Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play. Most early sources in the West that examine the art of acting (, ''hypokrisis'') discuss it as part of rhetoric.

Definition and history

One of the first actors is believed to be an ancient Greek called Thespis of Icaria. An apocryphal story says that Thespis stepped out of the dithyrambic chorus and spoke to them as a separate character. Before Thespis, the chorus narrated (for example, "Dionysus did this, Dionysus said that"). When Thespis stepped out from the chorus, he spoke as if he was the character (for example, "I am Dionysus. I did this"). From Thespis' name derives the word ''thespian''.

Acting requires a wide range of skills, including vocal projection, clarity of speech, physical expressivity, emotional facility, a well-developed imagination, and the ability to interpret drama. Acting also often demands an ability to employ dialects, accents and body language, improvisation, observation and emulation, mime, and stage combat. Many actors train at length in special programs or colleges to develop these skills, and today the vast majority of professional actors have undergone extensive training. Even though one actor may have years of training, they always strive for more lessons; the cinematic and theatrical world is always changing and because of this, the actor must stay as up to date as possible. Actors and actresses will often have many instructors and teachers for a full range of training involving, but not limited to, singing, scene-work, monologue techniques, audition techniques and partner work.

Professional actors

Not all people working as actors in film, television or theatre are professionally trained. Conservatories typically offer two- to four-year training on all aspects of acting. Universities will offer three- to four-year programs, where a student is often able to choose to focus on drama, while still learning about other aspects of theatre. Schools will vary in their approach, but in North America the most popular method taught derives from the "system" of Constantin Stanislavski, which was developed and popularised in America by Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, and others. The ambiguously termed method acting came about through iterations of Stanislavski's system by Strasberg. Other approaches may include a more physical approach, following the teachings of Jerzy Grotowski and others, or may be based on the training developed by other theatre practitioners including Sanford Meisner. Other classes may include mask work, improvisation, and acting for the camera. Regardless of a school's approach, students should expect intensive training in textual interpretation, voice and movement. Although there are some teachers who will encourage the improvisation as technique in order to free the actor of limitations in rehearsal. Harold Guskin's approach or "taking it off the page" as he calls it is steeped in this philosophy. Applications to drama programs and conservatories are through auditions in the United States. Anybody over the age of 18 can usually apply to drama school.

Training may also start at a very young age. Acting classes and professional schools targeted at the under-18 crowd are offered in many locations. These classes introduce young actors to different aspects of acting and theatre from scene study to musical theatre.

References

Sources

External links

Backstage Magazine – Large website and subscription service for actors.

Category:Role-playing

bn:অভিনয় cy:Actio hr:Gluma it:Arte drammatica ko:연기 (예술) kn:ನಟನೆ jbo:keinritli ml:അഭിനയം mr:अभिनय ms:Lakonan ru:Актёрское искусство sv:Skådespelarkonst uk:Акторське мистецтво ur:اداکاری

Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
name	Sir Ian McKellen
birth name	Ian Murray McKellen
birth date	May 25, 1939
birth place	Burnley, Lancashire, England
occupation	Actor
years active	1959–present
partner	Brian Taylor (1964–1972)Sean Mathias (1978–1988)
website	http://www.mckellen.com/ }}

Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is known to many for roles such as Sir Leigh Teabing in ''The Da Vinci Code'', Gandalf in the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy and as Magneto in the ''X-Men'' films.

In 1988, McKellen came out and announced he was gay. He became a founding member of Stonewall, one of the United Kingdom's most influential LGBT rights groups, of which he remains a prominent spokesman. McKellen was knighted in 1991 for services to the performing arts.

Early life

McKellen was born in Burnley, Lancashire, England, though he spent most of his early life in Wigan. Born shortly before the outbreak of World War II, the experience had some lasting impact on him. In response to an interview question when an interviewer remarked that he seemed quite calm in the aftermath of the 11 September attacks, he said: "Well, darling, you forget — I slept under a steel plate until I was four years old."

McKellen's father, Denis Murray McKellen, a civil engineer, was a lay preacher, and both of his grandfathers were preachers. At the time of Ian's birth, his parents already had a five-year-old daughter, Jean. His home environment was strongly Christian, but non-orthodox. "My upbringing was of low nonconformist Christians who felt that you led the Christian life in part by behaving in a Christian manner to everybody you met." When he was 12, his mother, Margery Lois (''née'' Sutcliffe), died; his father died when he was 24. When he came out of the closet to his stepmother, Gladys McKellen, who was a member of the Religious Society of Friends: "Not only was she not fazed, but as a member of a society which declared its indifference to people's sexuality years back, I think she was just glad for my sake that I wasn't lying anymore."

McKellen attended Bolton School (boys division), of which he is still a supporter, attending regularly to talk to pupils. McKellen's acting career started at Bolton Little Theatre, of which he is now the patron. An early fascination with the theatre was encouraged by his parents, who took him on a family outing to ''Peter Pan'' at the Manchester Opera House when he was three. When he was nine, his main Christmas present was a wood and bakelite, fold-away Victorian Theatre from Pollocks Toy Theatres, with cardboard scenery and wires to push on the cut-outs of Cinderella and of Laurence Olivier's Hamlet. His sister took him to his first Shakespeare play, ''Twelfth Night'', by the amateurs of Wigan's Little Theatre, shortly followed by their ''Macbeth'' and Wigan High School for Girls' production of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' with music by Mendelssohn and with the role of Bottom played by Jean McKellen. (Jean continued to act, direct, and produce amateur theatre up to her death.)

He won a scholarship to St Catharine's College, Cambridge, when he was eighteen, where he developed an attraction to Derek Jacobi. He has characterised it as "a passion that was undeclared and unrequited".

Career

Theatre

While at Cambridge McKellen was a member of the Marlowe Society, appearing in ''Henry IV'' (as Shallow) alongside Trevor Nunn and Jacobi (March 1959), ''Cymbeline'' (as Posthumus, opposite Margaret Drabble as Imogen) and ''Doctor Faustus''. His first professional appearance was in 1961 at the Nottingham Playhouse, as Roper in ''A Man for All Seasons'', although an audio recording of the Marlowe Society's ''Cymbeline'' had gone on commercial sale as part of the Argo Shakespeare series. After four years in regional repertory theatres he made his first West End appearance, in ''A Scent of Flowers'', regarded as a "notable success". In 1965 he was a member of Laurence Olivier's National Theatre Company at the Old Vic, which led to rôles at the Chichester Festival. In the 1970s and 1980s McKellen became a well-known figure in British theatre, performing frequently at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre, where he played several leading Shakespearean roles, including the titular part in ''Macbeth'' (which he had first assayed for Trevor Nunn in a "gripping...out of the ordinary" production, with Judi Dench, at Stratford in 1976), and Iago in ''Othello'', in award-winning productions directed by Nunn. Both of these productions were adapted into TV films, also directed by Nunn.

In 2007 he returned to the Royal Shakespeare Company, in productions of ''King Lear'' and ''The Seagull'', both directed by Trevor Nunn. In 2009 he appeared in a very popular revival of ''Waiting for Godot'' at London's Haymarket Theatre, directed by Sean Mathias and playing opposite Patrick Stewart.

Sir Ian is also President and Patron of the Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain, an association of amateur theatre organisations throughout the UK.

Popular success

McKellen had taken film roles throughout his career — beginning in 1969 with his role of George Matthews in ''A Touch of Love'', but it was not until the 1990s that he became more widely recognised in this medium, through several roles in blockbuster Hollywood movies.

In 1993, McKellen had a supporting role as a South African tycoon in the critically acclaimed ''Six Degrees of Separation'', in which he starred with Stockard Channing, Donald Sutherland, and Will Smith. In the same year, he appeared in minor roles in the television miniseries ''Tales of the City'' (based on the novel by his friend Armistead Maupin) and the film ''Last Action Hero'', in which he played Death. The same year, McKellen appeared in the TV movie ''And the Band Played On'', about the discovery of the AIDS virus, for which McKellen won a CableACE Award for Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries and was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.

In 1995, he played the title role in the critical hit ''Richard III'', which transported the setting into an alternative 1930s wherein England is ruled by Fascists. McKellen co-produced and co-wrote the film, adapting the play for the screen based on a stage production of Shakespeare's play directed by Richard Eyre for the Royal National Theatre, in which McKellen had appeared. In McKellen's role as executive producer he returned his £50,000 fee in order to complete the filming of the final battle. In his review of the film, Hal Hinson of ''The Washington Post'', called McKellen's performance a "lethally flamboyant incarnation" and said his "florid mastery ... dominates everything". His performance in the title role garnered best actor nominations for the BAFTA Award and Golden Globe, and won the European Film Award for Best Actor. His screenplay was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

His breakthrough role among mainstream American audiences came with the modestly acclaimed ''Apt Pupil'', based on a story by Stephen King. McKellen portrayed an old Nazi officer, living under a false name in the U.S., who was befriended by a curious teenager (Brad Renfro) who threatened to expose him unless he told his story in detail. His casting was based partly on his performance in ''Cold Comfort Farm'', seen by ''Apt Pupil'' director Bryan Singer, despite the BBC's refusal to release it in cinemas. He was subsequently nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1998 film ''Gods and Monsters'', wherein he played James Whale, the director of ''Show Boat'' (1936) and ''Frankenstein''.

