Coordinates	43°29′″N43°37′″N
birth date	September 02, 1964
birth name	Keanu Charles Reeves
birth place	Beirut, Lebanon
nationality	Canadian
occupation	Actor
years active	1985–present }}

Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'', ''Speed'', ''Point Break'' and the science fiction-action trilogy ''The Matrix''. He has worked under major directors, such as Stephen Frears (in the 1988 period drama ''Dangerous Liaisons''); Gus Van Sant (in the 1991 independent film ''My Own Private Idaho'', also written by Van Sant); and Bernardo Bertolucci (in the 1993 film ''Little Buddha''). Referencing his 1991 film releases, ''The New York Times'' critic Janet Maslin praised Reeves' versatility, saying that he "displays considerable discipline and range. He moves easily between the buttoned-down demeanour that suits a police procedural story and the loose-jointed manner of his comic roles."

In addition to his film roles, Reeves has also performed in theatre. His performance in the title role in a Manitoba Theatre Centre production of ''Hamlet'' was praised by Roger Lewis, the ''Sunday Times'', who declared Reeves "...one of the top three Hamlets I have seen, for a simple reason: he ''is'' Hamlet." On January 31, 2005, Reeves received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. A 2006 ''ET online'' survey placed him in the "Top Ten of America's Favorite Stars".

Early life

Reeves was born in Beirut, Lebanon, the son of Patricia Bond (née Taylor), an English costume designer/performer, and Samuel Nowlin Reeves, Jr., a geologist and Hawaiian-born American of English, Irish, Portuguese, Hawaiian, and Chinese descent. Reeves's mother was working in Beirut when she met his father. Reeves' father worked as an unskilled labourer and earned his GED while imprisoned in Hawaii for selling heroin at Hilo International Airport. He abandoned his wife and family when Reeves was three years old, and Reeves does not currently have any relationship with him.

Reeves moved around the world frequently as a child and he lived with various stepfathers. After his parents divorced in 1966, his mother became a costume designer and moved the family to Australia and then to New York City. There she met and married Paul Aaron, a Broadway and Hollywood director. The couple moved to Toronto; they divorced in 1971. Reeves' mother married Robert Miller, a rock promoter, in 1976; the couple divorced in 1980. She subsequently married her fourth husband, Jack Bond, a hairdresser, a marriage that broke up in 1994. Grandparents and nannies babysat Reeves and his sisters, and Reeves grew up primarily in Toronto. Within a span of five years, he attended four different high schools, including the Etobicoke School of the Arts, from which he was later expelled. Reeves stated he was expelled ''"...because I was greasy and running around a lot. I was just a little too rambunctious and shot my mouth off once too often. I was not generally the most well-oiled machine in the school. I was just getting in their way, I guess."''

Reeves excelled more in hockey than in academics, as his educational development was challenged by dyslexia. He was a successful goalie at one of his high schools (De La Salle College "Oaklands"). While Reeves dreamed of becoming an Olympic hockey player for Canada, an injury ended his hopes for a hockey career. After leaving De La Salle College, he attended an anarchistic free school (Avondale Alternative), which allowed him to obtain an education while working as an actor; he later dropped out, never obtaining his high school diploma.

In January 2011, on the BBC program 'The One Show', he spoke of his English ancestry, via his mother, mentioning his happy watching of 'The Two Ronnies' comedy show amongst others when younger, and how his mother imparted English manners that he still has today.

Career

1980s

Reeves began his acting career at the age of nine, appearing in a theatre production of ''Damn Yankees''. At 15, he played Mercutio in a stage production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' at the Leah Posluns Theatre. Reeves made his screen acting debut in a CBC Television comedy series entitled ''Hangin' In''. Throughout the early 1980s, he appeared in commercials (including one for Coca-Cola), short films including the NFB drama ''One Step Away'' and stage work such as Brad Fraser's cult hit ''Wolfboy'' in Toronto. In 1984, he was a correspondent for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation TV youth program ''Going Great''.

Reeves' first studio movie appearance was in the Rob Lowe ice hockey film ''Youngblood,'' in which he played a Québécois goalie. Shortly after the movie's release, Reeves drove to Los Angeles in his 1969 Volvo. His ex-stepfather Paul Aaron, a stage and television director, had convinced Erwin Stoff to be Reeves' manager and agent before he even arrived in Los Angeles. Stoff has remained Reeves' manager, and has coproduced many of his films. After a few minor roles, Reeves received a more sizeable role in the 1986 drama film ''River's Edge'', which depicted how a murder affected a group of teens. Following this film's critical success, he spent the late 1980s appearing in a number of movies aimed at teenage audiences, including ''Permanent Record'', and the unexpectedly successful 1989 comedy, ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure,'' which, along with its 1991 sequel, ''Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey,'' typecast Reeves as a spaced-out teen. Much of his portrayal in the press and much of the response to his acting in the early 1990s still mentioned his portrayal of the airheaded Ted.

1990s

During the early 1990s, Reeves started to break out of his teen-film period. He appeared in high-budget action films like ''Point Break,'' for which he won MTV's "Most Desirable Male" award in 1992. He was also involved in various lower-budget independent films, including the well-received 1991 film, ''My Own Private Idaho'' with his close friend, the late River Phoenix. In 1994, Reeves' career reached a new high as a result of his starring role in the action film ''Speed.'' His casting in the film was controversial since, except for ''Point Break'', he was primarily known for comedies and indie dramas. He had never been the sole headliner on a film. The summer action film had a fairly large budget and was helmed by novice cinematographer-turned-director Jan de Bont. The unexpected international success of the film made Reeves and co-star Sandra Bullock into A-List stars.

