Tim Roth
| Tim Roth | |
|---|---|
 Tim Roth, 2009 |
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| Born | 14 May 1961 Dulwich, London, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actor/Director |
| Years active | 1982–present |
Tim Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English film actor and director best known for his roles in the American films Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk and Rob Roy, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He currently stars as Cal Lightman in the TV series Lie to Me.
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Early life
Roth was born in Dulwich, London, the son of Ann, a painter and teacher, and Ernie Smith, a journalist, painter and, until the 1970s, a member of the British Communist Party.[1][2][3] Roth's father was born in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York to a British immigrant family of Irish descent, and changed his surname from "Smith" to "Roth" after World War II in order to hide his nationality when travelling in countries hostile to the British.[3][4]
Roth attended the Strand School in Tulse Hill. As a young man, Roth wanted to be a sculptor and studied at London's Camberwell School of Art.
Career
After some time at the Camberwell School of Art, Roth tried acting and made his debut at the age of 21 playing a white power skinhead in a TV movie entitled Made in Britain. Roth played an East End character in King of the Ghetto which was made by the BBC. This four part drama was shown in 1986 on national television, based on a novel by Farukh Dhondy. The story partly set in Brick Lane, caused a sensation among the public, especially amongst the Bengali community. In 1984, Roth played an apprentice hitman in Stephen Frears' The Hit with Terence Stamp and John Hurt, earning an "Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Newcomer". With that recognition, he appeared in several other films during the end of the decade. In 1989 he had a memorable supporting role as the buffoonish lackey, Mitchell, in Peter Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. In 1990, Roth began to enjoy international attention with starring roles as Vincent van Gogh in Robert Altman's Vincent & Theo and Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead. Roth and other young British actors who were becoming established film actors such as Bruce Payne, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Paul McGann were dubbed the 'Brit Pack'.[5]
Roth impressed director Quentin Tarantino and was cast as Mr. Orange in his 1992 ensemble piece Reservoir Dogs. This film paved the way for more work in Hollywood. In 1994, Tarantino cast him again as a robber in the acclaimed Pulp Fiction. They worked again in the 1995 movie Four Rooms, where Roth played the extremely physically animated role of "Ted the Bellhop". Roth was very successful playing viciously evil English nobleman Archibald Cunningham in Rob Roy opposite Liam Neeson. For that role he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, a Golden Globe nomination, and won a British Academy Award.
In 1996, he went a different way, starring with Drew Barrymore in Woody Allen's musical comedy Everyone Says I Love You. He also starred as Danny Boodman T.D. Lemon 1900 (or just "1900") in the movie The Legend of 1900. Also in 1996, he co-starred with the late Tupac Shakur in the drama Gridlock'd. In 1999 he made a critically acclaimed debut as a director with The War Zone, a film of Alexander Stuart's novel. In 2001, he made another important move by portraying General Thade in Tim Burton's blockbuster Planet of the Apes. He was also considered for the part of Hannibal Lecter in the 2001 film Hannibal had Anthony Hopkins not returned to the role.
Roth recently appeared in Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth and Michael Haneke's Funny Games. He starred opposite Edward Norton in The Incredible Hulk, as Emil Blonsky.
In 2009, he began starring in a new series on Fox called Lie To Me. He plays Dr. Cal Lightman, an expert on body language, whose team assists local and federal law organisations in the investigations of crimes. His character is based on Dr. Paul Ekman, notable psychologist and expert on body language and facial expressions.
Personal life
Roth has a son, Jack, with Lori Baker in 1983. He married Nikki Butler in 1993, and had two sons with her, Timothy Hunter (b. 1995) and Michael Cormac (b. 1996).
