeson's following years would not give him the same recognition. In 1993, he joined ''Ellis Island'' co-star and future wife Natasha Richardson in the Broadway play ''Anna Christie''. (They also worked together in ''Nell'', released the following year.) He recited the Van Morrison song "Coney Island" on the 1994 Van Morrison tribute album, ''No Prima Donna: The Songs of Van Morrison''. A single was also released with Neeson's version.

Director Steven Spielberg, impressed by his performance in ''Nell'', offered him the coveted role of Oskar Schindler in the film about the Holocaust, ''Schindler's List''. His critically acclaimed performance later earned him a nomination for a Best Actor Oscar; however, the award went to Tom Hanks for his performance in ''Philadelphia''. Neeson also garnered BAFTA and Golden Globes nominations for ''Schindler's List''.

''Schindler's List'' established Neeson as a widely sought-after leading actor. He later starred in period pieces ''Rob Roy'' (1995) and ''Michael Collins'' (1996), the latter earning him another Golden Globe nomination and a win for Best Starring Role at the Venice Film Festival. Neeson went on to star as Jean Valjean in the 1998 adaptation of Victor Hugo's ''Les Misérables'' and in ''The Haunting'' (1999) as Dr. David Marrow.

''Star Wars''

In 1999, Neeson starred as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, in director George Lucas' ''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace''. As it was the first ''Star Wars'' film to be released in over sixteen years, it was surrounded by a large amount of anticipation from the media. Neeson's connection to the ''Star Wars'' films started in the Crown Bar, Belfast. Neeson stated to Ricki Lake, "I probably wouldn't have taken the role if it wasn't for the advice of Peter King in the Crown during a Lyric reunion." ''The Phantom Menace'' was an enormous box-office success and remains the most financially successful ''Star Wars'' film unadjusted for inflation. Qui-Gon's voice, provided by Neeson, would later be heard during a brief scene in ''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones'' (2002). Qui-Gon was supposed to make an appearance in ''Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith'' (2005) as a Force Ghost, and Neeson had hinted at involvement. However, he was ultimately unable to appear due to a motorcycle injury, and his character is only mentioned in the film. In 2011, he reappeared as the voice of Qui-Gon in the animated television series ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars''.

2001–present

Neeson narrated the 2001 documentaries ''Journey Into Amazing Caves'' and ''The Endurance: Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure''. After being nominated for a Tony Award for his role opposite Laura Linney in ''The Crucible'', Neeson teamed up with Harrison Ford in Kathryn Bigelow's submarine thriller ''K-19: The Widowmaker'' (2002) as Captain Mikhail Polenin and appeared in Martin Scorsese's ''Gangs of New York'' (with Leonardo DiCaprio, Brendan Gleeson, Cameron Diaz and Daniel Day-Lewis). He also played a recently widowed writer in Richard Curtis' ensemble comedy ''Love Actually'' (2003). His role as Alfred Kinsey in ''Kinsey'' again put Neeson up for nomination for a Golden Globe Award but he lost out to Leonardo DiCaprio for ''The Aviator''. In 2004, Neeson hosted an episode of the NBC sketch show ''Saturday Night Live''. He starred as a redneck trucker, Marlon Weaver, in an "Appalachian Emergency Room" sketch and a hippie in a one-off sketch about two stoners (the other played by Amy Poehler) who attempt to borrow a police dog in order to find their lost stash of marijuana. Despite vowing not to play any characters who were Irish stereotypes, Neeson did play a stereotypically Irish man named Lorken McArdle in the home makeover show parody "You Call This A House, Do Ya?" In 2005, Neeson played Godfrey of Ibelin in Ridley Scott's epic adventure ''Kingdom of Heaven'', Ra's al Ghul, one of the main villains in ''Batman Begins'', and as Father Bernard in Neil Jordan's adaptation of Patrick McCabe's novel, ''Breakfast on Pluto''. Also in 2005, he voiced the role of a kindly priest on ''The Simpsons'', who converted Bart and Homer to Catholicism. That same year, he gave his voice to the lion Aslan in the blockbuster fantasy film ''The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe''. A year later, he narrated the documentary ''Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity''. Following a noticeable lull in his acting career, Neeson starred in the 2008 hit ''Taken'', which brought his image back into the public eye and resulted in his casting in many more mainstraim Hollywood movies.

In 2007, Neeson starred in the American Civil War epic ''Seraphim Falls'' alongside Pierce Brosnan and Anjelica Huston.

Neeson's voice is featured in the video game ''Fallout 3'' as the main character's father, James. The executive producer of the game, Todd Howard, said "This role was written with Liam in mind, and provides the dramatic tone for the entire game". ''Fallout 3'', the third game in the Fallout series, has been extremely well received by critics and shipped 4.7 million copies by the end of 2008, the year it was released.

In the director's commentary of the 2007 ''Transformers'' DVD, Michael Bay said that he had told the animators to seek inspiration from Liam Neeson in creating Optimus Prime's body language.