He reteamed with Bryan Singer to play the comic book character Magneto in ''X-Men'' and its sequels ''X2: X-Men United'' and ''X-Men: The Last Stand''. It was while filming ''X-Men'' that he was cast as the wizard Gandalf in Peter Jackson's three-film adaptation of ''The Lord of the Rings'' (consisting of ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', ''The Two Towers'', and ''The Return of the King''). McKellen received honors from the Screen Actors Guild for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his work in ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the same role. He also voiced Gandalf in the video game adaptions of the film trilogy as well as in ''The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age''. On January 10, 2011 it was officially confirmed that Mckellen would reprise the role of Gandalf in the film adaptation of ''The Hobbit''. On 16 March 2002, he was the host on ''Saturday Night Live''. In 2003, McKellen made a guest appearance as himself on the American cartoon show ''The Simpsons'', in a special British-themed episode entitled "The Regina Monologues", along with Tony Blair and J. K. Rowling. In April and May 2005, he played the role of Mel Hutchwright in Granada Television's long running soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', fulfilling a lifelong ambition. He is also known for his voicework, having narrated Richard Bell's film ''Eighteen'', as a grandfather who leaves his World War II memoirs on audiocassette for his teenage grandson.

McKellen has appeared in limited release films, such as ''Emile'' (which was shot in a few days during the ''X2'' shoot), ''Neverwas'' and ''Asylum''. He appeared as Sir Leigh Teabing in ''The Da Vinci Code.'' During a 17 May 2006 interview on ''The Today Show'' with the ''Da Vinci Code'' cast and director, Matt Lauer posed a question to the group about how they would have felt if the film had borne a prominent disclaimer that it is a work of fiction, as some religious groups wanted. McKellen responded, "I've often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer in the front saying 'This is fiction.' I mean, walking on water? It takes... an act of faith. And I have faith in this movie — not that it's true, not that it's factual, but that it's a jolly good story." He continued, "And I think audiences are clever enough and bright enough to separate out fact and fiction, and discuss the thing when they've seen it". McKellen appeared in the 2006 series of Ricky Gervais' comedy series ''Extras'', where he played himself directing Gervais' character Andy Millman in a play about gay lovers. McKellen received a 2007 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor - Comedy Series nomination for his performance. He also appeared in the 2009 remake of the 1967 The Prisoner, where he played the character Number Two.

Personal life

McKellen and his first serious partner, Brian Taylor, a history teacher from Bolton, began their relationship in 1964. It lasted for eight years, ending in 1972. They lived in London, where McKellen continued to pursue his career as an actor. For over a decade, he has lived in a five-story Victorian conversion in Narrow Street, Limehouse. In 1978 he met his second partner, Sean Mathias, at the Edinburgh Festival. This relationship lasted till 1988. According to Mathias, the ten-year love affair was tempestuous, with conflicts over McKellen's success in acting versus Mathias' somewhat less-successful career.

A friend of Ian Charleson and a great admirer of his work, McKellen contributed a chapter to the 1990 book, ''For Ian Charleson: A Tribute''.

In the late 1980s, McKellen lost his appetite for meat except for fish, and so mostly excludes it from his diet.

Activism

LGBT rights campaigning

While McKellen had made his sexual orientation known to his fellow actors early on in his stage career, it was not until 1988 that he came out to the general public, in a programme on BBC Radio 3. The context that prompted McKellen's decision — overriding any concerns about a possible negative effect on his career — was that the controversial Section 28 of the Local Government Bill, simply known as Section 28 was under consideration in the British Parliament. McKellen has stated that he was influenced in his decision by the advice and support of his friends, among them noted gay author Armistead Maupin.

In 2003, during an appearance on ''Have I Got News For You'', McKellen claimed that when he visited Michael Howard, then Environment Secretary (responsible for local government), in 1988 to lobby against Section 28, Howard refused to change his position but did ask him to leave an autograph for his children. McKellen agreed, but wrote "Fuck off, I'm gay." McKellen also described Howard's junior ministers, the Conservatives David Wilshire and Dame Jill Knight, who were the architects of Section 28, as the 'ugly sisters' of a political pantomime.

Section 28, which proposed to prohibit local authorities from "promoting homosexuality" 'as a kind of pretended family relationship', was ambiguous and the actual impact of the amendment was uncertain. McKellen became active in fighting the proposed law, and declared himself gay on a BBC Radio programme where he debated the subject of Section 28 with the conservative journalist Peregrine Worsthorne. He has said of this period: "My own participating in that campaign was a focus for people [to] take comfort that if Ian McKellen was on board for this, perhaps it would be all right for other people to be as well, gay and straight". Section 28 was, however, enacted and remained on the statute books until 2003.

McKellen has continued to be very active in LGBT rights efforts. In a statement on his website regarding his activism, the actor commented that: }}

McKellen is a co-founder of Stonewall, a LGB rights lobby group in the United Kingdom, named after the Stonewall riots. McKellen is also Patron of LGBT History Month, Pride London, GAY-GLOS and The Lesbian & Gay Foundation. and FFLAG where he appears in their video Parents Talking.

In 1994, at the closing ceremony of the Gay Games, he briefly took the stage to address the crowd, saying, "I'm Sir Ian McKellen, but you can call me Serena" (This nickname, originally given to him by Stephen Fry, had been circulating within the gay community since McKellen's knighthood was conferred). In 2002, he attended the Academy Awards with his then-boyfriend, New Zealander Nick Cuthell — possibly a first for a major nominee since Nigel Hawthorne, the first openly gay performer to be nominated for an Academy Award, who attended the ceremonies with his partner, Trevor Bentham, in 1995.

In 2006, McKellen spoke at the pre-launch of the 2007 LGBT History Month in the UK, lending his support to the organisation and its founder, Sue Sanders. In 2007 McKellen became a patron of The Albert Kennedy Trust, an organisation that provides support to young, homeless and troubled LGBT people.

In 2006, McKellen became a Patron of Oxford Pride. At the time he said:

}}

McKellen has taken his activism internationally, where it caused a major stir in Singapore. Invited to do an interview on a morning show, he shocked the interviewer by asking if they could recommend him a gay bar. The program immediately ended. In December 2008, he was named in ''Out'''s annual Out 100 list.

In May 2011, McKellen called Sergey Sobyanin, the Mayor of Moscow, a "coward" when he refused to allow gay parades in the city.

Charity work

In April 2010, along with Brian Cox and Eleanor Bron, appeared in a series of TV advertisements to support Age UK, the charity recently formed from the merger of Age Concern and Help the Aged. All three actors gave their time free of charge.

Selected stage and screen credits

Stage

''Much Ado About Nothing'', Royal National Theatre, Old Vic, London, 1965

''Trelawny of the 'Wells''', National Theatre, London & Chichester Festival, 1965

''The Promise'', West End; Broadway, 1967

''Edward II'' (in title role), Edinburgh Festival & West End, 1969

''Hamlet'' (title role), UK/European Tour, 1971

'''Tis Pity She's a Whore'', UK Tour, 1972

''Dr Faustus'' (title role), Royal Shakespeare Company, Edinburgh Festival & Aldwych Theatre (London), 1974

''King John'', RSC, 1975

''Romeo and Juliet'' (as Romeo), RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon & London, 1976

''The Winter's Tale'', RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1976

''Macbeth'' (title role), RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon & Young Vic (London), 1976–1977

''The Alchemist'', RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon & London, 1977

''Every Good Boy Deserves Favour'', RSC, Barbican Arts Centre (London), 1977

''Three Sisters'', RSC, UK Tour, 1978

''Bent'', (as Max) Royal Court and Criterion, London, 1979

''Amadeus'' (as Salieri), Broadway, 1980

''Coriolanus'' (title role), National Theatre, 1984

''Wild Honey'', National Theatre, 1984 (& Broadway, 1986)

''The Cherry Orchard'' (as Lopakhin), National Theatre, 1985

''The Duchess of Malfi'', National Theatre, 1985

''The Real Inspector Hound'', National Theatre, London & Paris, 1985

''Othello'' (as Iago), RSC, London & Stratford-upon-Avon, 1989

''Richard III'' (title role), National Theatre, world tour, 1990 & US tour, 1992

''Uncle Vanya'' (title role), National Theatre, 1992

''Peter Pan'' (as Mr. Darling/Captain Hook), National Theatre, 1997

''An Enemy of the People'', National Theatre, 1997 & Ahmanson Theatre (Los Angeles), 1998

''Present Laughter'', West Yorkshire Playhouse (Leeds, England), 1998

''Dance of Death'', at the Broadhurst Theatre (New York) in 2001. At the Lyric Theatre (London, England) in 2003

''Aladdin'', (as Widow Twankie) Old Vic, 2004 & 2005

''The Cut'', Donmar Warehouse, 2006

''King Lear'' by ''William Shakespeare'', (as Lear), Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 2007; New Zealand, 2007; New York (Brooklyn Academy of Music), 2007, Minneapolis, 2007, New London Theatre (West End), 2007–8

''The Seagull'' by ''Anton Chekhov'', (as Sorin), Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 2007; New York (Brooklyn Academy of Music), 2007 Minneapolis, 2007, New London Theatre (West End), 2007–8

''Waiting for Godot'' by ''Samuel Beckett'', (as Estragon), Theatre Royal Haymarket, London, 2009 and 2010; Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, Australia, 2010 and Fugard Theatre, Cape Town, South Africa, 2010