Reeves' career choices after ''Speed'' were eclectic: despite his successes, Reeves continued to accept supporting roles and appear in experimental films. He scored a hit with a romantic lead role in ''A Walk in the Clouds''. He made news by refusing to take part in ''Speed 2: Cruise Control'' and choosing to play the title role in a 1995 Manitoba Theatre Centre production of ''Hamlet'' in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Roger Lewis, the ''Sunday Times'' critic, wrote, "He quite embodied the innocence, the splendid fury, the animal grace of the leaps and bounds, the emotional violence, that form the Prince of Denmark...He is one of the top three Hamlets I have seen, for a simple reason: he *is* Hamlet." Reeves' other choices after ''A Walk in the Clouds'', however, failed with critics and audiences. Big-budget films such as the sci-fi action film ''Johnny Mnemonic'' and the action-thriller ''Chain Reaction'' were critically panned and failed at the box office, while indie films like ''Feeling Minnesota'' were also critical failures. Reeves started to climb out of his career low after starring in the horror/drama ''The Devil's Advocate'' alongside Al Pacino and Charlize Theron. Reeves deferred his salary for ''The Devil's Advocate'' so that Pacino would be cast, as he would do later for the less successful ''The Replacements'', guaranteeing the casting of Gene Hackman. ''The Devil's Advocate'' did well at the box office, received good reviews, and proved that Reeves could play a grown-up with a career, although many critics felt that his poor performance detracted from an otherwise enjoyable movie. The 1999 science fiction-action hit ''The Matrix'', a film in which Reeves had a starring role, was a box office success and attracted positive reviews.

2000s

In between the first ''Matrix'' film and its sequels, Reeves received positive reviews for his portrayal of an abusive husband in ''The Gift''. Aside from ''The Gift'', Reeves appeared in several films that received mostly negative reviews and unimpressive box office grosses, including ''The Watcher,'' ''Sweet November'' and ''The Replacements''. However, the two ''Matrix'' sequels, ''The Matrix Reloaded'' and ''The Matrix Revolutions,'' ''Something's Gotta Give,'' and the 2005 horror-action film, ''Constantine'', proved to be box office successes and brought Reeves back into the public spotlight.

His appearance in the 2006 film, ''A Scanner Darkly'', based on the dystopian science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick, received favourable reviews, and ''The Lake House'', his romantic outing with Sandra Bullock, did not do well at the box office. He went on to play the lead character in two 2008 films, ''Street Kings'' and ''The Day the Earth Stood Still''. In February 2009 ''The Private Life of Pippa Lee'' was presented at Berlinale.

2010s

Reeves started filming the surrealist romantic comedy ''Henry's Crime'' in December 2009, with filming set to wrap in early 2010. After this he will be starting work as producer and star on the science-fiction space drama ''Passengers'', written by Jon Spaihts.

In January 2009, it was revealed that Reeves will star in the live-action film adaptation of the anime series ''Cowboy Bebop'', slated for release in 2011. Other upcoming projects include the samurai film ''47 Ronin'', ''Chef'' – story by Reeves and written by Steven Knight, and a modern retelling of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, scripted by Justin Haythe and titled ''Jekyll''. Nicolas Winding Refn is in negotiations to direct and was later replaced by Dennis Iliadis and produced by Universal Pictures.

In April 2011 Reeves confirmed that a third instalment of the Bill & Ted movie series was underway.

Personal life and other interests

For nearly a decade following his initial rise to stardom, Reeves preferred to live in rental houses and hotels. He was a long-term resident of the Chateau Marmont. Reeves bought his first house in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles around 2003. He also has an apartment on Central Park West in New York City.

He is a U.S. citizen through his American father, and also holds Canadian citizenship by naturalization; he grew up as a Canadian and identifies as such. Due to April 2003 changes in the law, he is entitled to British citizenship through his English mother.

Reeves has never married. In December 1999, his girlfriend Jennifer Syme gave birth to a stillborn daughter, Ava Archer Syme-Reeves. Syme died in 2001, a sole driver involved in an automobile wreck, while partying in Los Angeles.

Reeves was sued unsuccessfully in 2008 in Los Angeles Superior Court for $711,974 by paparazzo Alison Silva for allegedly hitting and injuring him with his Porsche after visiting a relative at a Los Angeles medical facility. The paparazzo's lawsuit took a year and a half to make it to trial, during which time Silva continued to attack Reeves and demand payment. At the trial, all 12 jurors rejected the suit needing only an hour of deliberation to reach their verdict. With the lawsuit rejected, Reeves was cleared of all the charges.

In 2010, photos of a sad-looking Keanu Reeves eating a sandwich while alone led to the spread of the "Keanu is Sad/Sad Keanu" Internet meme and the declaration of June 15 as "Unofficial Cheer-up Keanu Day" by a Facebook fanpage.