Filmography
As actor
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Made in Britain | Trevor the Skinhead | |
| Meantime | Colin | TV | |
| 1984 | The Hit | Myron | Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer |
| 1985 | Murder with Mirrors | Edgar Lawson | TV |
| Return to Waterloo | Boy Punk | ||
| 1988 | A World Apart | Harold | |
| To Kill a Priest | Feliks | ||
| Twice Upon a Time | Role Unspecified | ||
| 1989 | The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover | Mitchel | |
| 1990 | Vincent & Theo | Vincent Van Gogh | |
| Farendj | Anton | ||
| Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead | Guildenstern | ||
| 1991 | Backsliding | Tom Whitton | |
| 1992 | Reservoir Dogs | Mr.Orange/Freddy Newendyke | |
| Jumpin' at the Boneyard | Manny | ||
| 1993 | Bodies, Rest & Motion | Nick | |
| El Marido perfecto | Milan | ||
| Murder in the Heartland | Charles Starkweather | TV | |
| 1994 | Heart of Darkness | Marlow | TV |
| Captives | Philip Chaney | ||
| Little Odessa | Joshua Shapira | Nominated - Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead | |
| Pulp Fiction | 'Ringo' (Credited as 'Pumpkin') | ||
| 1995 | Rob Roy | Archibald Cunningham | BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role KCFCC Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture |
| Four Rooms | Ted the Bellhop | ||
| 1996 | No Way Home | Joey | |
| Everyone Says I Love You | Charles Ferry | ||
| Mocking the Cosmos | Myrodemnon/Myron | ||
| 1997 | Gridlock'd | Alexander 'Stretch' Rawland | |
| Hoodlum | Dutch Schultz | ||
| Deceiver | James Walter Wayland | ||
| Animals with the Tollkeeper | Henry | ||
| 1998 | Legend of 1900 | Danny Boodman T.D. Lemon 1900 | |
| 2000 | The Million Dollar Hotel | Izzy Goldkiss | |
| Vatel | Marquis de Lauzun | ||
| Lucky Numbers | Gig | ||
| 2001 | Planet of the Apes | Thade | Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Villain |
| Invincible | Hersche Steinschneider alias Erik Jan Hanussen | ||
| The Musketeer | Febre the Man in Black | ||
| 2002 | Emmett's Mark | John Harrett/Frank Dwyer | |
| 2003 | Whatever We Do | Joe | |
| To Kill a King | Oliver Cromwell | ||
| 2004 | Nouvelle-France | William Pitt | |
| The Beautiful Country | Captain Oh | ||
| With It | "Chicken Louis" Farnatelli | ||
| Silver City | Mitch Paine | ||
| 2005 | Don't Come Knocking | Sutter | |
| Dark Water | Jeff Platzer | ||
| 2006 | Tsunami: The Aftermath | Nick Fraser | TV |
| 2007 | Even Money | Victor | |
| Youth Without Youth | Dominic | ||
| Virgin Territory | Gerbino | ||
| 2008 | Funny Games | George | |
| The Incredible Hulk | Emil Blonsky/Abomination | ||
| 2009 | King Conqueror | King Pedro II of Aragon | |
| Lie to Me | Dr. Cal Lightman | TV Series (24 Episodes) | |
| Skellig | Skellig | ||
| 2010 | Pete Smalls Is Dead | Pete Smalls | post-production |
As director
- The War Zone (1999)
References
- ↑ Tim Roth Biography (1961-)
- ↑ Tim Roth: Press
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Simon, Alex (2009-03-05). "Tim Roth: The Hollywood Interview". The Hollywood Interview. http://thehollywoodinterview.blogspot.com/2009/03/tim-roth-hollywood-interview.html. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
- ↑ Tim Roth Biography
- ↑ http://www.brucepayne.de/press/articles/facearticle1987.html
External links
- The Officially Unofficial Tim Roth Web Page
- Tim Roth at the Internet Movie Database
- Tim Roth at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Allmovie entry for Tim Roth
- Tim Roth in Skellig on Sky1, Easter 2009
- Audio Interview w/ Rafferty/Mills Connection Podcast (2009)
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