''The Syndicate'' by Eduardo de Filippo, Chichester Festival, 2011

Filmography

Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1966			(TV)
		Leonidik
	Roger
	George Matthews
	''Priest of Love''	Lawrence
	Narrator
		Paul Chauvelin
	Walter
1983		Dr. Theodore Cuza
		Sir Andrew Charleson
	Arthur Kronfeld
1989		John Profumo
		Geoffrey Miller
''The Ballad of Little Jo''	Percy Corcoran
''Last Action Hero''	Death	(cameo appearance)
	Bill Kraus	CableACE Awards
		Quilt Documentary Narrator	(voice)
	Dr. Reinhardt Lane
''[[I'll Do Anything''	John Earl McAlpine
		Will Gates
		European Film Awards
''[[Jack and Sarah''	William
1996	''Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny''	Nicholas II
	''Swept from the Sea''	Dr. James Kennedy
	Uncle Freddie
		Kurt Dussander	Saturn Award for Best Supporting ActorBroadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor (also for ''Gods and Monsters'')Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor (also for ''Gods and Monsters'')
''Gods and Monsters''	James Whale	British Independent Film Award for Best ActorBroadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor (also for ''Apt Pupil'')Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorChlotrudis Award for Best ActorFlorida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor (also for ''Apt Pupil'')Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead MaleKansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorLos Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNational Board of Review Award for Best ActorOnline Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorSan Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorSan Sebastián International Film Festival Award for Best ActorToronto Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated—Academy Award for Best ActorNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading RoleNominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1999		Mr. Creakle	(TV)
2000
2001	''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''		Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best CastSaturn Award for Best Supporting ActorScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting RoleNominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleNominated—Empire Awards
	2002	''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers''	Gandalf the White
	''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''	Gandalf the White
	Emile	Nominated—Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
''The Simpsons''	Himself	The Regina Monologues episode
2004		Jason Anders (in voice)
	''Neverwas''	Gabriel Finch
	Dr. Peter Cleave
	Zebedee	(voice)
''Coronation Street''	Mel Hutchwright	(10 episodes)
		Ian McKellen	Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
''Flushed Away''	The Toad
''X-Men: The Last Stand''		Nominated—Irish Film & Television Award for Best International ActorNominated—Teen Choice Awards for Movies – Choice Sleazebag (also for ''The Da Vinci Code'')
	Sir Leigh Teabing
		Narrator	(voice)
	Iorek Byrnison	(voice)
2008		King Lear
2009
2012		Gandalf the Grey	Filming
2013		Gandalf the Grey	Filming

Music

Vampire in the music video "Heart" by Pet Shop Boys

The man who's "falling out of reach" in the music video "Falling Out of Reach" by Guillemots

Appears on the Scissor Sisters track "Invisible Light", from their 2010 album "Night Work", reciting a passage regarding the "Invisible Light" of the title.

Audiobooks

Audiobook narrator of Michelle Paver's ''Chronicles of Ancient Darkness'' series ''Wolf Brother'', ''Spirit Walker'', ''Soul Eater'', ''Outcast'', "Oath Breaker", "Ghost Hunter"

Other work

A recording of McKellen's voice is heard before performances at the Royal Festival Hall, reminding patrons to ensure their mobile phones and watch alarms are switched off, and to keep coughing to a minimum.

Awards and honours

Honours

He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1979, and knighted in 1991 New Year Honours for his outstanding work and contributions to theatre. In the 2008 New Year Honours he was made a Companion of Honour (CH) for services to drama and to equality.

Honourary degrees

In 2004 McKellen was conferred an honourary Doctor of Letters by Lancaster University. He was praised for his diversity of roles, his "deeply considered dramatic technique" and his Lancastrian roots.

Awards

1981: New York Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play, for ''Amadeus''

1984: London Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Revival, for ''Wild Honey''

1984: London Evening Standard Award for Best Actor, for ''Coriolanus''

1989: London Evening Standard Award for Best Actor, for ''Othello''

1990: London Olivier Award for Best Actor, for ''Richard III''

1998: Back Stage West Garland Awards, for his one-man show ''A Knight Out in Los Angeles''

2004: Manila, Philippines Pride International Film Festival's Lifetime Achievement & Distinction Award''

2007: Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production, for ''Flushed Away''

In May 2007, he was named, by the Independent on Sunday Pink List, the fifth most influential gay person in Britain, down from the 1st place the previous year. 2009: San Sebastián International Film Festival Donostia Award in recognition of an extensive professional career. 2010: Empire Awards 2010: Empire Icon Award

References

External links

McKellen's home page

Interviews, blogs and clips

Good Morning (TVNZ) interview with McKellen - Waiting for Godot/The Hobbit

Interview and photoshoot factory-publishing.com

McKellen's personal pages on the Lord of the Rings movie, with a diary and answers to questions by fans

Interview at www.sci-fi-online.com

Podcast interview

Interview at AfterElton.com

Extended BBC interviews with McKellen as he prepares to play King Lear

"A conversation with Sir Ian": Interactive video interview with McKellen on Shakespeare, Richard III and Richard's opening speech

Emma Brockes, ''Every inch a king'' (interview) ''The Guardian'', November 2007

Ian McKellen: A Free Man The Telegraph, 15 December 2008

Category:2012 Summer Olympics cultural ambassadors Category:Actors awarded British knighthoods Category:Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Category:American Theatre Hall of Fame inductees Category:Annie Award winners Category:European Film Awards winners (people) Category:Back Stage West Garland Award recipients Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Drama Desk Award winners Category:English atheists Category:English film actors Category:English stage actors Category:English video game actors Category:English voice actors Category:Evening Standard Award for Best Actor Category:Gay actors Category:Independent Spirit Award winners Category:Knights Bachelor Category:LGBT people from England Category:LGBT rights activists from the United Kingdom Category:Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Category:Old Boltonians Category:Olivier Award winners Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Burnley Category:People from Wigan Category:Royal National Theatre Company members Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members Category:Shakespearean actors Category:Tony Award winners Category:Audio book narrators Category:1939 births Category:Living people Category:GLAAD Media Awards winners

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Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
name	Larry Moss
birth date	September 25, 1970
birth place	New York, USA
nationality	American
field	Sculpture, Performance
works	''Fantastic Flying Octopus'' (2003)''Balloon Manor'' (2004-)
awards	}}

Lawrence “Larry” Charles Moss (born September 25, 1970) is an American artist who works mainly with latex balloons. Renowned in his field for his large and technically challenging sculptures, he has orchestrated the creation of several large scale installations in North America and Asia, including a successful Guinness World Record attempt (with fellow artist Royal Sorell) for largest, non-round balloon sculpture, the world's first piloted flying balloon sculpture, and Balloon Manor, a large-scale haunted house made entirely from balloons. Moss is also the founder of one of the first 50 non-academic web sites established on the internet, BalloonHQ.com, a community resource for balloon enthusiasts.

Background

Moss grew up in Queens, NY, and attended LaGuardia High School (featured in the movie ''“Fame”'') as a musician. During that time he also learned to juggle and perform magic tricks. He attended the University of Rochester, graduating with degrees in Mathematics, Computer Science, and Education. Moss has worked as a programmer and also performs a science show at elementary schools in Western New York State.

Major works

World Record

Moss & Sorell were commissioned to create a world-record sized balloon sculpture in Belgium in 2000. They designed a scene with two soccer players kicking a ball into a goal. At the time, the sculpture was the largest non-round balloon sculpture in the world. It was constructed with over 40,750 inflated latex balloons. The installation was built without framing, line, or glue using traditional balloon twisting methods. In addition to Moss and Sorell, 42 additional crew members were required to construct the piece. Construction of the sculpture took over 640 man hours. The sculpture stood tall and was about wide. Each of the soccer players was approximately tall.

World’s First Piloted Balloon Sculpture

In July 2003, Moss orchestrated the creation of the “Fantastic Flying Octopus” a large balloon sculpture piloted by John Ninomiya. A 23-member team of balloon artists, an eight-member flight crew, and countless community members were utilized to build and launch the first ever piloted latex balloon sculpture. Nearly 20,000 twisting balloons were assembled by artists from around the US and Canada to create the Fantastic Flying Octopus. Several thousand people showed up to watch the construction and launch of the cluster balloon craft, in Sodus Bay, NY, which was powered solely by wind and of helium. Approximately 700 man hours went into the construction of the octopus over a span of 5 days.

Balloon Manor

Beginning in 2004 and continuing to present day, Moss’s focus became “Balloon Manor” a working haunted house made entirely of balloons. Moss organized professional balloon artists as designers, and community volunteers, to build, promote, and run the haunted house. Each haunted house requires over 100,000 balloons and at least fifty crew members. About 10,000 people visit the house each year.

Balloon HQ

In 1992, Moss began a small email discussion list for balloon twisters. The list was archived online, and visual content was added in 1994, marking the beginning of BalloonHQ. As internet usage exploded in the late 1990s nearly every serious balloon artist joined the “BalloonHQ Community” prompting Moss to partner with Sheena Beaverson and Mark Balzer to administer the site. Discussions on the site lead to the first balloon twisting convention (T-Jam in 1999), the first international photo contest, and the free dissemination of balloon ideas and designs. Today, in addition to remaining an important industry dialogue, BalloonHQ covers important industry events and offers its members custom portfolios and access to specialized educational material.

Educator

Larry Moss is also a popular industry educator. He has taught balloon art in Europe, Asia, and America. He is the author of several books and balloon kits.

Publications

Climb Inside (paperback, 2007)

Balloon Architecture (paperback and kit 2007)

Flying an Octopus: Raising Balloon Art to New Heights (DVD, 2003)

Balloonicature: The Many Faces of Balloon Art (CD-ROM, 2000)

Attack of the Demon: Large Scale Balloon Art (CD-ROM, 1999)

Twisting History: Lessons in Balloon Sculpting (paperback, 1995)

BalloonHQ.com - founder and lead maintainer of largest balloon art resource on Internet, providing information to 25,000 people weekly (1992–present)

See also

Balloon twisting

External links

airigami.com

BalloonManor.com

BalloonHQ.com

howtocatchamouse.com

The Fantastic Flying Octopus

Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:University of Rochester alumni Category:People from Queens Category:American performance artists

Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
Name	Heath Ledger
Alt	Close up of a man's face with brown eyes, tousled brown hair and scraggly beard growth. He is looking toward his left. He is wearing a grey jumper with an orange stripe near his left shoulder and upper left arm. The background is blue with out of focus writing.
Birth name	Heath Andrew Ledger
Birth date	April 04, 1979
Birth place	Perth, Australia
Death date	January 22, 2008
Death place	New York City, United States
Death cause	Accidental prescription drug overdose
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1992–2008
Domesticpartner	Michelle Williams (2004–2007) }}

Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian television and film actor. After performing roles in Australian television and film during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career. His work encompassed nineteen films, including ''10 Things I Hate About You'' (1999), ''The Patriot'' (2000), ''Monster's Ball'' (2001), ''A Knight's Tale'' (2001), ''Brokeback Mountain'' (2005), and ''The Dark Knight'' (2008). In addition to acting, he produced and directed music videos and aspired to be a film director.