Neeson appeared as Alistair Little in the BBC Northern Ireland/Big Fish Films television drama ''Five Minutes of Heaven'', which tells the true story of a young Protestant man convicted of murdering a Catholic boy during The Troubles.

He starred in the action film ''Taken'' in 2008, which was a French film also starring Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace. It is based on a script by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen and was directed by Pierre Morel. Neeson plays a retired Central Intelligence Agency operative from their elite Special Activities Division who sets about tracking down his teenage daughter after she is kidnapped for sexual slavery while traveling in Europe. ''Taken'' was a huge worldwide box office hit, grossing $223,882,658 worldwide and making almost $200,000,000 more than its initial budget. He again gave his voice to Aslan in ''The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'' (2008).

Neeson has wrapped filming the psychological thriller ''After.Life'' with Christina Ricci and Justin Long. He also provided a voice for Hayao Miyazaki's anime film ''Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea'', which received an August 2009 release.

In 2010, Neeson played the Greek God Zeus in the remake of the 1981 film, ''Clash of the Titans''. The film went on becoming a huge box office hit and grossing $475 million worldwide.

Neeson also starred in the erotic thriller ''Chloe'', theatrically released by Sony Pictures Classics on March 26, 2010. ''Chloe'' had enjoyed commercial success and became director Atom Egoyan's biggest moneymaker ever. Later the same year, he played John "Hannibal" Smith in the spin-off movie from the TV series ''The A Team''.

In 2010, Neeson voiced the character Aslan again in the sequel ''The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader''. In late 2010, Neeson stated, "Aslan symbolises a Christlike figure, but he also symbolises for me Mohammed, Buddha and all the great spiritual leaders and prophets over the centuries"; this disappointed many fans of the series, who felt that he was "destroying the author's legacy to be politically correct".

In 2011, Neeson starred in ''Unknown'', a German British American co-production of a French book, it was filmed in Berlin in early 2010. It has been compared to ''Taken'', which was set in Paris. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film enjoyed box office success in the United States. It was largely funded by Dark Castle entertainment with smaller amounts coming from the Berlin film agency

He has played several characters based on real people, including Schindler, Collins, and Kinsey.

He was also set to reunite with director Steven Spielberg and star as Abraham Lincoln in the film based on the book ''Team of Rivals'' by Doris Kearns Goodwin. In preparation for the role, Neeson visited Washington, D.C., Springfield, Illinois where Lincoln lived prior to being elected, and read Lincoln's personal letters. He also visited Ford's Theatre, where the President was shot. However in July 2010 Neeson said in an interview with GMTV “I’m not actually playing Lincoln now. I was attached to it for a while, but it’s now I’m past my sell-by date.” He was later replaced in the role by two-time Academy Award winner, Daniel Day-Lewis.

Director Lee Daniels has confirmed that Neeson will play former U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson in Daniels' developing film ''Selma'', which is about Martin Luther King, Jr., Johnson, and the civil rights marches.

Neeson also starred as Ben Ryan in the drama ''Before and After'' alongside Meryl Streep. This film was about how a family dealt with the aftereffects of a murder their son was accused of committing.

It was announced in July 2010 that Neeson would guest-star on the new Showtime series ''The Big C''.

It was announced that Liam Neeson would reprise his role as Ra's Al Ghul for the film: ''The Dark Knight Rises''. While a younger version of his character is played by Josh Pence. He narrated the first trailer for the film that was released in July of this year.

Personal life

Neeson was married to actress Natasha Richardson from 3 July 1994 until her death on 18 March 2009, when she suffered a severe head injury in a skiing accident at the Mont Tremblant Resort in the Canadian province of Quebec. Richardson and Neeson have two sons: Michael and Daniel. Neeson lives in Millbrook, New York. In August 2004 Neeson and his wife purchased an additional 16 acres next to their estate.

A heavy smoker earlier in his career, Neeson has since quit smoking. When he took the role of Hannibal for the 2010 film adaptation of ''The A-Team'', Neeson had reservations about smoking cigars (which is a signature trait of the Hannibal character) in the film due to being an ex-smoker, but agreed to keep that personality trait of Hannibal intact for the film. In August 2009, Neeson stated on ABC's ''Good Morning America'' that he had been naturalized as a United States citizen.

Neeson is a fan of Liverpool F.C.

In March 2011, Neeson was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for ''UNICEF''.

Honours and awards

Neeson was offered the 'Freedom of the Town of Ballymena' by Ballymena Borough Council, but because of objections made by members of the Democratic Unionist Party regarding his comments that he had felt like a 'second-class citizen' growing up as a Catholic in the town, he declined the award, citing tensions. Neeson continues to practice the Catholic faith and has raised his children as Catholics. He has also expressed admiration for The ''Spiritual Exercises'' of Saint Ignatius Loyola.

He was appointed as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in her 1999 New Year's Honours List. The American Ireland Fund honoured Liam Neeson with their Performing Arts Award for the great distinction he has brought to Ireland at their 2008 Dinner Gala in New York.