Music

Reeves played bass guitar in the grunge band Dogstar during the 1990s. In the 2000s, he performed with the band Becky.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
	''Letting Go''	Stereo Teen No.1
''One Step Away''	Ron Petrie
		Heaver
	Tommy Wernicke
''Young Again''	Mike Riley, age 17
''Under the Influence''	Eddie Talbot
''Act of Vengeance''	Buddy Martin
''River's Edge''	Matt
''Brotherhood of Justice''	Derek
	Jack
		Chris Townsend
''The Prince of Pennsylvania''	Rupert Marshetta
	Winston Connelly
''Dangerous Liaisons''	Le Chevalier Raphael Danceny
	''Life Under Water''	Kip
''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure''	Ted "Theodore" Logan
	Tod Higgins
	''I Love You to Death''	Marlon James
''Tune in Tomorrow''	Martin Loader
	''Point Break''	FBI Special Agent John 'Johnny' Utah
''Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey''	Ted "Theodore" Logan/Evil Ted
''My Own Private Idaho''	Scott Favor
	Eric
1992	''Bram Stoker's Dracula''	Jonathan Harker
		Don John	Golden Raspberry Award
''[[Little Buddha''
	Homeless Man	(Uncredited)
''Freaked''	Ortiz the Dog Boy	(Uncredited)
	Julian Gitche
1994		Officer Jack Traven	MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo (shared with Sandra Bullock)Nominated – Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie ActorNominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (shared with Sandra Bullock)Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Male PerformanceNominated – MTV Movie Award for Most Desirable Male
		Johnny
''A Walk in the Clouds''	Sgt. Paul Sutton
		Eddie Kasalivich
''Feeling Minnesota''	Jjaks Clayton
	''The Last Time I Committed Suicide''	Harry
	Kevin Lomax
	''The Matrix''		Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor in an Action/Science Fiction FilmGolden Slate for Best Actor in a Leading RoleMTV Movie Award for Best Male PerformanceMTV Movie Award for Best Fight (shared with Laurence Fishburne)Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo (shared with Laurence Fishburne)Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Actor
''Me and Will''	Himself
		Shane Falco
	David Allen Griffin
	Donnie Barksdale
		Nelson Moss
	Conor O'Neill
	''The Matrix Reloaded''	Thomas Anderson/Neo	Nominated – MTV Movie Award for MTV Movie Award for Best Fight
''[[The Animatrix''	Thomas Anderson/Neo
''The Matrix Revolutions''	Thomas Anderson/Neo
	Dr. Julian Mercer
		John Constantine
	Perry Lyman
''Ellie Parker''	Himself
		Alex Wyler
	Bob Arctor
''The Great Warming''	Narrator	Voice
	''Street Kings''	Detective Tom Ludlow
2009	''The Private Lives of Pippa Lee''	Chris Nadeau
	''Passengers''	Jim Preston
''Cartagena''	Character Unknown
''Henry's Crime''	Henry
	''Jekyll''	Dr. Jekyll
	Spike Spiegel
''Hanuman''	Ram
2012		Kai	Filming

References

Further reading

External links

Category:1964 births Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from Toronto Category:Canadian film actors Category:Canadian actors of Chinese descent Category:Canadian people of English descent Category:Canadian people of Irish descent Category:Canadian people of Portuguese descent Category:Canadian rock bass guitarists Category:Canadian television actors Category:Canadian voice actors Category:Grunge musicians Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Toronto Category:Naturalized citizens of Canada Category:People from Beirut Category:People of Native Hawaiian descent

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Coordinates	43°29′″N43°37′″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 to a Protestant family. He was educated at Bandon Grammar School, in County Cork and then University College Cork but did not complete his studies.

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.He then announced that Albania should get no points and that he didn't care what anybody else thought. There was 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.He never responded.

In 2011, he snarked that if Jedward's entry into the competition that year won, the twins would never sleep again. In the end, they were eighth. Earlier in that year's televote, he joked "Quick, someone take a picture", when The British entry that year went temporarily in the lead early on after high votes from Russia(4), Bulgaria(12) and Italy(10). In the end, the song dropped down the 11th, earning 100 points. Very annoyed, Norton claimed 'We were better than Jedward'.

Other

In July 2000 Graham was one of three judges of the Miss Lesbian Beauty Contest 2000 held at The Talk of London, Drury 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 while living in London, 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.

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 Category:LGBT people from Ireland Category:LGBT people from Ireland Category:LGBT people from Ireland Category:People from County Cork Category:People from Dublin (city) Category:Survivors of stabbing Category:United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest Category:LGBT broadcasters

cy:Graham Norton da: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 ru:Нортон, Грэм sv:Graham Norton

Coordinates	43°29′″N43°37′″N
name	Police officer
official names
activity sector	Law enforcement
competencies	Physical fitness, sense of justice
formation	Secondary or tertiary education
employment field	Public areas
related occupation	gendarmerie, military police, security guard, bodyguard
average salary	$55,000–$100,000 }}

A police officer (also known as a policeman or policewoman, and constable in some forces, particularly in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth nations) is a warranted employee of a police force. In the United States "officer" is the formal name of the lowest police rank; in many other countries "officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank, and the lowest rank is often "constable". Police officers are generally charged with the apprehension of criminals and the prevention and detection of crime, and the maintenance of public order. Police officers may be sworn to an oath, and have the power to arrest people and detain them for a limited time, along with other duties and powers.

Some police officers may also be trained in special duties, such as counter-terrorism, surveillance, child protection, VIP protection, and investigation techniques into major crime, including fraud, rape, murder and drug trafficking.

Duties and functions

Responsibilities of a police officer are varied, and may differ greatly from within one political context to another. Typical duties relate to keeping the peace, law enforcement, protection of persons and property, and the investigation of crimes. Officers are expected to respond to a variety of situations that may arise while they are on duty. Rules and guidelines dictate how an officer should behave within the community, and in many contexts restrictions are placed on what the uniformed officer wears. In some countries, rules and procedures dictate that a police officer is obliged to intervene in a criminal incident, even if they are off-duty. Police officers in nearly all countries retain their lawful powers, while off duty.

In the community

In the majority of Western legal systems, the major role of the police is to maintain order, keeping the peace through surveillance of the public, and the subsequent reporting and apprehension of suspected violators of the law. They also function to discourage crimes through high-visibility policing, and most police forces have an investigative capability. Police have the legal authority to arrest, usually granted by magistrates. Police officers also respond to emergency calls, along with routine community policing.