For his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in ''Brokeback Mountain'', Ledger won the 2005 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and the 2006 "Best Actor" award from the Australian Film Institute and was nominated for the 2005 Academy Award for Best Actor as well as the 2006 BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Posthumously he shared the 2007 Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award with the rest of the ensemble cast, the director, and the casting director for the film ''I'm Not There'', which was inspired by the life and songs of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. In the film, Ledger portrayed a fictional actor named Robbie Clark, one of six characters embodying aspects of Dylan's life and persona. Ledger received numerous accolades for his critically acclaimed portrayal of the Joker in ''The Dark Knight'', including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, a Best Actor International Award at the 2008 Australian Film Institute Awards, for which he became the first actor to win an award posthumously, the 2008 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor, the 2009 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and the 2009 BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Ledger died in January 2008, from an accidental "toxic combination of prescription drugs". A few months before his death, Ledger had finished filming his penultimate performance, as the Joker in ''The Dark Knight'', his death coming during editing of the film and casting a shadow over the subsequent promotion of the $180 million production. At the time of his death, on 22 January 2008, he had completed about half of his work performing the role of Tony in Terry Gilliam's film ''The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus''.

Early life

Heath Ledger was born in Perth, Western Australia, the son of Sally Ledger (née Ramshaw), a French teacher, and Kim Ledger, a racing-car driver and mining engineer, whose family established and owned the Ledger Engineering Foundry. The Sir Frank Ledger Charitable Trust is named after his great-grandfather. Ledger attended Mary's Mount Primary School, in Gooseberry Hill, and later Guildford Grammar School, where he had his first acting experiences, starring in a school production as Peter Pan at age 10. His parents separated when he was 10 and divorced when he was 11. Ledger's older sister Kate, an actress and later a publicist, to whom he was very close, inspired his acting on stage, and his love of Gene Kelly inspired his successful choreography, leading to Guildford Grammar's 60-member team's "first all-boy victory" at the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge. Heath's and Kate's other siblings include two half-sisters, Ashleigh Bell (b. 1989), his mother's daughter with her second husband and his stepfather Roger Bell, and Olivia Ledger (b. 1997), his father's daughter with second wife and his stepmother Emma Brown.

Career

1990s

After sitting for early graduation exams at 16, Ledger left school to pursue an acting career. With Trevor DiCarlo, his best friend since he was three years old, Ledger drove across Australia from Perth to Sydney, returning to Perth to take a small role in ''Clowning Around'' (1992), the first part of a two-part television series, and to work on the TV series ''Sweat'' (1996), in which he played a gay cyclist. From 1993 to 1997, Ledger also had parts in the Perth television series ''Ship to Shore'' (1993); in the short-lived Fox Broadcasting Company fantasy-drama ''Roar'' (1997); in ''Home and Away'' (1997), one of Australia's most successful television shows; and in the Australian film ''Blackrock'' (1997), his feature film debut. In 1999, he starred in the teen comedy ''10 Things I Hate About You'' and in the acclaimed Australian crime film ''Two Hands'', directed by Gregor Jordan.

2000s

From 2000 to 2005, he starred in supporting roles as Gabriel Martin, the eldest son of Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson), in ''The Patriot'' (2000), and as Sonny Grotowski, the son of Hank Grotowski (Billy Bob Thornton), in ''Monster's Ball'' (2000); and in leading or title roles in ''A Knight's Tale'' (2001), ''The Four Feathers'' (2002), ''The Order'' (2003), ''Ned Kelly'' (2003), ''Casanova'' (2005), ''The Brothers Grimm'' (2005), and ''Lords of Dogtown'' (2005). In 2001, he won a ShoWest Award as "Male Star of Tomorrow".

Ledger received "Best Actor of 2005" awards from both the New York Film Critics Circle and the San Francisco Film Critics Circle for his performance in ''Brokeback Mountain'', in which he plays Wyoming ranch hand Ennis Del Mar, who has a love affair with aspiring rodeo rider Jack Twist, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. He also received a nomination for Golden Globe Best Actor in a Drama and a nomination for Academy Award for Best Actor for this performance, making him, at age 26, the ninth-youngest nominee for a Best Actor Oscar. In ''The New York Times'' review of the film, critic Stephen Holden writes: "Both Mr. Ledger and Mr. Gyllenhaal make this anguished love story physically palpable. Mr. Ledger magically and mysteriously disappears beneath the skin of his lean, sinewy character. It is a great screen performance, as good as the best of Marlon Brando and Sean Penn." In a review in ''Rolling Stone'', Peter Travers states: "Ledger's magnificent performance is an acting miracle. He seems to tear it from his insides. Ledger doesn't just know how Ennis moves, speaks and listens; he knows how he breathes. To see him inhale the scent of a shirt hanging in Jack's closet is to take measure of the pain of love lost."

After ''Brokeback Mountain,'' Ledger costarred with fellow Australian Abbie Cornish in the 2006 Australian film ''Candy,'' an adaptation of the 1998 novel ''Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction,'' as young heroin addicts in love attempting to break free of their addiction, whose mentor is played by Geoffrey Rush; for his performance as sometime poet Dan, Ledger was nominated for three "Best Actor" awards, including one of the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards, which both Cornish and Rush won in their categories. Shortly after the release of ''Candy,'' Ledger was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. As one of six actors embodying different aspects of the life of Bob Dylan in the 2007 film ''I'm Not There,'' directed by Todd Haynes, Ledger "won praise for his portrayal of 'Robbie [Clark],' a moody, counter-culture actor who represents the romanticist side of Dylan, but says accolades are never his motivation." Posthumously, on 23 February 2008, he shared the 2007 Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award with the rest of the film's ensemble cast, its director, and its casting director.

In his next to last film performance, Ledger played the Joker in ''The Dark Knight'', directed by Christopher Nolan, first released, in Australia, on 16 July 2008, nearly six months after his death. While still working on the film, in London, Ledger told Sarah Lyall, in their interview published in the ''New York Times'' on 4 November 2007, that he viewed ''The Dark Knight'''s Joker as a "psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy."

To prepare for the role, Ledger told ''Empire'', "I sat around in a hotel room in London for about a month, locked myself away, formed a little diary and experimented with voices – it was important to try to find a somewhat iconic voice and laugh. I ended up landing more in the realm of a psychopath – someone with very little to no conscience towards his acts"; after reiterating his view of the character as "just an absolute sociopath, a cold-blooded, mass-murdering clown", he added that Nolan had given him "free rein" to create the role, which he found "fun, because there are no real boundaries to what the Joker would say or do. Nothing intimidates him, and everything is a big joke." For his work in ''The Dark Knight,'' Ledger won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, his family accepting it on his behalf, as well as numerous other posthumous awards including the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, which Christopher Nolan accepted for him.

At the time of his death, on 22 January 2008, Ledger had completed about half of the work for his final film performance as Tony in ''The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.''

Directorial work

Ledger had aspirations to become a film director and had made some music videos, which director Todd Haynes praised highly in his tribute to Ledger upon accepting the ISP Robert Altman Award, which Ledger posthumously shared, on 23 February 2008. In 2006 Ledger directed music videos for the title track on Australian hip-hop artist N'fa's CD debut solo album ''Cause An Effect'' and for the single "Seduction Is Evil (She's Hot)". Later that year, Ledger inaugurated a new record label, Masses Music, with singer Ben Harper and also directed a music video for Harper's song "Morning Yearning".

At a news conference at the 2007 Venice Film Festival, Ledger spoke of his desire to make a documentary film about the British singer-songwriter Nick Drake, who died in 1974, at the age of 26, from an overdose of an antidepressant. Ledger created and acted in a music video set to Drake's recording of the singer's 1974 song about depression "Black Eyed Dog"—a title "inspired by Winston Churchill’s descriptive term for depression" (''black dog''); it was shown publicly only twice, first at the Bumbershoot Festival, in Seattle, held from 1 to 3 September 2007; and secondly as part of "A Place To Be: A Celebration of Nick Drake", with its screening of ''Their Place: Reflections On Nick Drake,'' "a series of short filmed homages to Nick Drake" (including Ledger's), sponsored by American Cinematheque, at the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, in Hollywood, on 5 October 2007. After Ledger's death, his music video for "Black Eyed Dog" was shown on the Internet and excerpted in news clips distributed via YouTube.

He was working with Scottish screenwriter and producer Allan Scott on an adaptation of the 1983 novel ''The Queen's Gambit'' by Walter Tevis, for which he was planning both to act and to direct, which would have been his first feature film as a director. Ledger's final directorial work, in which he shot two music videos before his death, premiered in 2009. The music videos, completed for Modest Mouse and Grace Woodroofe, include an animated feature for Modest Mouse's song, "King Rat", and the Woodroofe video for her cover of David Bowie's "Quicksand". The "King Rat" video premiered on 4 August 2009.

Personal life

Ledger was an avid chess player, winning Western Australia's junior chess championship at the age of 10. As an adult, he often played with other chess enthusiasts at Washington Square Park. Allan Scott's film adaptation of the chess-related 1983 novel ''The Queen's Gambit'', by Walter Tevis, which at the time of his death he was planning to both perform in and direct, would have been Ledger's first feature film as a director.

