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Ian HolmAdd to My CelebsAge 80 Birthday Sep. 12th, 1931 Born in Goodmayes, Essex, England, UK Height 5' 6" |
NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at IMDB
Sir Ian Holm is an Academy Award-nominated British film and stage actor who was a star of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and played more than 100 roles in films and on television.
He was born Ian Holm Cuthbert on September 12, 1931, in Goodmayes, Essex, UK. His father, Doctor James Cuthbert, was a psychiatrist in the Essex mental asylum, where his mother, Jean Wilson worked as a nurse. Young Holm was brought up in London. At the age of seven he was inspired by the seeing 'Les Miserables' and became fond of acting. Holm studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduating in 1950 to the Royal Shakespeare Company. There he emerged as an actor whose range and effortless style allowed him to play almost entire Shakespeare's repertoire. In 1959 his stage partner Laurence Olivier scored a hit on Ian Holm in a sword fight in a production of 'Coriolanus'. Holm still has a scar on his finger.
In 1965 Holm made his debut on television as Richard III on the BBC's "War of the Roses" (1965), which was a filmed theatrical production of four of Shakespeare's plays condensed down into a trilogy. In 1969 Holm won his first BAFTA Film Award Best Supporting Actor for The Bofors Gun (1968), then followed a flow of awards and nominations for his numerous works in film and on television. In 1981 Holm shot to fame with one of his best known roles, as Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire (1981), for which he was nominated for Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He is best known for his big action film roles, such as Father Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element (1997), as Bilbo in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), and as Professor Fitz in The Aviator (2004).
Ian Holm has five children, three daughters and two sons from the first three of his five wives. In 1989 Holm was created a Commander of the British Empire (CBE), and in 1998 he was knighted for his services to drama.
TRIVIA:
- He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1990 and Knighthood of the British Empire in the 1998 Queen's Birthday Honors List for his services to drama.
- Has two roles in common with 'Orson Bean' (qv). Bean was the voice of Bilbo Baggins in _The Hobbit (1977) (TV)_ (qv), while Holm played in the 'Peter Jackson (I)' (qv) trilogy. Bean also played Frodo in _The Return of the King (1980) (TV)_ (qv); Holm played Frodo on BBC radio.
- He was awarded the 1993 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actor in "Moonlight." His wife, 'Penelope Wilton' (qv), was awarded Best Actress for "The Deep Blue Sea" at the same awards ceremony.
- Has played Napoleon Bonaparte three times in _"Napoleon and Love" (1974)_ (qv), _Time Bandits (1981)_ (qv) and _The Emperor's New Clothes (2001)_ (qv) - and was a front-runner for the part in 'Stanley Kubrick' (qv)'s unproduced biopic.
- Developed a severe case of stage fright in 1976 while performing The Iceman Cometh and left the theatre. He has only returned three times since then.
- He was awarded the 1998 'Laurence Olivier' (qv) Theatre Award for Best Actor of the 1997 season for his performance in "King Lear" at the Royal National Theatre: Cottesloe stage.
- He was awarded the 1997 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama) for Best Actor for his performance in King Lear at the Royal National Theatre.
- In a return to the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he first received acclaim in the mid-60s for his contemporary stylings of Richard III and Henry V, he developed a confidence-shattering case of "stage fright" during a 1976 performance of "The Iceman Cometh" and quickly withdrew from the production. His only stage appearance for almost two decades was as Astrov in "Uncle Vanya" in 1979. He finally returned to the theatre to create the role of Andy in 'Harold Pinter' (qv)'s short play "Moonlight" in 1993 for which he received the Evening Standard Award. His King Lear a few years later earned him the Olivier Award as well as the Evening Standard and London Critic's Circle Theatre awards.
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