Police are often used as an emergency service and may provide a public safety function at large gatherings, as well as in emergencies, disasters, search and rescue situations, and Road Traffic Collisions. To provide a prompt response in emergencies, the police often coordinate their operations with fire and emergency medical services. In some countries, individuals serve jointly as police officers as well as firefighters (creating the role of Fire Police) or paramedics. In many countries, there is a common emergency service number that allows the police, firefighters, or medical services to be summoned to an emergency. Some countries, such as the United Kingdom have outlined command procedures, for the use in major emergencies or disorder. The Gold Silver Bronze command structure is a system set up to improve communications between ground based officers and the control room, typically, Bronze Commander would be a senior officer on the ground, coordinating the efforts in the center of the emergency, Silver Commanders would be positioned in an 'Incident Control Room' erected to improve better communications at the scene, and a Gold Commander who would be in the Control Room.

Police are also responsible for reprimanding minor offenders by issuing citations which typically may result in the imposition of fines, particularly for violations of traffic law. Traffic enforcement is often and effectively accomplished by police officers on motorcycles—called ''motor officers,'' these officers refer to the motorcycles they ride on duty as simply ''motors.'' Police are also trained to assist persons in distress, such as motorists whose car has broken down and people experiencing a medical emergency. Police are typically trained in basic ffirst aid such as CPR.

In addition, some park rangers are commissioned as law enforcement officers and carry out a law-enforcement role within national parks and other back-country wilderness and recreational areas, whereas Military police perform law enforcement functions within the military.

Entry and promotion qualifications

In most countries, candidates for the police force must have completed some formal education. Increasing numbers of people are joining the police force who possess tertiary education and in response to this many police forces have developed a "fast-track" scheme whereby those with university degrees spend two to three years as a Constable before receiving promotion to higher ranks, such as Sergeants or Inspectors. (Officers who work within investigative divisions or plainclothes are not necessarily of a higher rank but merely have different duties.) Police officers are also recruited from those with experience in the military or security services. In the United States state laws may codify state-wide qualification standards regarding age, education, criminal record, and training but in other places requirements are set by local police agencies. Each local Police agency has different requirements.

Promotion is not automatic and usually requires the candidate to pass some kind of examination, interview board or other selection procedure. Although promotion normally includes an increase in salary, it also brings with it an increase in responsibility and for most, an increase in administrative paperwork. There is no stigma attached to this, as experienced line patrol officers are highly regarded.

Dependent upon each agency, but generally after completing two years of service, officers may also apply for specialist positions, such as detective, police dog handler, mounted police officer, motorcycle officer, water police officer, or firearms officer (in countries where police are not routinely armed).

In some countries such as in Singapore, police ranks may also be supplemented through conscription, similar to national service in the military. Qualifications may thus be relaxed or enhanced depending on the target mix of conscripts. In Singapore, for example, conscripts face tougher physical requirements in areas such as eyesight, but are less stringent with minimum academic qualification requirements. Some police officers join as volunteers, who again may do so via differing qualification requirements.

Police pay

In some societies, police officers are paid relatively well compared to other occupations; their pay depends on what rank they are with in their police force and how many years service they have.

Occupational hazards

Line of duty deaths

Line of duty deaths are deaths which occur while an officer is conducting his or her appointed duties. Despite the increased risk of being a victim of a homicide, automobile accidents are the most common cause of officer deaths. Officers are more likely to be involved in traffic accidents because of their large amount of time spent conducting vehicle patrols, or directing traffic, as well as their work outside their vehicles alongside or on the roadway, or in dangerous pursuits. Officers killed by suspects make up a smaller proportion of deaths. In the U.S. in 2005, 156 line of duty deaths were recorded of which 44% were from assaults on officers, 35% vehicle related (only 3% during vehicular pursuits) and the rest from other causes: heart attacks during arrests/foot pursuits, diseases contracted from suspects' body fluids or, more rarely, emergency blood transfusions, accidental gun discharges, falls, and drownings.

Police officers who die in the line of duty, especially those who die from the actions of suspects, are often given elaborate funerals, attended by large numbers of fellow officers. Their families may also be entitled to special pensions. Fallen officers are often remembered in public memorials, such as the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in the U.S., the National Police Memorial in the U.K. and the Scottish Police Memorial, at the Scottish Police College.

In the United Kingdom, in the 10 years from April 2000 there were 143 line of duty deaths: 54 in road accidents travelling to or from duty, 46 in road accidents on duty, 23 from natural causes on duty, 15 from criminal acts, and 5 in other accidents. (In the United Kingdom, police do not normally carry firearms.)

The Singapore Police Force registered just over 100 deaths in a century up to the year 2000. There have been 28 New Zealand police officers killed by criminal act since 1890. Despite perceived dangers, policing has never been listed among the top ten most dangerous jobs in the U.S. In terms of deaths per capita, driver-sales work such as food delivery is a more dangerous profession than being a police officer, although some people say police work is more dangerous in some larger U.S. cities than in foreign military deployment ( e.g. during the Vietnam War, "early out" programs in certain cities were offered to recruits as alternatives to Vietnam deployment, but many soldiers chose Vietnam, figuring their chances of survival would be better).