Among his most notable romantic relationships, Ledger dated actress Heather Graham for several months in 2000 to 2001, and he had a serious on-and-off-again long-term relationship with actress Naomi Watts, whom he met during the filming of ''Ned Kelly'' and with whom he lived at times from 2002 to 2004. According to the 10th Anniversary commentary by his co-stars for "10 Things I Hate About You", he and Julia Stiles began dating during the film and dated for several years. In the summer of 2004, he met and began dating actress Michelle Williams on the set of ''Brokeback Mountain'', and their daughter, Matilda Rose, was born on 28 October 2005 in New York City. Matilda Rose's godparents are Ledger's ''Brokeback'' co-star Jake Gyllenhaal and Williams's ''Dawson's Creek'' castmate Busy Philipps. Ledger sold his residence in Bronte, New South Wales, and moved to the United States, where he shared an apartment with Williams, in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, from 2005 to 2007. In September 2007, Williams' father confirmed to Sydney's ''Daily Telegraph'' that Ledger and Williams had ended their relationship. After his break-up with Williams, in late 2007 and early 2008, the tabloid press and other public media linked Ledger romantically with supermodels Helena Christensen and Gemma Ward and with former child star, actress Mary-Kate Olsen.

Press controversies

Ledger's relationship with the press in Australia was sometimes turbulent, and it led to his relocating to New York City. In 2004 he strongly denied press reports alleging that "he spat at journalists on the Sydney set of the film ''Candy''," or that one of his relatives had done so later, outside Ledger's Sydney home. On 13 January 2006, "Several members of the paparazzi retaliated ... squirting Ledger and Williams with water pistols on the red carpet at the Sydney premiere of ''Brokeback Mountain.''"

After his performance on stage at the 2005 Screen Actors Guild Awards, when he had giggled in presenting ''Brokeback Mountain'' as a nominee for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, the ''Los Angeles Times'' referred to his presentation as an "apparent gay spoof." Ledger called the ''Times'' later and explained that his levity resulted from stage fright, saying that he had been told that he would be presenting the award only minutes earlier; he stated: "I am so sorry and I apologise for my nervousness. I would be absolutely horrified if my stage fright was misinterpreted as a lack of respect for the film, the topic and for the amazing filmmakers."

Ledger was quoted in January 2006 in Melbourne's ''Herald Sun'' as saying that he heard that West Virginia had banned ''Brokeback Mountain'', which it had not; actually, a cinema in Utah had banned the film. He had also referred mistakenly to West Virginia's having had lynchings as recently as the 1980s, but state scholars disputed his statement, observing that, whereas lynchings did occur in Alabama as recently as 1981, according to "the director of state archives and history" quoted in ''The Charleston Gazette'', "The last documented lynching in West Virginia took place in Lewisburg in 1931."

Sleep difficulties and other work-related health issues

In their ''New York Times'' interview, published on 4 November 2007, Ledger told Sarah Lyall that his recently completed roles in ''I'm Not There'' (2007) and ''The Dark Knight'' (2008) had taken a toll on his ability to sleep: "Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night. ... I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going." At that time, he told Lyall that he had taken two Ambien pills, after taking just one had not sufficed, and those left him in "a stupor, only to wake up an hour later, his mind still racing."

Prior to his return to New York from his last film assignment, in London, in January 2008, while he was apparently suffering from some kind of respiratory illness, he reportedly complained to his co-star Christopher Plummer that he was continuing to have difficulty sleeping and taking pills to help with that problem: "Confirming earlier reports that Ledger hadn't been feeling well on set, Plummer says, 'we all caught colds because we were shooting outside on horrible, damp nights. But Heath's went on and I don't think he dealt with it immediately with the antibiotics.... I think what he did have was the walking pneumonia.' [...] On top of that, 'He was saying all the time, "dammit, I can't sleep"... and he was taking all these pills to help him.' "

In talking with ''Interview'' magazine after his death, Ledger's former fiancée Michelle Williams "also confirmed reports the actor had experienced trouble sleeping. "For as long as I'd known him, he had bouts with insomnia. He had too much energy. His mind was turning, turning turning – always turning."

Death

At about 2:45 p.m. (EST), on 22 January 2008, Ledger was found unconscious in his bed by his housekeeper, Teresa Solomon, and his masseuse, Diana Wolozin, in his fourth-floor loft apartment at 421 Broome Street in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan.

According to the police, Wolozin, who had arrived early for a 3:00 pm appointment with Ledger, called Ledger's friend, actress Mary-Kate Olsen, for help. Olsen, who was in California, directed a New York City private security guard to go to the scene. At 3:26 pm, "[fewer] than 15 minutes after Wolozin first saw him in bed and only a few moments" after first calling Olsen and then calling her a second time to express her fears that Ledger was dead, Wolozin telephoned 9-1-1 "to say that Mr. Ledger was not breathing." At the urging of the 9-1-1 operator, Wolozin administered CPR, which was unsuccessful in reviving him.

Emergency medical technicians (EMT) arrived seven minutes later, at 3:33 pm ("at almost exactly the same moment as a private security guard summoned by Ms. Olsen"), but were also unable to revive him. At 3:36 pm, Ledger was pronounced dead and his body removed from the apartment.

Memorial tributes and services

As the news of Ledger's death became public, throughout the night of 22 January 2008, and the next day, media crews, mourners, fans, and other onlookers began gathering outside his apartment building, with some leaving flowers or other memorial tributes.

The next day, at 10:50 a.m., Australian time, Ledger's parents and sister appeared outside his mother's house in Applecross, a riverside suburb of Perth, and read a short statement to the media expressing their grief and desire for privacy. Within the next few days, memorial tributes were communicated by family members, Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd, Deputy Premier of Western Australia Eric Ripper, Warner Bros. (distributor of ''The Dark Knight''), and thousands of Ledger's fans around the world.

Several actors made statements expressing their sorrow at Ledger's death, including Daniel Day-Lewis, who dedicated his Screen Actors Guild Award to Ledger, saying that he was inspired by Ledger's acting; Day-Lewis praised Ledger's performances in ''Monster's Ball'' and ''Brokeback Mountain'', describing the latter as "unique, perfect." Verne Troyer, who was working with Ledger on ''The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'' at the time of his death, had a heart shape, an exact duplicate of a symbol that Ledger scrawled on a piece of paper with his email address, tattooed on his hand in remembrance of Ledger because Ledger "had made such an impression on [him]."

On 1 February, in her first public statement after Ledger's death, Michelle Williams expressed her heartbreak and described Ledger's spirit as surviving in their daughter.

After attending private memorial ceremonies in Los Angeles, Ledger's family members returned with his body to Perth.

On 9 February, a memorial service attended by several hundred invited guests was held at Penrhos College, garnering considerable press attention; afterward Ledger's body was cremated at Fremantle Cemetery, followed by a private service attended by only 10 closest family members, with his ashes to be interred later in a family plot at Karrakatta Cemetery, next to two of his grandparents. Later that night, his family and friends gathered for a wake on Cottesloe Beach.

Autopsy and toxicological analysis

After two weeks of intense media speculation about possible causes of Ledger's death, on 6 February 2008, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York released its conclusions, based on an initial autopsy of 23 January 2008, and a subsequent complete toxicological analysis. The report concludes, in part, "Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine." It states definitively: "We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications." The medications found in the toxicological analysis are commonly prescribed in the United States for insomnia, anxiety, depression, pain, and/or common cold symptoms. Although the Associated Press and other media reported that "police estimate Ledger's time of death between 1 pm and 2:45 pm" (on 22 January 2008), the Medical Examiner's Office announced that it would not be publicly disclosing the official estimated time of death. The official announcement of the cause and manner of Ledger's death heightened concerns about the growing problems of prescription drug abuse or misuse and Combined Drug Intoxication (CDI).

Federal investigation

Late in February 2008, a DEA investigation of medical professionals relating to Ledger's death exonerated two American physicians, who practice in Los Angeles and Houston, of any wrongdoing, determining that "the doctors in question had prescribed Ledger other medications – not the pills that killed him."

On 4 August 2008, citing unnamed sources, Murray Weiss, of the ''New York Post'', first reported that Mary-Kate Olsen had "refused [through her attorney, Michael C. Miller] to be interviewed by federal investigators probing the accidental drug death of her close friend Heath Ledger ... [without] ... immunity from prosecution," and that, when asked about the matter, Miller at first declined further comment. Later that day, after the police confirmed the gist of Weiss's account to the Associated Press, Miller issued a statement denying that Olsen supplied Ledger with the drugs causing his death and asserting that she did not know their source." In his statement, Miller said specifically: "Despite tabloid speculation, Mary-Kate Olsen had nothing whatsoever to do with the drugs found in Heath Ledger's home or his body, and she does not know where he obtained them," emphasizing that media "descriptions [attributed to an unidentified source] are incomplete and inaccurate."

After a flurry of further media speculation, on 6 August 2008, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan closed its investigation into Ledger's death without filing any charges and rendering moot its subpoena of Olsen. With the clearing of the two doctors and Olsen, and the closing of the investigation because the prosecutors in the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office "don't believe there's a viable target," it is still not known how Ledger obtained the oxycodone and hydrocodone in the lethal drug combination that killed him.

Eleven months after Ledger's death, on 23 December 2008, Jake Coyle, writing for the Associated Press, announced that "Heath Ledger's death was voted 2008's top entertainment story by U.S. newspaper and broadcast editors surveyed by The Associated Press," as it resulted in: "shock and confusion" about "the circumstances", the ruling of the death as an accident caused by "a toxic combination of prescription drugs", and the continuation of "his legacy... [i]n a roundly acclaimed performance as the Joker in the year's biggest box office hit ''The Dark Knight''."

