Tom Hollander
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Tom Hollander was born the
second child of educated parents, both teachers. He grew up in Oxford,
(UK).
Hollander credits the happy atmosphere of the Dragon School with his
childhood introduction to acting. There, encouraged by an influential
teacher named Andrew Roberts, he won the title role in "Oliver". His
studies continued at Abingdon, as did his pursuit of acting. At about
this point, he won a place in the National Youth Theatre, a UK
organization for young people in the field of musical theatre, based in
London, and later at the Children's Music Theatre. It was during CMT's
"The Leaving of Liverpool" (1981) that he came to the attention of BBC
television, and subsequently found himself front and center as the
young protagonist in a well-regarded
John Diamond (1981), based
on the popular Leon Garfield adventure novel. He was just fourteen
years old.
Other early projects included two roles in Bertholt Brecht's "The
Caucasian Chalk Circle" (1985) for the National Youth Theatre, and "A
Midsummer Night's Dream" for Oxford University Dramatic Society.
Hollander attended Cambridge University at about the same time as his
childhood friend Sam Mendes in a
visually bold (and well-remembered) staging of "Cyrano de Bergerac"
(1988). Other collaborations with Mendes have followed, including work
at the West End production of "The Cherry Orchard" (1989, with
Judi Dench), and the Chichester Festival
Theatre (1989) as well as a Toronto staging of "Kean" (1991) with
Derek Jacobi. He also appeared in the
Cambridge Footlights Revue (1988).
Upon graduation, Hollander hoped to gain entry to drama school, but
found himself disappointed. The oversight did nothing to discourage a
successful career already well under way: he garnered an Ian Charleson
Award for his turn as Witwould in "The Way of the World" (1992), was
nominated again for a "splendidly sinister, manic" performance as
"Tartuffe" (1996), and yet again as a finalist for his Khlestakov ("a
performance of ideal vigour and impudence"), in Gogol's "The Government
Inspector" (1997). Inevitably, Hollander was urged to try films, and
appeared in two films as early as 1996.
True Blue (1996) (aka "Miracle at
Oxford") found him in a small but memorable role as the cox for
Oxford's noted 1987 "mutiny crew" that went on to win the that year's
boat race against Cambridge, and in a thankless role in
Some Mother's Son (1996), a
sober drama about an IRA gunman, playing a Thatcher representative.
Hollander's career has featured a number of memorable gay roles. His
fans are especially fond of the larger-than-life Darren from
Bedrooms and Hallways (1998),
a romantic comedy with what one reviewer called the "funniest bedroom
scene of the year" involving Hollander's character and
Hugo Weaving. The over-the-top Darren was
so convincing that some viewers assumed Hollander was gay. "Sometimes I
call myself a professional homosexual impersonator," he told an
interviewer at the time, quickly adding, "you could say that ...Sir Ian
McKellen and Rock Hudson do straight actors." The following year, he
would take on a very different kind of "gay" role, playing the
notorious "Bosie" (Lord Alfred Douglas) against
Liam Neeson's Oscar Wilde in "The Judas
Kiss" (1998).
"Martha -- Meet Frank Daniel and Laurence" (aka
The Very Thought of You (1998),
with Joseph Fiennes and
Rufus Sewell, brought accolades for his
standout role as Daniel, a difficult music executive. Variety,
impressed, noted him for "U.K. legit work" and called him the
"undisputed hit of the pic".
2001 brought Gosford Park (2001),
Robert Altman's masterfully
stylized murder mystery, in which he played the quietly desperate
Anthony Meredith against Michael Gambon's
callously indifferent paterfamilias. Hollander's name figures in a half
dozen or more "Best Ensemble" awards for this complex, multi-storied
film.
Considered the character-actor-of-choice for roles with comedic
qualities, Hollander has challenged assumptions about his capacity by
taking on difficult, troubled characters such as the tightly-wound King
George V in Stephen Poliakoff's
The Lost Prince (2003)
for BBC and the demented fascist dictator Maximillian II in
Land of the Blind (2006).
Hollander himself is particularly proud of the film
Lawless Heart (2001), a slyly
humorous, cleverly constructed comedy-drama told from three viewpoints.
Hollander's character, the heart of the film, is a decent man,
devastated by the death of his partner, and grieving privately as the
stories of friends and family unfold around him. A study of desire,
loyalty and courage, the film was very well reviewed and much
respected.
More recent film work has brought him to the attention of mainstream
movie audiences, who now know him as the magnificently petty tyrant
Lord Cutler Beckett in the second and third installments of Disney's
"Pirates of the Caribbean" movies,
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
and
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007).
This role brought another kind of achievement: Hollander could now say
that he'd been commemorated in collectible action-figure form.
He's worked three times with director
Joe Wright, beginning with the
prissy, yet strangely likeable Mr. Collins in
Pride & Prejudice (2005), as a
clueless classical cellist in an unfortunately truncated role in
The Soloist (2009), and as Issacs,
the German henchman in Hanna (2011).