Work stress

Indicators

The actual presence of stress in police work is well documented and evidenced by certain statistics. Researchers typically use suicide, divorce and alcoholism rates as three key indexes of stress in a group of people. These factors paint a compelling picture of police officers demonstrating signs of significant stress, for example:

A study in the United States, by National Surveillance of Police Suicide Study (NSOPS), showed 141 suicides in 2008 and 143 in 2009. This yields a suicide rate of 17/100,000, a figure that holds up under scrutiny and is consistent with CDC/NOMS data. The overall suicide rate in the United States was 11.3 suicide deaths per 100,000 people. There is some speculation or controversy that this official rate may understate the actual rate as it is often other police officers that report facts that lead to a cause of death determination, and death benefits, institutional image, and other factors may be incentives to misreport incident facts. It is speculated that some suicides are reported by fellow officers as accidents or as deaths in the line of duty perpetrated by unknown assailants. Also, many jurisdictions simply don't keep suicide statistics. Even though the information is incomplete, the raw numbers are highly compelling that police officers are much more likely to commit suicide than other occupations. However there is still controversy in the interpretation of these statistics. When comparisons are made within age, gender, and racial cohorts, the differences are much less dramatic. Although suicides may be notably more prevalent among police, it is not clear whether police suicides are the result of work stress or the consequence of other variables, such as the influence of a subculture of violence Police officers are much more likely to experience interpersonal relationship problems. Relationship problems are most dramatically demonstrated by the divorce rate among police officers, which is usually reported as being the second highest of all occupations. However in a 2009 study, the divorce rates of law enforcement personnel were compared with the rates for other occupations, where data was analyzed from the 2000 U.S. Census. The results of the analysis indicate that the divorce rate for law enforcement personnel is lower than that of the general population, even after controlling for demographic and other job-related variables. The propensity to domestic violence is also thought to be higher for police officers than the general population, though the statistics are very fuzzy and controversial. Police officers also seem to have relationship problems at work, typically with superiors or with political oversight, though the evidence is largely anecdotal and controversial.

Alcoholism is considered another aberrant statistic for police officers. Although the statistics are fuzzy, clinically treated alcohol addiction rates are usually calculated to be about twice as high for police officers than for the general population in the United States. In contrast, statistics documenting alcohol abuse are less precise. Rates for arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol, or DUI or DWI, are somewhat higher for police officers than for other drivers, but the statistics are not widely trusted outside of the insurance industry since it is other police officers that make DUI arrests. Some departments and even some individual officers tend to hold police officers to a higher behavioral and ethical standard while others will recognize a 'blue line' behind which those within the 'brotherhood' are not held to the same standards as the rest of society. Despite the controversies in the interpretation of the statistics, it is generally considered evident that police officers are more susceptible to alcohol abuse than other occupations. The same conclusions are usually made regarding the police abuse of other substances, though the statistics are even less accurate, and even though the higher rates of substance abuse may be due in part to the more ready access to drugs and the more permissive atmosphere 'behind the blue line' rather than to occupational stresses.

Hans Selye, the foremost researcher in stress in the world, said that police work is "the most stressful occupation in America even surpassing the formidable stresses of air traffic control."

Other researchers, though, claim that police officers are more psychologically healthy than the general population. Police officers are increasingly more educated, more likely to engage in a regular program of exercise and to consume less alcohol and tobacco, and increasingly family-oriented. Healthy behavior patterns typically observed at entry training usually continue throughout the career of an officer. Even though the presence of occupation related stress seems to be well documented, it is highly controversial. Many within the law enforcement industry claim the propagation of incorrect suicide, divorce, and substance abuse statistics comes from people or organizations with political or social agendas, and that the presence of these beliefs within the industry makes it hard for health workers to help police officers in need of treatment to deal with the fear of negative consequences from police work which is necessary to enable police officers to develop a healthy expectancy of success in treatment.

Sources

Even though the presence of occupational stresses appear to be well documented, though not without controversy, the causes of workplace stress are comparatively unclear or even a matter of conjecture.

Although individual policemen and institutional public relations typically cite the risks of being killed in the line of duty as the predominant source of stress for individual policemen, there is significant controversy regarding the causes of personal workplace stress due to the fact that the actual risk of being killed is so small relative to other occupations.

It is charged that the myth of the high risks of occupational mortality connected with police work is often propagated by the law enforcement community as part of its institutional advancement and a central element in its public relations. Actual homicides of police are comparatively rare, but the reports of such incidents are typically reported in the press along with quotes by police officials or police officer family members stressing the notion that police officers 'put their lives on the line for the public' or 'risk their lives everyday', making it look like individual policemen routinely place themselves in mortal danger for low pay and little recognition, and that the view of police work as 'combat' is the source of police occupational stress indications.

Another explanation often advanced is the idea that police officers will undergo some traumatic experience in their police work that they never recover from, leading to suicide, divorce, etc. However, since the effects of such traumatic stresses is readily recognized, there are usually proactive programs in place to help individual police officers deal with the psychological effects of a traumatic event. Unfortunately, there is some evidence that such programs are actually ineffective, especially group therapies, may re-traumatize the participant, weaken coping mechanisms, and contribute to the development of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Observations where police officers and other emergency workers, such as firemen, experience the same traumatic event, it is more likely that the police officer will have difficulty dealing with the long term emotional effects of the traumatic event. On this observation, some of the academic literature suggests that along these lines the causes of occupational stress is more complex for police officers. Stress in police work is often present in other occupations, but not in an ongoing capacity. One line of thinking is that the individual stresses of police work produce a condition of chronic stress. Police officers encounter stressors in call after call which sap their emotional strength. Debilitation from this daily stress accumulates making officers more vulnerable to traumatic incidents and normal pressures of life. The weakening process is often too slow to see; neither a person nor his friends are aware of the damage being done. The effects of chronic stresses is two-fold:

First, prolonged stress causes people to regress. Their psychological growth reverses, and they become more immature. They rapidly become more childish and primitive, much like a person being sick for several days becoming more irritable and childish in its demands on other people.

Second, chronic stress numbs people's sensitivity. They can't stand to continually see human misery. They must stop feeling or they won't survive. The mind has this defense mechanism so people can continue working in horrible situations. If they kept their normal sensitivity, they would fall apart. As they become insensitive to their own suffering, they become insensitive to the suffering of others. When treated with indignity, they lose not only a sense of their own dignity but also the dignity of others. The pain of others stops bothering them, and they are no longer bothered when they hurt others.