Controversy over will

After Ledger's death, in response to some press reports about his will, filed in New York City on 28 February 2008, and his daughter's access to his financial legacy, his father, Kim Ledger, said that he considered the financial well-being of his granddaughter Matilda Rose the Ledger family's "absolute priority" and her mother, Michelle Williams, "an integral part of our family", adding "They will be taken care of and that's how Heath would want it to be". Some of Ledger's relatives may be challenging the legal status of his will signed in 2003, prior to his involvement with Williams and the birth of their daughter and not updated to include them, which divides half of his estate between his parents and half among his siblings; they claim that there is a second, unsigned will, which leaves most of that estate to Matilda Rose. Williams' father, Larry Williams, has also joined the controversy about Ledger's will as it was filed in New York City soon after his death.

On 31 March 2008, stimulating another controversy pertaining to Ledger's estate, Gemma Jones and Janet Fife-Yeomans published an "Exclusive" report, in ''The Daily Telegraph'', citing Ledger's uncle Haydn Ledger and other family members, who "believe the late actor may have fathered a secret love child" when he was 17, and stating that "If it is confirmed that Ledger is the girl's biological father, it could split his multi-million dollar estate between ... Matilda Rose ... and his secret love child." A few days later, reports citing telephone interviews with Ledger's uncles Haydn and Mike Ledger and the family of the other little girl, published in ''OK!'' and ''Us Weekly'', "denied" those "claims", with Ledger's uncles and the little girl's mother and stepfather describing them as unfounded "rumors" distorted and exaggerated by the media.

On 15 July 2008, Fife-Yeomans reported further, via Australian ''News Limited,'' that "While Ledger left everything to his parents and three sisters, it is understood they have legal advice that under WA law, Matilda Rose is entitled to the lion's share" of his estate; its executors, Kim Ledger's former business colleague Robert John Collins and Geraldton accountant William Mark Dyson, "have applied for probate in the West Australian Supreme Court in Perth, advertising "for 'creditors and other persons' having claims on the estate to lodge them by 11 August 2008 ... to ensure all debts are paid before the estate is distributed...." According to this report by Fife-Yeomans, earlier reports citing Ledger's uncles, and subsequent reports citing Ledger's father, which do not include his actual posthumous earnings, "his entire fortune, mostly held in Australian trusts, is likely to be worth up to [A]$20 million."

On 27 September 2008, Ledger's father Kim stated that "the family has agreed to leave the [US]US$16.3 million fortune to Matilda," adding: "There is no claim. Our family has gifted everything to Matilda." In October 2008, ''Forbes.com'' estimated Ledger's annual earnings from October 2007 through October 2008 – including his posthumous share of ''The Dark Knight'''s gross income of "[US]US$991 million in box office revenue worldwide" –– as "[US]US$20 million."

Posthumous films and awards

Ledger's death affected the marketing campaign for Christopher Nolan's ''The Dark Knight'' (2008) and also both the production and marketing of Terry Gilliam's film ''The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'', with both directors intending to celebrate and pay tribute to his work in these films. Although Gilliam temporarily suspended production on the latter film, he expressed determination to "salvage" it, perhaps using computer-generated imagery (CGI), and dedicated it to Ledger. In February 2008, as a "memorial tribute to the man many have called one of the best actors of his generation," Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell signed on to take over Ledger's role, becoming multiple incarnations of his character, Tony, transformed in this "magical re-telling of the Faust story," and the three actors have donated their fees for the film to Ledger's and Williams' daughter.

Speaking of editing ''The Dark Knight,'' on which Ledger had completed his work in October 2007, Nolan recalled, "It was tremendously emotional, right when he passed, having to go back in and look at him every day. ... But the truth is, I feel very lucky to have something productive to do, to have a performance that he was very, very proud of, and that he had entrusted to me to finish." All of Ledger's scenes appear as he completed them in the filming; in editing the film, Nolan added no "digital effects" to alter Ledger's actual performance posthumously. Nolan dedicated the film in part to Ledger's memory, as well as to the memory of technician Conway Wickliffe, who was killed during a car accident while preparing one of the film's stunts.

Released in July 2008, ''The Dark Knight'' broke several box office records and received both popular and critical accolades, especially with regard to Ledger's performance as the Joker. Even film critic David Denby, who does not praise the film overall in his pre-release review in ''The New Yorker'', evaluates Ledger's work highly, describing his performance as both "sinister and frightening" and Ledger as "mesmerising in every scene", concluding: "His performance is a heroic, unsettling final act: this young actor looked into the abyss." Attempting to dispel widespread speculations that Ledger's performance as the Joker had in any way led to his death (as Denby and others suggest), Ledger's co-star and friend Christian Bale, who played opposite him as Batman, has stressed that, as an actor, Ledger greatly enjoyed meeting the challenges of creating that role, an experience that Ledger himself described as "the most fun I’ve ever had, or probably ever will have, playing a character."

Ledger received numerous awards for his Joker role in ''The Dark Knight''. On 10 November 2008, he was nominated for two People's Choice Awards related to his work on the film, "Best Ensemble Cast" and "Best Onscreen Match-Up" (shared with Christian Bale), and Ledger won an award for "Match-Up" in the ceremony aired live on CBS in January 2009.

On 11 December 2008, it was announced that Ledger had been nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for his performance as the Joker in ''The Dark Knight''; he subsequently won the award at the 66th Golden Globe Awards ceremony telecast on NBC on 11 January 2009 with ''Dark Knight'' director Christopher Nolan accepting on his behalf.

Film critics, co-stars Maggie Gyllenhaal and Michael Caine and many of Ledger's colleagues in the film community joined Bale in calling for and predicting a nomination for the 2008 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in recognition of Ledger's achievement in ''The Dark Knight.'' Ledger's subsequent nomination was announced on 22 January 2009, the anniversary of his death; Ledger went on to win the award, becoming the second person to win a posthumous Academy Award for acting, after fellow Australian actor Peter Finch, who won for 1976's ''Network''. The award was accepted by Ledger's family.

Filmography

Television

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1993	''Ship to Shore''	Cyclist
1996		Snowy Bowles	Series regular
	''Home and Away''	Scott Irwin	Guest
	Conor	Leading role

Film

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1992	''Clowning Around''	Orphan clown	Uncredited
1997		Toby
1997		Oberon
1999		Jimmy
1999	''10 Things I Hate About You''
2000		Gabriel Martin	Blockbuster Entertainment Awards – Favorite Male – Newcomer
2001	''Monster's Ball''	Sonny Grotowski
2001	''''	Sir William Thatcher / Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein of Gelderland
2002	''''	Harry Faversham
2003	''''	Alex Bernier
2003		Ned Kelly
2005		Giacomo Casanova
2005	''''	Jacob Grimm
2005	''Lords of Dogtown''	Skip Engblom
2005	''Brokeback Mountain''	Ennis Del Mar	|New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor|San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|Santa Barbara International Film Festival Performance of the Year Award|Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actor|Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Nominated – Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor|Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor|Nominated – Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor|Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead|Nominated – Inside Film Award for Best Actor|Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama|Nominated – London Film Critics' Circle Award for Actor of the Year|Nominated – Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor|Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role|Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture|Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama|Nominated – Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor}}
2006		Dan
2007	''I'm Not There''
2008			|Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor|San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor|Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor|Scream Award for Best Fantasy Actor|Scream Award for Best Villain|Scream Award for Best Line |Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role|Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor|Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor|Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor|Nominated – Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast|Nominated – London Film Critics' Circle Award for Actor of the Year|Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture|Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Fight }}
2009	''''	Tony

Music videos

(2006) "Cause an Effect" and "Seduction is Evil (She's Hot)", songs by N'fa, videos directed by Ledger.

(2006) "Morning Yearning," song by Ben Harper, video directed by Ledger.

(2007) "Black Eyed Dog," song written by Nick Drake (1948–1974), video directed by and featuring Ledger. (2009) "King Rat", song by Modest Mouse and conceived by Ledger.

See also

List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees

List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees

References

Additional resources

Adler, Shawn."Heath Ledger Said He Hoped to Evolve as an Actor and Person in 2005 Interview: Late Actor Was Intelligent, Self-Aware during 'Brokeback Mountain' Chat." ''MTV.com'', 22 January 2008. Accessed 18 March 2008. (Excerpts from transcript of interview with Heath Ledger conducted by John Norris in 2005.)

Arango, Tim. "Esquire Publishes a Diary That Isn't". ''The New York Times'', ''nytimes.com'', 6 March 2008, Books. Accessed 25 July 2008. (Rev. of Taddeo.)

"Death of a Star: Unsolved Mysteries". ''Newsweek'', 4 February 2008: 62, Newsmakers. Both Web and print versions. Accessed 5 August 2008.

''The Joker vs. The Real Heath: Entertainment Tonight Looks Back at the Career of Heath Ledger'', ''etonline.com'' (CBS Studios Inc.), July 2008. Accessed 8 August 2008. ("ET takes a look back at Heath Ledger's career amid the hugely successful launch of 'The Dark Knight,' which features the late actor portraying the Joker"; includes photo album.)

McShane John. ''Heath Ledger: His Beautiful Life and Mysterious Death''. London: John Blake, 2008. ISBN 1844546330 (10). ISBN 978-1844546336 (13). (Excerpt listed below.)

–––. "Loves of Heath Ledger's Life". ''The Courier-Mail'', ''news.com.au'', 20 April 2008. Accessed 21 April 2008. (Book excerpt.)

Nolan, Christopher. "Transition: Charisma as Natural as Gravity: Heath Ledger, 28, Actor". ''Newsweek'', 4 February 2008: 9, Periscope. Both Web (updated 26 January 2008) and print versions. Accessed 5 August 2008. (Eulogy.)

Norris, Chris. "(Untitled Heath Ledger Project): In Which the Protagonist Dies Mysteriously, and the Audience Analyzes His Final Days for Clues to His Real Character". ''New York'', ''nymag.com'', 18 February 2008. Accessed 21 April 2008.