With In the Loop (2009), Hollander
brought a perfectly unbearable, delicate tension to the role of Simon
Foster, the earnestly clueless "British Secretary of State for
International Development" who says the wrong thing at exactly the
wrong moment. The film acted as a kind of companion piece to the
critically-acclaimed
The Thick of It (2005) on
BBC2, Armando Iannucci's furious political satire on the machinations
of war and media. Hollander's contribution to the expanded story was
apparently so well-received he was "brought back" (but in a different
role, entirely) from film to television for a series-ending
surprise-appearance in series 3, delighting fans of the show.
Recent work in television has brought him the opportunity to expand on
his special capacity for conveying nuanced and contradictory
characters. He earned an award for Best Actor at the FIPA International
Television Festival for his portrayal of Guy Burgess in
Cambridge Spies (2003), and
earned praise for the monstrously rude yet oddly endearing Leon in the
satire Freezing (2008), with
Hugh Bonneville and
Elizabeth McGovern) for BBC.
He was unforgettable in an elegantly brief but very moving portrayal of
King George III for HBO's
John Adams (2008).
2010 brought Hollander to widespread attention with
Rev. (2010), which he co-created with
James Wood. The show, initially
described in what was assumed to be familiar terms ("vicar", "comedy")
became something entirely new: "...an exploration of British hypocrisy
and a warmly played character piece", wrote Giles Fraser, Canon
Chancellor at St Paul's Cathedral in a piece for The Sunday Telegraph.
Rev. was much more than it appeared: reviews called it intelligent,
realistic and very funny, with a stellar cast headed by Hollander as
the sympathetic and very human vicar, Adam Smallbone. The show would
garner a BAFTA in 2011 for Best Situation Comedy, among other awards
and recognition.
Hollander supports a variety of charitable causes in innovative ways.
In 2006 he ran his first race for the Childline Crisis hotline, and in
2007 ran for the Teenage Cancer Trust. He is a long-time supporter of
the Helen and Douglas House in Oxford, which provides Hospice care for
children, and continues to support charitable organizations by
contributing readings and other appearances throughout the year.
Hollander is a patron of BIFA, the British Independent Film Awards, and
has supported the efforts of the Old Vic's "24 Hour Plays New Voices"
Gala, which forwards the cause of young writers for the British stage.
Hollander continues to diversify with voicework roles in radio, reading
audiobooks, doing voiceover work and onstage. He appeared in the Old
Vic's production of Georges Feydeau's "A Flea in Her Ear" (2010),
playing a demanding dual role: the upstanding Victor Emmanuel
Chandebise and the lame-brained Poche. Reviews called it "insanity",
and his performance "a breathtaking combination of lightning physical
precision and shockingly true confusion".
Hollander is in production for series 2 of the winning comedy
Rev. (2010).
second child of educated parents, both teachers. He grew up in Oxford,
(UK).
Hollander credits the happy atmosphere of the Dragon School with his
childhood introduction to acting. There, encouraged by an influential
teacher named Andrew Roberts, he won the title role in "Oliver". His
studies continued at Abingdon, as did his pursuit of acting. At about
this point, he won a place in the National Youth Theatre, a UK
organization for young people in the field of musical theatre, based in
London, and later at the Children's Music Theatre. It was during CMT's
"The Leaving of Liverpool" (1981) that he came to the attention of BBC
television, and subsequently found himself front and center as the
young protagonist in a well-regarded
John Diamond (1981), based
on the popular Leon Garfield adventure novel. He was just fourteen
years old.
Other early projects included two roles in Bertholt Brecht's "The
Caucasian Chalk Circle" (1985) for the National Youth Theatre, and "A
Midsummer Night's Dream" for Oxford University Dramatic Society.
Hollander attended Cambridge University at about the same time as his
childhood friend Sam Mendes in a
visually bold (and well-remembered) staging of "Cyrano de Bergerac"
(1988). Other collaborations with Mendes have followed, including work
at the West End production of "The Cherry Orchard" (1989, with
Judi Dench), and the Chichester Festival
Theatre (1989) as well as a Toronto staging of "Kean" (1991) with
Derek Jacobi. He also appeared in the
Cambridge Footlights Revue (1988).
Upon graduation, Hollander hoped to gain entry to drama school, but
found himself disappointed. The oversight did nothing to discourage a
successful career already well under way: he garnered an Ian Charleson
Award for his turn as Witwould in "The Way of the World" (1992), was
nominated again for a "splendidly sinister, manic" performance as
"Tartuffe" (1996), and yet again as a finalist for his Khlestakov ("a
performance of ideal vigour and impudence"), in Gogol's "The Government
Inspector" (1997). Inevitably, Hollander was urged to try films, and
appeared in two films as early as 1996.
True Blue (1996) (aka "Miracle at
Oxford") found him in a small but memorable role as the cox for
Oxford's noted 1987 "mutiny crew" that went on to win the that year's
boat race against Cambridge, and in a thankless role in
Some Mother's Son (1996), a
sober drama about an IRA gunman, playing a Thatcher representative.