Filmography

! Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes
1978		Evangelist and Jesus Christ
1979		Greatheart
1981		Gawain
1982	''Merlin and the Sword''	Grak	alternate title ''Arthur the King''
1983		Kegan
	''The Bounty''	Charles Churchill
''Ellis Island''	Kevin Murray	TV mini-series
		Michael Lamb
		Fielding
''Duet for One''	Totter
		Carl Anderson
''A Prayer for the Dying''	Liam Docherty
		Martin Falcon
	Martin Brogan
''The Dead Pool''	Peter Swan
	Leo Cutter
1989		Briar Gates
	''Darkman''	Peyton Westlake/Darkman	Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actor
''The Big Man''	Danny Scoular
1991		Tony Aaron
	''Husbands and Wives''	Michael Gates
	Will
''Shining Through''	Franz-Otto Dietrich
		Ethan Frome
''Ruby Cairo''	Dr. Fergus Lamb	released on video as ''Deception''
''Schindler's List''	Oskar Schindler	Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Nominated — Academy Award for Best ActorNominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaNominated — London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
1994		Dr. Jerome 'Jerry' Lovell
1995		Robert Roy MacGregor
	Ben Ryan
		Jean Valjean
	Narrator
		Dr. David Marrow
''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace''	Qui-Gon Jinn	Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actor
		Charlie Mayo
''The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition''	Narrator
2001	''Journey into Amazing Caves''	Narrator
	''K-19: The Widowmaker''	Mikhail Polenin
''Gangs of New York''	'Priest' Vallon
''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones''	Qui-Gon Jinn	voice only, uncredited
''Evolution: What About God?''	Narrator
	''Love Actually''	Daniel	Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
''Coral Reef Adventure''	Narrator
2004		Alfred Kinsey	Irish Film and Television Awards#Awards in acting 3
	''[[The Simpsons''	Father Sean
''Batman Begins''	Henri Ducard/Ra's al Ghul	Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
	Father Liam
''The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe''	Aslan	voice
	''Seraphim Falls''	Carver
''The Birth of Christ''	Narrator
	''The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian''	Aslan	voice
	Peter
''Fallout 3''	James (Dad)	Video game (voice)
	Bryan Mills
	''Five Minutes of Heaven''	Alistair Little
	Fujimoto	voice (English dub; original Japanese version 2008)
''After.Life''	Eliot
	David
		Zeus
	Narrator
	John "Hannibal" Smith
''The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader''	Aslan	voice
''The Next Three Days''	Damon	Special Appearance
''The Wildest Dream''	Narrator
		Dr. Martin Harris
	Qui-Gon Jinn	Special Guest Voice, Season Three episodes ''Overlords'' and ''Ghosts of Mortis''
		Ottoway	Post-production
''Wrath of the Titans''	Zeus	Post-production
	Admiral Shane	Post-production
''The Dark Knight Rises''	Ra's al Ghul	filming
	''Taken II''	Bryan Mills	Pre-production

References

External links

ITV Local Interview at premiere of Taken

The American Ireland Fund Performing Arts Award 2008

Liam Neeson Interview for "The A Team"

Liam Neeson is Today's Greatest Action Hero

Category:1952 births Category:Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Category:Bohemian F.C. players Category:Immigrants to the United States from Northern Ireland Category:Film actors from Northern Ireland Category:Television actors from Northern Ireland Category:Irish film actors Category:Irish television actors Category:Irish voice actors Category:Living people Category:Expatriates from Northern Ireland in the United States Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Ballymena Category:People from County Antrim Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States

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Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
name	Graham Norton
birth name	Graham William Walker
birth date	April 04, 1963
birth place	Clondalkin, Dublin, Ireland
medium	Television, radio, stand-up
nationality	Irish
active	1992–present
genre	Observational comedy
subject	Everyday life, pop culture, current events, celebrities, sex
awards
notable work	''So Graham Norton''''V Graham Norton''''The Graham Norton Effect''''Graham Norton's Bigger Picture''''The Graham Norton Show'' }}

Graham William Walker, known by his stage name Graham Norton, (born 4 April 1963) is an Irish actor, comedian, television presenter and columnist. He is the host of comedy chat programme ''The Graham Norton Show'' on BBC One in the UK. ''Hot Press'' has described him as "the 21st century's answer to Terry Wogan", with both men sharing an Irish background and the common link of being a BBC Radio 2 presenter and the BBC television commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Early life and career

Norton was born in Clondalkin, a suburb of Dublin, but grew up in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland. He was educated at Bandon Grammar School, in County Cork.

In 1992 his stand-up comedy drag act in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as a tea-towel clad Mother Teresa of Calcutta made the press when Scottish Television's religious affairs department mistakenly thought he represented the real Mother Teresa.