Park, Michael Y. "Christian Bale on 'Kindred Spirit' Heath Ledger". Web. ''People'', 25 June 2008. Accessed 5 August 2008. (See Wolf below.)

Robb, Brian J. ''Heath Ledger: Hollywood's Dark Star''. London: Plexus Publishing Ltd, 2008. ISBN 0859654273 (10). ISBN 978-0859654272 (13).

Scott, A. O. "An Appraisal: Prince of Intensity with a Lightness of Touch". ''The New York Times'', ''nytimes.com'', 24 January 2008, Movies. Accessed 27 April 2008.

Sessums, Kevin, with photographs by Bruce Weber. "We're Having a Heath Wave". ''Vanity Fair'', August 2000, ''vanityfair.com'', August 2008. Web. (4 pages.) Accessed 21 April 2008. (Interview with Heath Ledger; illustrations in "Perth Album", by Bruce Weber.)

Taddeo, Lisa. "The Last Days of Heath Ledger". ''Esquire'' (April 2008), ''esquire.com'', 5 March 2008. (Updated 21 July 2008.) Accessed 25 July 2008. (Fictional account; cf. rev. by Arango.)

Travers, Peter."Sundance: Shock". ''The Travers Take: News and Reviews from Rolling Stone's Movie Critic'', ''Rolling Stone'' (Blog), ''rollingstone.com'', 22 January 2008. Includes hyperlinked feature: ''Video Review: A Look at Heath Ledger's Best Performances'' (video by Jennifer Hsu, with audio commentary provided by Travers), 1 February 2008. Accessed 21 April 2008.

Wolf, Jeanne. "Christian Bale: 'Life Should Never Be Boring' ". ''Parade'', 29 June 2008: 8–9. Both Web and print formats. Accessed 3 August 2008. (See Park above.)

External links

Heath Ledger at BBC In Pictures

Heath Ledger at CNN Topics

Heath Ledger at ''The Huffington Post''

Heath Ledger at MSN Movies

Heath Ledger at MTV Movies

Heath Ledger at ''New York Times Topics''

Heath Ledger at ''The Daily Telegraph'' obituary

Ledger, Heath (1979–2008) National Library of Australia, ''Trove, People and Organisation'' record for Heath Ledger

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:1979 births Category:2008 deaths Category:Accidental deaths in New York Category:Actors from Western Australia Category:Australian expatriate actors in the United States Category:Australian film actors Category:Australian music video directors Category:Australian television actors Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners Category:Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Category:Drug-related deaths in New York Category:People educated at Guildford Grammar School Category:People from Brooklyn Category:People from Perth, Western Australia Category:Rock Eisteddfod Challenge participants Category:Saturn Award winners

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Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
name	Michael Caine
birth name	Maurice Joseph Micklewhite
birth date	March 14, 1933
birth place	Southwark, London, England, UK
nationality	British
occupation	Actor, author
years active	1956–present
spouse	Patricia Haines(m. 1955–1962; divorced)Shakira Baksh(m. 1973–present)
children	Dominique Caine (b. 1956)Natasha Caine (b. 1973)
relatives	Stanley Caine (brother) }}

Sir Michael Caine, CBE (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both ''Hannah and Her Sisters'' (1986) and ''The Cider House Rules'' (1999).

Caine is one of only two actors nominated for an Academy Award for acting (either lead or supporting) in every decade from the 1960s to 2000s (the other one being Jack Nicholson). In 2000, Caine was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his contribution to cinema.

Early life

Caine was born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite in St Olave's Hospital, Rotherhithe, Southwark in South East London, the son of Ellen Frances Marie (née Burchell), a cook and charlady, and Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, a fish market porter. His father was of part Irish and Irish Traveller ancestry and a Catholic, though Caine was brought up in his Protestant mother's religion.

Caine grew up in Camberwell, South London, and during the Second World War he was evacuated to North Runcton in Norfolk. After the war, when his father was demobilised, the family was rehoused by the council in Marshall Gardens at the Elephant and Castle in a pre-fabricated house made in Canada.

The prefabs, as they were known, were intended to be temporary homes while London was rebuilt, but we ended up living there for eighteen years and for us, after a cramped flat with an outside toilet, it was luxury.

In 1944 he passed his eleven plus exam, winning a scholarship to Hackney Downs Grocers School. After a year there he moved to Wilson's Grammar School in Camberwell (now Wilson's School in Wallington, South London), which he left at sixteen after gaining a School Certificate in six subjects. He then worked briefly as a filing clerk and messenger for a film company in Victoria Street and the film producer Jay Lewis in Wardour Street. From 1952, when he was called up to do his National Service, until 1954, he served in the British Army's Royal Fusiliers, first at the BAOR HQ in Iserlohn, Germany and then on active service during the Korean War. Caine has said he would like to see the return of National Service to help combat youth violence, stating: "I'm just saying, put them in the Army for six months. You're there to learn how to defend your country. You belong to the country. Then when you come out, you have a sense of belonging rather than a sense of violence."

Career

When Micklewhite became an actor, he adopted the stage name "Michael Scott". His agent soon informed him, however, that Michael Scott was already using the same name, and that he had to come up with a new name immediately. Speaking to his agent from a telephone box in Leicester Square, London, he looked around for inspiration, noted that ''The Caine Mutiny'' was being shown at the Odeon Cinema, and decided to change his name to "Michael Caine". He has joked in interviews that had he looked the other way, he would have ended up as "Michael One Hundred and One Dalmatians".

1960s

Caine's acting career began in Horsham, Sussex. He responded to an advertisement for an assistant stage manager for the Horsham-based Westminster Repertory Company. This led to walk-on roles at the Carfax Theatre. After dozens of minor TV roles, Caine entered the public eye as the upper class British Army officer Gonville Bromhead in the 1964 film ''Zulu''. This proved paradoxical, as Caine was to become notable for using a regional accent, rather than the Received Pronunciation hitherto considered proper for film actors. At the time, Caine's working class Cockney, just as with The Beatles' Liverpudlian accents, stood out to American and British audiences alike. ''Zulu'' was closely followed by two of his best-known roles: the spy Harry Palmer in ''The Ipcress File'' (1965), and the womanising title character in ''Alfie'' (1966). He went on to play Palmer in a further four films, ''Funeral in Berlin'' (1966), ''Billion Dollar Brain'' (1967), ''Bullet to Beijing'' (1995) and ''Midnight in Saint Petersburg'' (1995). Caine made his first film in the United States in 1966, after an invitation from Shirley MacLaine to play opposite her in ''Gambit.'' During the first two weeks, whilst staying at The Beverly Hills Hotel, he met long term friends John Wayne and agent "Swifty" Lazar.

1970s

After working on ''The Italian Job'' with Noël Coward, and a solid role as RAF fighter pilot Squadron Leader Canfield in the all-star cast of ''Battle of Britain'' (both 1969), Caine played the lead in ''Get Carter'' (1971), a British gangster film. Caine was busy with successes including ''Sleuth'' (1972) opposite Laurence Olivier, and ''The Man Who Would Be King'' (1975) co-starring Sean Connery and directed by John Huston (which he has stated will be the film he wishes to be remembered for after his death). In 1976 he appeared in the screen adaptation by Tom Mankiewicz of the Jack Higgins novel ''The Eagle Has Landed'' as ''Oberst'' (Colonel) Kurt Steiner, the commander of a Luftwaffe paratroop brigade disguised as Polish paratroopers, whose mission was to kidnap or kill the then-British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, alongside co-stars Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall, Jenny Agutter, and Donald Pleasence. Subsequently in 1978, he starred in ''The Silver Bears'', an adaptation of Paul Erdman's (1974) novel of the same name. Caine also was part of an all-star cast in ''A Bridge Too Far'' (1977).

1980s

By the end of the decade, he had moved to the United States, but his choice of roles was often criticisedhe admitted to and has since made many self-deprecating comments about taking parts, strictly for the money, in numerous films he knew to be bad, despite working with Hollywood's highly regarded directors such as Irwin Allen, Richard Fleischer, Michael Ritchie and Oliver Stone. Caine was averaging two films a year, but these included such failures as the BAFTA Award-nominated ''The Magus'' (1968), the Academy Award-nominated ''The Swarm'' (1978), ''Ashanti'' (1979) (which he claimed were the worst three films of all the other worst films he ever made), ''Beyond the Poseidon Adventure'' (1979), ''The Island'' (1980), ''The Hand'' (1981) and a reunion with his ''Sleuth'' co-star Laurence Olivier in ''The Jigsaw Man'' (1982). Although Caine also took better roles, including a BAFTA-winning turn in ''Educating Rita'' (1983), and an Oscar-winning one in ''Hannah and Her Sisters'' (1986) and a Golden Globe-nominated one in ''Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'' (1988), he continued to appear in notorious duds like the thinly veiled skin flick ''Blame It on Rio'', the Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais comedy ''Water'' and the critical-commercial flop ''Jaws: The Revenge'' (1987) (in which he had mixed feelings about the production and the final cut) and ''Bullseye!'' (1990); his appearing in so many films that did not meet with critical or box office acclaim made him the butt of numerous jokes on the subject. Of the former, Caine famously said (primarily about ''Jaws: The Revenge'') "I have never seen the film, but by all accounts it was terrible. However I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific." All these film failures later became cult films among his fans today. His other successful films (either critically and/or financially) were the 1978 Academy Award-winning ''California Suite'', the 1980 Golden Globe-nominated slasher film ''Dressed to Kill'', the 1981 war film ''Escape to Victory'', the 1982 film ''Deathtrap'', and the 1986 Academy Award-nominated ''Mona Lisa''. He also starred in ''Without a Clue'', portraying Sherlock Holmes.