The daily work of a police officer involves certain paradoxes and conflicts which may be difficult to deal with, the predominant examples are

Any interaction with a member of the public, whether socially or officially, such as in a traffic stop, involves a non-trivial risk of verbal abuse or physical harm. Treating a person with common respect or normal social graces requires the officer to be off guard and unprepared for an attack. Being on guard for an attack and treating every interpersonal situation with safety procedures and affirmative commands makes the police officer appear cynical, brutal, and detached, and limits his actual effectiveness with the public. Considering someone a friend or an enemy produces opposite mental states, an unnatural no-win situation engendering chronic stress.

A police department is both a professional and military organization, and these two aspects oppose each other. As a professional, he is considered to be an expert in his field and is expected to use his expertise for the good of his public. He has much discretion in how he serves the people who call upon him. However, the dangers and complexities of the work require a military structure of the organization and a military leaning in the training. Although some are actually educated, all police officers are well trained. Policies, regulations, and procedures cover every facet of police work. Everything is expected to be done by the book with substantial repercussions, including civil and criminal liability, for varying from the expectations of operating procedures. Often the facts of a situation require a course of action that does not follow procedures. If he follows procedures exactly, he knows he won't fully help the public, and the public will think he is shirking his responsibility. If the officer follows his own judgment, he is taking a risk. The community and department expect officers to use judgment, but when they do, there is a danger they will be disciplined; another unnatural no-win situation engendering chronic stress.

Police officers tend to become socially isolated. The reasons given for this isolation are varied and mostly anecdotal. One theory is that police work is not balanced. Most occupations involve a combination of good and bad results. In police work, almost everything is bad, and everybody you deal with is perceived either inherently bad or at least foolish. Another is that police officers develop a 'street wisdom' and by fiat possess a degree of authority that tends to make them perceive themselves as being morally superior to the rest of society. Whatever the reason, the public that the police deal with clearly perceive it and tend to reinforce the divide. Classically when a group of people are isolated, they become disoriented and confused. Their behavior changes drastically. Ironically an isolated class are usually the ones who are losing real world wisdom and tend to judge the world incorrectly from a very limited perspective, leading to interpersonal mistakes and more chronic stress.

A more colloquial view looks at specific sources of stress in police work. The sources of stress most often actually cited are:

The fear of killing someone in the line of duty.

Having your partner or somebody else that you feel at least partly responsible for killed in the line of duty.

Lack of support by the department or superiors.

The scheduling of work and irregular work demands resulting in a disruption of family time or family events or rituals.

The daily grind of dealing with the stupidity of the public, or the "asshole factor".

Other more academic studies have produced similar lists, but may include items that the more colloquial surveys do not reveal, such as 'exposure to neglected, battered, or dead children'

Again, the actual fear of occupational death or physical harm is not high on the list of stress sources.

There have been numerous academic studies on the specific sources of police stress, and most conclude organizational culture and workload as the key issues in officer stress. Traumatic events are usually concluded to not be of sufficient scope or prevalence to account for prevalence of suicide, divorce, and substance abuse abnormalities.

Personality theories

Some of the more esoteric, least documented or cited, and more longstanding theories for police stress symptoms involves the interaction of the specifics of police work with the personalities of individual police officers. There has been a raging debate on the fringes of psychiatry as to whether there is something about police work that causes psychiatric symptomology and personality disorders or whether there are certain personalities susceptible to disorders that are attracted to police work. There are four general possibilities:

There is something about police work, the social structure, the work atmosphere, etc., which causes stresses or presents traumas that cause personality or psychiatric disorders resulting in symptoms such as suicide, divorce, violence, substance abuse, etc. (the foundations of this possibility are outlined above)

There is one or more personality types or people with certain tendencies or proclivities who are susceptible of developing personality or psychiatric disorders, regardless of their occupation, who because of their personality or preferences are attracted to police work, and then display symptoms of stress or disorders.

There is a combination of the two.

Or there is a combination and synergistic interaction of the two.

There are personality traits that have been used to determine police applicant desirability, specifically:

openness

conscientiousness

extroversion

agreeableness

neuroticism

Personality traits considered undesirable include:

hostility

lack of impulse control

substance abuse

psychosis

paranoia

There are other personality traits that are specifically not desired for police work that are equally well documented. However, there has been relatively little academic work cited regarding the personality traits attracted to police work. The nature of personality traits of people attracted to police work tends to be a matter of conjecture and anecdotal observations. The personalities of people who are actually in police work tends to be different from that which is purported to be desired by police departments. Police officers tend to be isolated and suspicious, view expression of emotions as a weakness, and find it hard to trust and confide in others. For example, police officers are often viewed by the public to be domineering, narcissistic, authoritarian, physically oppressive, and basically the opposite of the personality traits most often cited as being desirable in a police officer. There are studies that suggest that people who take risks are attracted to police work. There is a corresponding theory that police officers actually tend to be people seeking security and stability and are attracted to the job for the steady government paycheck and government pension and adverse to the risks of business, sales, or other occupations. There is ample evidence that there is something in police work that alters personality.

The theory that there is an interaction between the personality attracted to the work and the work itself is mostly conjecture. For example, people attracted to police work are thought to crave the respect and authority that they expect with a badge, gun, uniform, and commission, but most of the people that police officers come in contact with do not respect them, and their authority is strongly regulated and limited by law, policies, and procedures, setting up a conflict resulting in chronic stress.

Abuse of power

As police officers have considerable powers and are often supported by authorities who oversee them if accused of wrongdoing, abuses are inevitable on occasion.

Systematic cases

In dictatorial, corrupt, or weak states, police officers may carry out many criminal acts for the ruling regime with impunity. Examples are the Gestapo secret police in Nazi Germany, and the role of the police in the military dictatorship in Argentina in the 1970s. Institutional racism has been found in modern police forces.