His first appearances in broadcasting were in his spot as a regular comedian and panellist on the BBC Radio 4 show ''Loose Ends'', when the show ran on Saturday mornings, in the early 1990s. His rise to fame began as one of the early successes of Channel 5, when he won an award for his performance as the stand-in host of a late-night TV talk show usually presented by Jack Docherty. This was followed by a comic quiz show on Channel 5 called ''Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment'', which was not well received as a programme, but did further enhance Norton's individual reputation as a comic and TV host. In 1996, Norton co-hosted the late-night quiz show ''Carnal Knowledge'' on ITV with Maria McErlane.

In 1996, Norton played the part of Father Noel Furlong in three episodes ("Hell", "Flight Into Terror", "The Mainland") of the Channel 4 series ''Father Ted''. Father Noel Furlong was often seen taking charge of a small youth folk-group.

Channel 4

After this early success, Norton moved to Channel 4 to host his own chat shows including ''So Graham Norton'' and ''V Graham Norton''. As a performer who is not only openly gay, but also camp and flamboyant, it was here that Norton's act was fully honed as a cheeky, innuendo-laden joker.

In 2003, he was the subject of controversy when, on his show on Channel 4, he made a comedic reference to the recent death of Bee Gees singer Maurice Gibb. The Independent Television Commission investigated after complaints about this insensitivity were forwarded to it and eventually Channel 4 had to make two apologies: one in the form of a caption slide before the show, another from Norton in person.

Also in 2003, he was listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy (though Norton is Irish, the bulk of his television career has been in the UK).

In the summer of 2004, Norton moved across the Atlantic to start a new venture in American television. ''The Graham Norton Effect'' debuted on 24 June 2004 on Comedy Central, and was also broadcast in the UK on BBC Three. In the midst of controversy surrounding Janet Jackson's Super Bowl performance, Norton was wary of moving into the market.

BBC

In 2005, Norton moved to the BBC and began hosting the Saturday evening reality TV series ''Strictly Dance Fever'' on BBC One, as well as a new comedy chat show, ''Graham Norton's Bigger Picture''. He also read stories some nights on the BBC children's channel CBeebies as part of ''Bedtime Hour''.

In 2006, Norton hosted the BBC One series ''How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?'' in which Andrew Lloyd Webber tried to find a lead actress for his West End version of ''The Sound of Music''. Norton has subsequently presented the 3 follow-up series: ''Any Dream Will Do'' in 2007, in which a group of males competed to win the role of Joseph in the West End production of ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat''; ''I'd Do Anything'' in 2008, in which Andrew Lloyd Webber seeks to find the part of Nancy and Oliver for Sir Cameron Mackintosh's production of Lionel Bart's ''Oliver!''; and ''Over the Rainbow'' in 2010, following a similar format to find a new Dorothy for a ''Wizard of Oz'' West end Production.

Norton hosted various other shows for the BBC during this time, including ''When Will I Be Famous?'' (2007), ''The One and Only'' (2008) and ''Totally Saturday'' (2009). Since 2007, Norton has also been a regular host of The British Academy Television Awards. On 7 July 2007, Norton presented at Live Earth and undertook a trip to Ethiopia with the Born Free Foundation to highlight the plight of the Ethiopian wolf – the rarest canid in the world. In the same year, he was the subject of an episode of the BBC1 genealogy documentary ''Who Do You Think You Are?''.

Norton's chat show, ''The Graham Norton Show'', began on 22 February 2007 on BBC Two. Although in a format that he had not been involved in for 4 years, it is very similar to his previous Channel 4 shows. On 6 October 2009, the show moved to BBC One, in a new one-hour format.

In May 2010, he stood in for Chris Evans' breakfast show on BBC Radio 2. Later that month, it was confirmed that he would be replacing Jonathan Ross's Saturday morning slot on the same station.

In December 2011, the panel show ''Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton'' premiered on BBC America in the time slot immediately following ''The Graham Norton Show''. Recorded in New York, it is one of BBC America's earliest efforts at producing original programming, and is also the first panel game the channel has shown, either of British or American origin.

In January 2012, he called on listeners to his Radio 2 show to help find his car hours after it was stolen. He called it "The Great Car Hunt" and told listeners to “Keep your eyes out for it. It was filthy by the way."

Eurovision

Norton hosted the first annual ''Eurovision Dance Contest'' alongside Claudia Winkleman which was held on 1 September 2007 in London, England. The format was based on the BBC's ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and the EBU's ''Eurovision Song Contest''. Norton and Winkleman also hosted the 2008 Contest in Glasgow, Scotland.

In October 2008, it was confirmed by the BBC that Norton would replace Terry Wogan as the BBC's presenter for the UK heats of the ''Eurovision Song Contest'', in a show to be called ''Your Country Needs You''.

On 5 December 2008 it was announced that Norton would also take over from Wogan as the presenter of the main Eurovision Song Contest. The 54th Eurovision Song Contest was held in the Olimpiyskiy (Olympic) Stadium, Moscow on 16 May 2009.

Norton's jokes during his debut received some positive reviews from the British media. ''The Guardian'' noted his comments on Iceland's entry, which finished in second place, had "rooted around in a cupboard and found an old bridesmaid dress from 1987" and the Armenian singers, who finished in tenth place, were sporting traditional dress, "which would be true if you come from the village where Liberace is the mayor."