1990s

The 1990s were a lean time for Caine, as he found good parts harder to come by. A high point came when he played Ebenezer Scrooge in the critically acclaimed ''Muppet Christmas Carol'' (1992), which he considers to be one of his most memorable roles. He played the beleaguered stage director Lloyd Dallas in the film adaptation of ''Noises Off'' (1992). He also played a villain in the Steven Seagal film ''On Deadly Ground'' (1994). He was in two straight to video Harry Palmer sequels and a few television films. However, Caine's reputation as a pop icon was still intact, thanks to his roles in films such as ''The Italian Job'' and ''Get Carter''. His performance in 1998's ''Little Voice'' was seen as something of a return to form, and won him a Golden Globe Award. Better parts followed, including ''The Cider House Rules'' (1999), for which he won his second Oscar.

2000s

In the 2000s, Caine appeared in ''Miss Congeniality'' (2000), ''Last Orders'' (2001), ''The Quiet American'' (2002) and others that helped rehabilitate his reputation. Several of Caine's classic films have been remade, including ''The Italian Job'', ''Get Carter'', ''Alfie'' and ''Sleuth''. In the 2007 remake of ''Sleuth'', Caine took over the role Laurence Olivier played in the 1972 version and Jude Law played Caine's original role. Caine also starred in ''Austin Powers in Goldmember'' (2002) as Austin's father and in 2003 he co-starred with Robert Duvall in ''Secondhand Lions''. In 2005, he was cast as Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred Pennyworth in the first production of the new ''Batman'' film series. In 2006, he appeared in the films ''Children of Men'' and ''The Prestige''. In 2007 he appeared in ''Flawless'', while in 2008 he reprised his role as Alfred in Christopher Nolan's critically acclaimed ''Batman'' sequel, ''The Dark Knight'' as well as starring in the British drama ''Is Anybody There?'', which explores the final days of life.

It was reported by ''Empire'' magazine that Caine had said that ''Harry Brown'' (released on 13 November 2009) would be his last lead role. Caine later declared (in the ''Daily Mirror'') that he had been misquoted by the magazine.

2010s

Caine had a cameo appearance in Christopher Nolan's science fiction thriller, ''Inception''. He voiced Finn McMissile in Pixar's 2011 film ''Cars 2'' and also voiced a supporting role in the animation, ''Gnomeo and Juliet''. He is also set to star in the upcoming 2011 film Journey 2: The Mysterious Island alongside Josh Hutcherson and Dwayne Johnson. Caine will reprise his role as Alfred Pennyworth in the Batman sequel, ''The Dark Knight Rises'', due for release in mid 2012.

Awards and honours

Caine has been Oscar-nominated six times, winning his first Academy Award for the 1986 film ''Hannah and Her Sisters'', and his second in 1999 for ''The Cider House Rules'', in both cases as a supporting actor. Caine is one of only two actors to be nominated for an Academy Award for acting (either lead or supporting) in every decade since the 1960s. The other is Jack Nicholson. The two actors starred together in the 1996 film ''Blood and Wine''.

He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1992 Queen's Birthday Honours, and in the 2000 New Year Honours he was knighted as ''Sir Maurice Micklewhite CBE''. On 5 January 2011, he was made a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France's culture minister, Frédéric Mitterrand.

In 2008, he was awarded the prize for Outstanding Contribution to Showbusiness at the Variety Club Awards.

In popular culture

Caine is a popular subject for impressionists and mimics, having a voice and manner of speaking that are distinctive, yet fairly easy to imitate. Most Caine impressions include the catchphrase "Not a lot of people know that." Peter Sellers initiated this when he appeared on BBC1's ''Parkinson'' show on 28 October 1972 and said: The line had been used earlier in Spike Milligan's script for ''The Last Goon Show of All'', performed on 5 October 1972. In 1983, Caine was given the line to say as an in-joke in the film ''Educating Rita''. The line has also been parodied, along with its impression, in the British sketch comedy show, ''Harry Enfield's Television Programme'', with Paul Whitehouse as a stalking neighbourhood character called Michael Paine, who introduced himself with the line "My name is Michael Paine, and I am a nosey neighbour." Caine himself parodied the phenomenon in an interview with Michael Parkinson, imitating others' impressions of him and including the catchphrase.

Personal life

Caine lives near Leatherhead, Surrey, and is patron to the Leatherhead Drama Festival. He has also lived in North Stoke, Oxfordshire, Clewer near Windsor, Berkshire, Lowestoft in Suffolk and Chelsea Harbour in London. In addition, Caine owns a unit at The Apogee in Miami Beach, Florida. He still keeps a small flat near where he grew up in South East London. Caine published a volume of memoirs, ''What's It All About?'' in 1992 and told BBC Radio in 2010 he was preparing another, especially for aspiring actors.

He was married to actress Patricia Haines from 1955 to 1958. They had a daughter, Dominique (who was named after the heroine of the novel ''The Fountainhead'' by Ayn Rand). He dated Bianca Jagger in 1968. Caine has been married to actress and model Shakira Baksh since 8 January 1973. They met after Caine saw her appearing in a Maxwell House coffee commercial and a friend gave him her telephone number. They have a daughter, Natasha Haleema.

Some time after his mother died, Caine and his younger brother, Stanley, learned they had an elder half-brother, named David. He suffered from severe epilepsy and had been kept in Cane Hill Mental Hospital his entire life. Although their mother regularly visited her first son in the hospital, even her husband did not know the child existed. David died in 1992.

Trivia books written by Caine include ''Not Many People Know That!'', ''And Not Many People Know This Either!'', ''Michael Caine's Moving Picture Show'' and ''Not A Lot of People Know This is 1988''. Proceeds from the books went to the National Playing Fields Association (now Fields In Trust) of which Caine was a prominent supporter.

Unlike many actors who adopt their stage name for everyday use, Caine still uses his real name when he is not working.

Caine was called up for national service in the British Army in 1951 when he was aged 18 and was deployed to South Korea to help in the aftermath of the North Korean invasion. He served as part of the Royal Fusiliers. He said he had gone into it feeling sympathetic to communism, coming as he did from a poor family. But he has said the experience left him permanently repelled.

Politics

Caine has been open about his political views. He left Britain in the 1970s, citing the 82% tax levied on top earners by the Labour government of the time, but returned to Britain several years later when taxes were lowered:

"I decided not to become a tax exile, so I stayed in Britain, but they kept putting the tax up, so I'd do any old thing every now and then to pay the tax, that was my tax exile money. I realised that's not a socialist country, it's a communist country without a dictator, so I left and I was never going to come back. Maggie Thatcher came in and put the taxes back down and in the end, you know, you don't mind paying tax. What am I going to do? Not pay tax and drive around in a Rolls Royce, with cripples begging on the street like you see in some countries?"

"I voted for Maggie Thatcher because I thought we needed a change from that long period of socialism; I voted for Tony Blair because we had a great long period of Conservatism."

In 2009, Caine openly criticised the Labour government's proposed new 50% tax on top earners:

"The Government has taken tax up to 50 per cent and if it goes to 51 I will be back in America. They have reached their limit with me and that's what will happen to a lot of people. You know how much they made out of that high taxation all those years ago? Nothing. But they sent a mass of incredible brains to America. We've got 3.5 million layabouts laying about on benefits, and I'm 76, getting up at 6 am to go to work to keep them. Let's get everybody back to work so we can save a couple of billion and cut tax, not keep sticking it on."

"You're saying to poor people, 'let's tax those rich gits' and I understand that. You slice up the cake, give everyone a chance, but don't destroy the people that are making the bloody cake! I really believe about taking care of people, I don't mind paying tax. It's how the government spends my tax that I detest, really detest, because I see the waste. More money than all our income tax is spent on benefits. Now you tell me there is nothing wrong with that system."

Caine also stated in 2009 that he was likely to vote for the Conservatives again:

"I'll probably vote Conservative. I mean, we're in a terrible state whichever way you look at it, socially, financially and politically, so just give the other guy a chance. I don't know what Cameron's going to do, but in the end you vote out of desperation. You just have to have someone new and see what happens."

Following the launch of his film ''Harry Brown'', Caine called for the reintroduction of national service in the UK to give young people "a sense of belonging rather than a sense of violence".

During the run up to the 2010 General Election, Caine publicly endorsed Conservative Party policy regarding social exclusion. He appeared with David Cameron for the Conservative leader's launch of a civilian non-compulsary 'National Service' for teenagers.

Musical career

Caine is a fan of chill-out music and has compiled a mix CD called ''Cained'', which was released in 2007 by UMTV. According to Michael Caine, he met Elton John and was discussing musical tastes, when Caine claimed that he had been creating chillout mix tapes as an amateur for years. Also in music, Caine provided vocal samples for the band Madness for their 1984 hit "Michael Caine" as his daughter was a fan. He has sung in film roles as well, including for the musical film, ''The Muppet Christmas Carol''.

Filmography, awards and nominations

References

External links

The official Michael Caine website

in 2010

"The Films of Michael Caine" compilation of film clips, 4 minutes

PLAY DIRTY/Caine Special on Location in Spain

Martyn Palmer, "Double act: Michael Caine and Jude Law (lunch and discussion)", ''The Times'', 17 November 2007

Charlie Rose video interview 3 February 2003

IGN.com interview 18 March 2003

200 years of Michael Caine's family tree

Category:1933 births Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors awarded British knighthoods Category:Actors from London Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Actor BAFTA Award winners Category:Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actor Golden Globe winners Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners Category:British Army personnel of the Korean War Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:English film actors Category:English television actors Category:Knights Bachelor Category:Living people Category:Old Wilsonians Category:People from Camberwell Category:People from Leatherhead Category:People from South Oxfordshire (district) Category:People from Southwark Category:Royal Fusiliers soldiers

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