Individual cases

Individual officers, or sometimes whole units, can be corrupt or carry out various other forms of misconduct; this occasionally happens in many forces, but is particularly problematic where police pay is very low unless supplemented by bribes. Police sometimes act with unwarranted brutality when they overreact to confrontational situations, to extract a confession from a person they may or may not genuinely suspect of being guilty, or in other circumstances. Instances of racism occur, even when the police force as a whole is not found to be racist.

See also

Cops (TV series)

Fictional police officers

Field Training Officer

List of slang terms for police officers

Military police

Peace officer

Police brutality

Police rank

Police procedural

President Grover Cleveland—former Sheriff of Erie County, New York

President Theodore Roosevelt—Deputy Sheriff in the Dakota Territory, and New York City Police Commissioner

References

External links

http://www.discoverpolicing.org

Metropolitan Police history

http://www.newscotlandyard.police.uk/foi/pdfs/other_information/corporate/operational_uniform_and_equipment.pdf

http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/publications/freedom-of-information/policy.asp?id=144

http://www.gmp.police.uk/mainsite/pages/pcsouniform.htm,ts=2

http://www.policelink.com

Category:Law enforcement occupations Category:People in law enforcement Officer

bg:Полицай cs:Policista da:Politibetjent de:Polizeibeamter eo:Policisto fr:Policier io:Policistaro he:שוטר lt:Policijos tarnautojas nl:Politieagent ja:警察官 scn:Custurinu simple:Police officer sk:Policajt sl:Policist sv:Polisman i Sverige tr:Polis memuru vi:Cảnh sát

Coordinates	43°29′″N43°37′″N
birth name	Katherine Mathilda Swinton
birth date	November 05, 1960
birth place	London, England
occupation	Actress
years active	1986–present
partner	John ByrneSandro Kopp (2004–present) }}

Katherine Mathilda "Tilda" Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress known for both arthouse and mainstream films. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in ''Michael Clayton''.

Early life

Swinton was born in London, England. Her father, Major-General Sir John Swinton, KCVO, OBE, DL, who was Lord Lieutenant of Berwickshire (1989–2000), is Scottish, and her mother, Judith Balfour, Lady Swinton (née Killen), was Australian. Her paternal great-grandfather was Scottish politician and officer-of-arms George Swinton, and her maternal great-great-grandfather was Scottish botanist John Hutton Balfour. The Swinton family is an ancient Anglo-Scots family that can trace its lineage to the High Middle Ages.

Swinton attended two independent schools, the West Heath Girls' School (the same class as Diana, Princess of Wales), and also Fettes College for a brief period. In 1983, she graduated from New Hall (now known as Murray Edwards College) at Cambridge University with a degree in Social and Political Sciences. While at Cambridge, she joined the Communist Party of Great Britain.

Career

Arthouse work

Swinton worked with the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, starring in ''Mann ist Mann'' by Manfred Karge, and the Royal Shakespeare Company, before embarking on a career in film in the mid-1980s. She appeared as Julia in the 1986 television mini-series ''Zastrozzi: A Romance'' based on the Gothic novel by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her early film work included several film roles for director Derek Jarman, notably ''War Requiem'' (1989) playing a nurse opposite Sir Laurence Olivier as an old soldier. In 1991, Swinton won the Volpi Cup Best Actress award for her role in the postmodern film ''Edward II''.

Swinton also played the title role in ''Orlando'', Sally Potter's film version of the novel by Virginia Woolf. The part allowed Swinton to explore matters of gender presentation onscreen which reflected her life-long interest in androgynous style. Swinton later reflected on the role in an interview accompanied by a striking photoshoot. “People talk about androgyny in all sorts of dull ways,” said Swinton, noting that the recent rerelease of Orlando had her thinking again about its pliancy. She referred to 1920s French artist and playful gender-bender Claude Cahun: “Cahun looked at the limitlessness of an androgynous gesture, which I’ve always been interested in.”

In 1995, with producer and friend Joanna Scanlan, Swinton developed a performance/installation live art piece in the Serpentine Gallery, London, where she was on display to the public for a week, asleep or apparently so, in a glass case, as a piece of performance art. The piece is sometimes credited to Cornelia Parker, whom Swinton invited to collaborate for the installation in London. The following year, the performance, entitled ''The Maybe'', was repeated at the Museo Barracco in Rome. She also appeared in the music video for Orbital's "The Box". She has collaborated with the fashion designers Viktor & Rolf. She was the focus of their 'One Woman Show' 2003, in which they made all the models look like copies of Swinton, and she read a poem (of her own) that included the line, ''"There is only one you. Only one"''.

Mainstream films

Recent years have seen Swinton move towards more mainstream projects, including the leading role in the American film ''The Deep End'' (2001), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. She appeared as a supporting character in films such as ''The Beach'' (2000), featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, ''Vanilla Sky'' (2001) with Tom Cruise and, as the archangel Gabriel in ''Constantine'' (2005) with Keanu Reeves. Swinton has also appeared in the British films ''The Statement'' (2003) and ''Young Adam'' (2003), and sat on the jury of the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. In 2005, Swinton performed as the White Witch Jadis, in the film version of ''The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'', and as Audrey Cobb in the Mike Mills film adaptation of the novel ''Thumbsucker''. Swinton later had cameos in ''Narnia'''s sequels,''The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'' and ''The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader''.