His comment “The bad news is you’re about to watch Albania. She’s only 17 so please bear that in mind. Where was her mother? Why didn’t she step in and say no?” which was made just before Albanian singer Kejsi Tola was set to take the stage dubbed an insult by many, sent ripples of outrage through not only Albania, but also the Albanian population in Britain. There was even a petition circling the net calling for a formal apology from Norton. The petition, which called his comment “very rude and insulting,” had drawn over 1,000 signatures.

Other

In July 2000 Graham was one of three judges of the Miss Lesbian Beauty Contest 2000 held at The Talk of London, Dury Lane. The contest was won by 42 year old Carol Hutchins who wowed the audience with her sit-down comedy routine from a wheelchair. Graham described Carol as a "very bright, funny lady."

Graham Norton played Mr. Puckov in the 2006 American comedy spoof film ''Another Gay Movie''. In 2007, Norton played Taylor in the romantic comedy film ''I Could Never Be Your Woman''.

Norton was involved in a high-publicity advertising campaign for the UK National Lottery as an animated unicorn, the stooge to a character based on Lady Luck (played by Fay Ripley). He has also advertised McVitie's biscuits.

In 2007, Norton featured in Girls Aloud and Sugababes' Comic Relief video for the single "Walk This Way."

In January 2009, Norton made his West End stage debut in a revival of ''La Cage Aux Folles'' at the Playhouse Theatre.

Since 2009, Norton has been the host of the comedy game-show ''Most Popular'' on US cable television channel WE tv.

Norton currently writes an advice column in ''The Daily Telegraph'' newspaper. In October 2010, these columns were made into a book entitled ''Ask Graham'', published by John Blake Publishing.

Personal life

Norton has stated that he felt "out of place" growing up in Ireland; his family are Protestant yet the Republic of Ireland is overwhelmingly Catholic. Norton took part in the TV programme, ''Who Do You Think You Are?'', to trace his ancestry. It was discovered that his family were originally planters sent over from England to take over Irish land. Some members of his family had fought for the British Monarchy during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and taken part in a massacre of Catholics in Carnew Castle. Another member of his family was later killed in battle by the United Irishmen. Norton said he was comforted to find out that his family had resided in Ireland for generations.

In 1989, Norton was mugged, beaten and stabbed by a group of attackers on the street. He says he lost half his blood and nearly died, and he was hospitalised for two and a half weeks.

Norton is openly gay.

Norton suffers from vitiligo, a skin disorder in which patches of depigmented skin occur.

Norton caused controversy on 7 October 2006, when he described ecstasy as "fantastic."

Immediately after hosting the BAFTAs in 2009, he said he returned home only to fall down his stairs and break two ribs. Some sources claimed that he presented the next Graham Norton Show on crutches, but this is not true, although he did make a comment about it, related to ''Pushing Daisies'', by saying "in ''Pushing Daisies'' people die in all sorts of bizarre ways... someone else was killed by a man dressed as a crash-test dummy, and some idiot almost died when he got drunk and fell down the stairs after presenting the BAFTAs. As if that could happen in real life!"

TV appearances

Main presenting credits

''Carnal Knowledge'' (TV series, co-presenter) (1996, 27 one hour shows)

''Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment''

''So Graham Norton'' (1998–2002)

''V Graham Norton'' (2002–2003)

''NY Graham Norton'' (2004)

''The Graham Norton Effect'' (2004–2005)

''Graham Norton's Bigger Picture'' (2005–2006)

''Strictly Dance Fever'' (2005–2006)

BBC/Andrew Lloyd Webber musical theater talent searches (2006–present)

* ''How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?'' (2006)

* ''Any Dream Will Do'' (2007)

* ''I'd Do Anything'' (2008)

* ''Over the Rainbow'' (2010)

''The Big Finish'' (2006–)

''When Will I Be Famous?'' (2007)

''The Graham Norton Show'' (2007–present)

''The British Academy Television Awards'' (2007)

''Live Earth'' (2007)

''Eurovision Dance Contest'' (2007)

''The One and Only'' (2008)

''Eurovision Dance Contest'' (2008)

''Eurovision: Your Country Needs You'' (2009–present)

''Eurovision Song Contest'' (UK commentator, 2009–present)

''Totally Saturday'' (2009)

''Most Popular'' (2009–present)

''Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton'' (BBC America, 2011–present)

Other television credits

''Rex the Runt'': A Crap Day Out ''Absolutely Fabulous'': Gay ''Who Do You Think You Are? (British TV series)

!Year!!Title!!Character!!Broadcaster
1996–98	''Father Ted'':	* Hell	* Flight into Terror	* The Mainland	Father Noel Furlong	Channel 4
rowspan=3	2001	|	The Plants voice	BBC
''Rex the Runt'': Patio	Osvalde Halitosis voice
''The Kumars at No. 42''	Himself
2002	|	Himself	BBC
rowspan=4	2007	Who Do You Think You Are?'' ||	Himself	BBC
''Saving Planet Earth''	*Saving Wolves	Himself	BBC
''Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List''
''Robbie the Reindeer'' in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind	Computer voice

Radio

''Just a Minute''

Sitting in for Steve Wright August 2009 BBC Radio 2

Sitting in for Chris Evans May /July 2010 BBC Radio 2

On 2 October 2010, he began his weekly BBC Radio 2 Saturday show taking over from Jonathan Ross. The show airs from 10.00am-1.00pm and combines a mixture of music, chat and celebrity guests.