In 2007, Swinton's performance as Karen Crowder in ''Michael Clayton'' earned her both a BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actress as well as the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role at the 2008 80th Academy Awards, the film's sole win. Swinton next appeared in the 2008 Coen Brothers film, ''Burn After Reading''. Swinton said of the film, in which she plays opposite George Clooney (with whom she also shared the screen in ''Clayton''), "I don’t know if it will make anybody else laugh, but it really made us laugh while making it." She was cast for the role of Elizabeth Abbott in ''The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'', alongside ''Burn After Reading'' co-star Brad Pitt. She had a starring role as the irresponsible eponymous character in Erick Zonca's ''Julia'', which premiered at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival and later saw a limited U.S. release in May 2009. Several critics praised her performance and some claimed it should have won her an Academy Award.

She stars in the new film adaptation of ''We Need to Talk About Kevin'' due for release in September 2011. She has joined the cast of Jim Jarmusch's untitled vampire film which will shoot in early 2012.

Other projects

In 1988, she was a member of the jury at the 38th Berlin International Film Festival.

In August 2006, she opened the new Screen Academy Scotland production centre in Edinburgh.

In July 2008, she founded the film festival Ballerina Ballroom Cinema Of Dreams. The event took place in a ballroom in Nairn in the Scottish Highlands in August.

Swinton has collaborated with artist Patrick Wolf on his 2009 album ''The Bachelor'', contributing four spoken word pieces.

Swinton appeared at the 2009 81st Academy Awards helping to present the 2009 Best Supporting Actress Awards.

In 2009, Swinton and Mark Cousins embarked on a project where they would mount a 33.5-tonne portable cinema on a large truck, hauling it manually through the Scottish Highlands, creating a travelling independent film festival. The festival was repeated again in 2011.

Personal life

Swinton lives in Nairn, in the Highland region of Scotland, near Scottish painter John Byrne and their twin children: a son, Xavier, and a daughter, Honor. She travels with her partner Sandro Kopp, a German/New Zealand painter. She has been with Kopp since 2004 and the relationship has Byrne's blessing. In an interview, Swinton commented on her domestic situation: "It’s the way we have been for nearly four years. I’m very fortunate. It takes some extraordinary men to make a situation like that work."

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1986	''Egomania – Insel ohne Hoffnung''	Sally
1986	''Zastrozzi: A Romance''	Julia	Mini TV series
1986		Lena
1987		Young Girl
1987	''Friendship's Death''	Friendship
1988	''''
1988	''Das Andere Ende der Welt''
1988	''Degrees of Blindness''
1988	''L' Ispirazione''
1989	''Play Me Something''	Hairdresser	TV
1989		Nurse
1990	''Your Cheatin' Heart''	Cissie Crouch	TV series
1990	''''	Madonna
1991		Isabella	Volpi Cup
1991	''''	Queenie
1992	''Shakespeare: The Animated Tales''	Ophelia	Mini TV series; voice
1992		Orlando	Seattle International Film Festival Award for Best ActressThessaloniki Film Festival Award for Best ActressNominated–European Film Award for Best Actress
1992	''Man to Man''	Ella/Max Gericke
1993			Voice
1993	''Das Offene Universum''	Carla	TV
1993		Lady Ottoline Morrell
1994	''Remembrance of Things Fast: True Stories Visual Lies''
1994	''Visions of Heaven and Hell''	Narrator	TV
1996	''Female Perversions''	Eve Stephens
1997	''Conceiving Ada''	Ada Augusta Byron King
1998	''Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon''	Muriel Belcher
1998	''''
1999	''''	Mum
2000		Joyce	Nominated–Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
2000	''''	Sal
2001	''Vanilla Sky''	Rebecca Dearborn
2001	''''	Margaret Hall
2002		Valerie Thomas	Nominated–Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best CastNominated–Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2002	''Teknolust''	Rosetta/Ruby/Marinne/Olive
2003	''''	Annemarie Livi
2003		Ella Gault	BAFTA Scotland for Best Actress in a Scottish FilmNominated–British Independent Film Award for Best ActressNominated–London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the Year
2005
2005	''''	Jadis, the White Witch
2005	''Broken Flowers''	Penny
2005		Audrey Cobb
2006	''Stephanie Daley''	Lydie Crane	Nominated–Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
2006		Narrator	BBC Documentary
2007	''Sleepwalkers''	Violinist
2007	''Strange Culture''	Hope Kurtz
2007	''''	Camélia
2007		Karen Crowder	Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressBAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting RoleDallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress[[Detroit Film Critics Society Awards 2007
2008		Julia	Evening Standard British Film Award for Best ActressInternational Cinephile Society Award for Best ActressVillage Voice Film Poll - Best ActressNominated–César Award for Best ActressNominated–London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the YearNominated–Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
2008	''''	Jadis, the White Witch	Cameo
2008	''Burn After Reading''	Katie Cox	Nominated–BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
2008	''''	Elizabeth Abbott
2009	''''	Blonde
2009		Emma Recchi	Dublin Film Critics Award for Best Female PerformanceEuropean Silver RibbonNominated–London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the YearNominated–San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressNominated–Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
2010	''''	Jadis, the White Witch	Cameo
2011		Eva
2011		Elizabeth Báthory	In Post-production
2012	''Moonrise Kingdom''	TBA

References

External links

Tilda Swinton: ITV Anglia video interview at the 2008 Cambridge Film Festival

BFI: Tilda Swinton

TildaSwinton.Net

Tilda Swinton: A Life in Pictures, BAFTA webcast, 27 November 2007

From ''The Guardian''

From ''BBC'' (2004)

From ''NarniaWeb'' (2005)

From ''Dark Horizons'' (2005)

Category:1960 births Category:Actors from London Category:Alumni of New Hall, Cambridge Category:Anglo-Scots Category:BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress Category:Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners Category:Communist Party of Great Britain members Category:English actors Category:English film actors Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:English voice actors Category:Living people Category:Old Fettesians Category:People from London Category:Polyamory Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members

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