2011/12 Radio 2 Saturday mornings

Filmography

''Stargay'' ''Another Gay Movie'' ''I Could Never Be Your Woman''

!Year!!Title!!Character!!Production
1999	|	Graham Solex	Canal+
2006	|	Mr. Puckov	Luna Pictures
2007	|	Taylor	The Weinstein Company

Stand-Up videos

''Live At The Roundhouse'' (19 November 2001)

Awards

1999 : Gaytime Award for ''Gay Entertainer of the Year''

2000, 2001, 2002 : BAFTA Award for Best Entertainment Performance - ''So Graham Norton''

2001 : RTS Television Award for Best Presenter - ''So Graham Norton''

2001 : TRIC Award TV Personality of the Year

2011 : BAFTA Award for Best Entertainment Performance - ''The Graham Norton Show''

References

External links

Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of University College Cork Category:BBC Radio 2 presenters Category:Gay actors Category:Irish columnists Category:Irish expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:Irish male comedians Category:Irish people of English descent Category:Irish television talk show hosts Category:LGBT comedians from Ireland Category:LGBT people from Ireland Category:LGBT radio personalities from Ireland Category:LGBT television personalities from Ireland Category:People from County Cork Category:People from Dublin (city) Category:Survivors of stabbing Category:United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest

cy:Graham Norton de:Graham Norton es:Graham Norton fy:Graham Norton ga:Graham Norton nl:Graham Norton no:Graham Norton pl:Graham Norton ro:Graham Norton sv:Graham Norton

Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
birthname	Daniel Wroughton Craig
birth date	March 02, 1968
birth place	Chester, Cheshire, England
occupation	Actor
yearsactive	1992–present
spouse
domesticpartner	Heike Makatsch (1994–2001)Satsuki Mitchell (2004–2010)
children	Ella Craig
signature	}}

Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English actor. His early film roles include ''Elizabeth'', ''The Power of One'', ''A Kid in King Arthur's Court'' and the television episodes ''Sharpe's Eagle'', ''Zorro'' and ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert''. His breakthrough performances were in the films ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'', ''Road to Perdition'', ''Layer Cake'', ''Munich'', and ''The Golden Compass''.

Craig became well known internationally after he was cast as the sixth actor to portray fictional secret agent James Bond in the film series. He made his début as the character in the 2006 film, ''Casino Royale''. He was critically acclaimed, and was nominated for a BAFTA award, for his portrayal in the film. He grew into other roles in films such as ''Defiance'', ''Cowboys and Aliens'', the upcoming English-language adaptation of ''The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'', and ''The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn''.

Early life

Craig was born in Chester, Cheshire, England. His mother, Carol Olivia (née Williams), was an art teacher, and his father, Timothy John Wroughton Craig, was the landlord of the pubs "Ring o' Bells" (in Frodsham) and "The Boot Inn", and also served as a midshipman in the Merchant Navy. Both of Craig's parents were of half Welsh descent. He was brought up on the Wirral Peninsula, and attended a primary school in Frodsham and Hoylake called Holy Trinity Primary School. He attended Hilbre High School in later years. He began acting in school plays at age six.

Craig moved to London when he was sixteen to join the National Youth Theatre after a stay at Calday. He and his older sister, Lea, attended Hilbre High School and Calday Grange Grammar School in West Kirby. He played for Hoylake Rugby Club. He attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama at the Barbican and graduated in 1991 after three years of study under Colin McCormack.

Career

Craig appeared as Joe in the Royal National Theatre's production of Tony Kushner's ''Angels in America'' in November 1993. An early starring role was as 'Geordie' in the BBC's 1996 drama ''Our Friends in the North'', with early film roles being as Angelina Jolie's rival and love interest in ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' (2001), before appearing in Sam Mendes's movie ''Road to Perdition'' (2002), with Tom Hanks and Paul Newman. Other leading film roles include ''Sword of Honour'' (2001), ''The Mother'' (2003) with Anne Reid, ''Sylvia'' (2003) with Gwyneth Paltrow, ''Layer Cake'' (2004) with Sienna Miller, ''Enduring Love'' (2004) with Rhys Ifans, Steven Spielberg's ''Munich'' (2005) with Eric Bana, ''Infamous'' (2006), ''The Golden Compass'' (2007) and ''Defiance'' (2008).

James Bond: 2005–present

In 2005, Craig was contracted by EON Productions to portray James Bond. He stated that he "was aware of the challenges" of the James Bond franchise which he considers "a big machine" that "makes a lot of money". He aimed at bringing more "emotional depth" to the character. Being born in 1968, Craig is the first actor to portray James Bond to have been born after the Bond series already started, and Ian Fleming, the novels' writer, had died.

Numerous actors publicly voiced their support of Craig's casting. Most notably, four of the five actors who had previously portrayed Bond – Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, Sean Connery, and Roger Moore – called his casting a good decision. Clive Owen, who had been linked to the role, also spoke in defence of Craig.

The first film, ''Casino Royale'', premièred on 14 November 2006 and grossed a total of US$594,239,066 worldwide, which makes the film the highest grossing Bond film to date. After the film was released, Craig's performance was highly acclaimed.

As production of ''Casino Royale'' reached its conclusion, producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced that pre-production work had already begun on the 22nd Bond film. After several months of speculation as to the release date, Wilson and Broccoli officially announced on 20 July 2006 that the follow-up film, ''Quantum of Solace'', was to be released on 7 November 2008 and that Craig plays Bond with an option for a third film. On 25 October 2007, MGM CEO Harry Sloan revealed at the Forbes Meet II Conference that Craig had signed on for four more Bond films, through to ''Bond 25''.

In 2006, Craig was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

On 12 June 2008, Craig sliced the top of one of his fingers off while filming ''Quantum of Solace''. The accident was the latest in a string of incidents surrounding the shoot, including a fire at one of the sets in Pinewood Studios, UK; a car crash that left the stunt driver in a serious condition; and an Aston Martin skidding off the roads in heavy rains while being transported to the set in northern Italy and plunging into Lake Garda.

Craig describes his portrayal of Bond as an anti-hero: “The question I keep asking myself while playing the role is, ‘Am I the good guy or just a bad guy who works for the good side?’ Bond’s role, after all, is that of an assassin when you come down to it. I have never played a role in which someone’s dark side shouldn’t be explored. I don’t think it should be confusing by the end of the movie, but during the movie you should be questioning who he is.” Craig also states that his favourite previous Bond actor was Sean Connery, but says, "I'd never copy somebody else. I would never do an impression of anybody else or try and improve on what they did. That would be a pointless exercise for me". His favourite Bond film is ''From Russia with Love''. On a James Bond-centric episode of ''The South Bank Show'', Connery divulged his thoughts on Craig's casting as Bond, whom he described as "fantastic, marvelous in the part." When he was told that Craig had taken particular note of his performances, Connery said that he was "flattered," and that Craig "really gets" the 'danger element' to Bond's character.

On 19 April 2010, Craig's expected third Bond film (the 23rd overall in the series) was announced to have been suspended indefinitely due to the crippling debt and uncertain future of MGM. However, both Craig and Sam Mendes hoped to resume work on the film soon. The film has since resumed and Craig will return as Bond once again, with the film due for release on 9 November 2012.

Other projects

In 1999, Craig starred as Richard in a TV drama called ''Shockers: The Visitor''. In 2007, he portrayed Lord Asriel in ''The Golden Compass'', the film adaptation of Philip Pullman's novel. Eva Green, who played Bond girl Vesper Lynd in ''Casino Royale'', also starred in the film, although she did not appear in any scenes with Craig. In a stage version of the book, Asriel had previously been played by Timothy Dalton, one of Craig's predecessors in the role of James Bond.

In early 2001, Craig expressed an interest in being a part of the ''Star Trek'' franchise, professing his love of the series to the World Entertainment News Network and a desire to have a "stint in the TV show or a film. It's been a secret ambition of mine for years." On 16 March 2007, Craig made a cameo appearance as himself in a sketch with Catherine Tate who appeared in the guise of her character Elaine Figgis from ''The Catherine Tate Show''. The sketch was made for the BBC Red Nose Day 2007 fundraising programme.

In 2008's ''Defiance'', he played Tuvia Bielski, a Jewish resistance fighter in the woods of Belarus during World War II who saved 1,200 people.

The shot in ''Casino Royale'' of Craig sporting swimming trunks has often topped many sexiest male celebrity polls, and in 2009 Del Monte Foods launched an ice pop moulded to resemble Craig emerging from the sea.

Craig co-starred with Hugh Jackman, in a limited engagement of the play ''A Steady Rain'', on Broadway at the Schoenfeld Theatre, which opened in previews on 10 September 2009 and closed on 6 December 2009.

Craig lent his voice and likeness as James Bond for both the Wii game ''GoldenEye 007'', an enhanced remake of the 1997 game for the Nintendo 64, and ''Blood Stone'', an original game for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, and Microsoft Windows.

As of August 2010, Craig has been cast as crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist in David Fincher's adaptation of Stieg Larsson's novel ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo''.

Craig co-starred with Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde in Cowboys & Aliens, an American science fiction Western film, based on Scott Mitchell Rosenberg's 2006 graphic novel Cowboys & Aliens.

Personal life

In 1992, Craig married Scottish actress Fiona Loudon, with whom he has a daughter, Ella. However, the marriage ended in divorce in 1994.

After his divorce, he was in a seven-year relationship with German actress Heike Makatsch, ending in 2001. He subsequently dated film producer Satsuki Mitchell from 2004 until 2010.

Craig and actress Rachel Weisz began dating in December 2010. Craig and Weisz married on 22 June 2011 in a private New York ceremony, with only four guests in attendance, including Craig's 18-year-old daughter Ella, and Weisz's four-year-old son Henry. Craig and Weisz had been friends for many years and had worked together on the movie Dream House (film) shortly before they began dating in late 2010.

In October 2008, Craig paid £4 million for an apartment near Regent's Park, London. He is a Liverpool F.C. supporter.

Filmography

''Zorro (1990 TV series) ''Sharpe's Eagle (TV programme) '''' ''Kiss And Tell'' '''' ''Our Friends in the North'' ''Obsession – Besessene Seelen'' '''' '''' ''Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon'' ''Love and Rage (film) ''Elizabeth (film) '''' '''' ''Some Voices (film) ''Hotel Splendide (film) ''I Dreamed of Africa'' ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' ''Sword of Honour'' ''Copenhagen (play) ''Ten Minutes Older: The Cello'' ''Road to Perdition'' ''Sylvia (2003 film) '''' ''[[Layer Cake (film) ''[[Enduring Love (film) ''[[Munich (film) ''Archangel (Robert Harris novel) ''Fateless (film) '''' ''Casino Royale (2006 film) ''[[Renaissance (film) ''Infamous (film) '''' '''' ''Flashbacks of a Fool'' ''Defiance (2008 film) ''Cowboys & Aliens (film) ''Dream House (film) ''Bond 23''

+ Film and television
Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1992	''''	Sgt. Botha, a.k.a. The Judge
1993	Zorro'' ||	Lt Hidalgo	Two episodes of a US TV series filmed in Madrid.
1993	Sharpe's Eagle'' ||	Lt. Berry	Television drama
1995	|	Master Kane
1996	|	Matt Kearney	TV film
1996	|	James "Jemmy" Seagrave	Television drama
1996	|	George "Geordie" Peacock	Television drama: 8 episodes
1997	|	John McHale
1997	|	D.S. Andy McLoughlin	TV mystery/drama from the novel by Minette Walters
1997	|
1998	|	George Dyer	Edinburgh International Film Festival>Edinburgh International Film Festival Award for Best British Performance
1998	Love and Rage'' ||	James Lynchehaun
1998	Elizabeth'' ||	John Ballard
1999	|	Sgt. Telford Winter	Nominated – British Independent Film Award for Best Actor
1999	|	Schiller
2000	Some Voices'' ||	Ray	British Independent Film Award for Best Actor
2000	Hotel Splendide'' ||	Ronald Blanche
2000	|	Declan Fielding
2001	|	Alex West
2001	|	Guy Crouchback
2002	Copenhagen'' ||	Werner Heisenberg	Television drama (stage adaptation)
2002	|	Cecil
2002	|	Connor Rooney
2003	Sylvia'' ||	Ted Hughes
2003	|	Darren	Nominated—British Independent Film Award
2004	Layer Cake'' ||	Mr. X	Sony Ericsson Empire Awards>Empire Award for Best ActorNominated—European Film Awards
2004	Enduring Love'' ||	Joe	Nominated – British Independent Film Award for Best ActorNominated – European Film Awards
2005	Munich'' ||	Steve
2005	Archangel'' ||	Christopher Kelso	Television drama
2005	Fateless'' ||	American Soldier
2005	|	Rudy Mackenzie
2006	Casino Royale'' ||	James Bond (character)>James Bond	Sony Ericsson Empire Awards>Empire Award for Best ActorEvening Standard British Film Awards
2006	Renaissance'' ||	Barthélémy Karas	Voice role
2006	Infamous ||	Perry Smith (murderer)>Perry Smith	Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
2007	|	Lord Asriel
2007	|	Ben Driscoll
2008	|	Joe Scot	Also Executive Producer
2008	Quantum of Solace'' >
2008	Defiance ||	Tuvie Bielski>Tuvia Bielski
2011	Cowboys & Aliens'' ||	Jake Lonergan
2011	Dream House'' ||	Will Attenton	''Post-production''
2011	''''
2011	''''
2012	|	James Bond	''Pre-production''

Video games

''GoldenEye 007 (2010 video game) ''James Bond 007: Blood Stone''

+ Film and television
Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2008	Quantum of Solace (video game)>Quantum of Solace''	James Bond
2010	GoldenEye 007'' ||	James Bond	voice-over
2010	|	James Bond	voice-over

Further reading

References

External links

A very detailed biography from Tiscali Film & TV

Personal interview on "being Bond", Parade Magazine 26 Oct 2008

Category:Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Category:English actors Category:English film actors Category:English male models Category:English people of Welsh descent Category:English radio actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:James Bond Category:Living people Category:People from Chester Category:Royal National Theatre Company members Category:1968 births Category:People educated at Calday Grange Grammar School

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