Hollander's career has featured a number of memorable gay roles. His
fans are especially fond of the larger-than-life Darren from
Bedrooms and Hallways (1998),
a romantic comedy with what one reviewer called the "funniest bedroom
scene of the year" involving Hollander's character and
Hugo Weaving. The over-the-top Darren was
so convincing that some viewers assumed Hollander was gay. "Sometimes I
call myself a professional homosexual impersonator," he told an
interviewer at the time, quickly adding, "you could say that ...Sir Ian
McKellen and Rock Hudson do straight actors." The following year, he
would take on a very different kind of "gay" role, playing the
notorious "Bosie" (Lord Alfred Douglas) against
Liam Neeson's Oscar Wilde in "The Judas
Kiss" (1998).
"Martha -- Meet Frank Daniel and Laurence" (aka
The Very Thought of You (1998),
with Joseph Fiennes and
Rufus Sewell, brought accolades for his
standout role as Daniel, a difficult music executive. Variety,
impressed, noted him for "U.K. legit work" and called him the
"undisputed hit of the pic".
2001 brought Gosford Park (2001),
Robert Altman's masterfully
stylized murder mystery, in which he played the quietly desperate
Anthony Meredith against Michael Gambon's
callously indifferent paterfamilias. Hollander's name figures in a half
dozen or more "Best Ensemble" awards for this complex, multi-storied
film.
Considered the character-actor-of-choice for roles with comedic
qualities, Hollander has challenged assumptions about his capacity by
taking on difficult, troubled characters such as the tightly-wound King
George V in Stephen Poliakoff's
The Lost Prince (2003)
for BBC and the demented fascist dictator Maximillian II in
Land of the Blind (2006).
Hollander himself is particularly proud of the film
Lawless Heart (2001), a slyly
humorous, cleverly constructed comedy-drama told from three viewpoints.
Hollander's character, the heart of the film, is a decent man,
devastated by the death of his partner, and grieving privately as the
stories of friends and family unfold around him. A study of desire,
loyalty and courage, the film was very well reviewed and much
respected.
More recent film work has brought him to the attention of mainstream
movie audiences, who now know him as the magnificently petty tyrant
Lord Cutler Beckett in the second and third installments of Disney's
"Pirates of the Caribbean" movies,
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
and
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007).
This role brought another kind of achievement: Hollander could now say
that he'd been commemorated in collectible action-figure form.
He's worked three times with director
Joe Wright, beginning with the
prissy, yet strangely likeable Mr. Collins in
Pride & Prejudice (2005), as a
clueless classical cellist in an unfortunately truncated role in
The Soloist (2009), and as Issacs,
the German henchman in Hanna (2011).
With In the Loop (2009), Hollander
brought a perfectly unbearable, delicate tension to the role of Simon
Foster, the earnestly clueless "British Secretary of State for
International Development" who says the wrong thing at exactly the
wrong moment. The film acted as a kind of companion piece to the
critically-acclaimed
The Thick of It (2005) on
BBC2, Armando Iannucci's furious political satire on the machinations
of war and media. Hollander's contribution to the expanded story was
apparently so well-received he was "brought back" (but in a different
role, entirely) from film to television for a series-ending
surprise-appearance in series 3, delighting fans of the show.
Recent work in television has brought him the opportunity to expand on
his special capacity for conveying nuanced and contradictory
characters. He earned an award for Best Actor at the FIPA International
Television Festival for his portrayal of Guy Burgess in
Cambridge Spies (2003), and
earned praise for the monstrously rude yet oddly endearing Leon in the
satire Freezing (2008), with
Hugh Bonneville and
Elizabeth McGovern) for BBC.
He was unforgettable in an elegantly brief but very moving portrayal of
King George III for HBO's
John Adams (2008).
2010 brought Hollander to widespread attention with
Rev. (2010), which he co-created with
James Wood. The show, initially
described in what was assumed to be familiar terms ("vicar", "comedy")
became something entirely new: "...an exploration of British hypocrisy
and a warmly played character piece", wrote Giles Fraser, Canon
Chancellor at St Paul's Cathedral in a piece for The Sunday Telegraph.
Rev. was much more than it appeared: reviews called it intelligent,
realistic and very funny, with a stellar cast headed by Hollander as
the sympathetic and very human vicar, Adam Smallbone. The show would
garner a BAFTA in 2011 for Best Situation Comedy, among other awards
and recognition.
Hollander supports a variety of charitable causes in innovative ways.
In 2006 he ran his first race for the Childline Crisis hotline, and in
2007 ran for the Teenage Cancer Trust. He is a long-time supporter of
the Helen and Douglas House in Oxford, which provides Hospice care for
children, and continues to support charitable organizations by
contributing readings and other appearances throughout the year.
Hollander is a patron of BIFA, the British Independent Film Awards, and
has supported the efforts of the Old Vic's "24 Hour Plays New Voices"
Gala, which forwards the cause of young writers for the British stage.
Hollander continues to diversify with voicework roles in radio, reading
audiobooks, doing voiceover work and onstage. He appeared in the Old
Vic's production of Georges Feydeau's "A Flea in Her Ear" (2010),
playing a demanding dual role: the upstanding Victor Emmanuel
Chandebise and the lame-brained Poche. Reviews called it "insanity",
and his performance "a breathtaking combination of lightning physical
precision and shockingly true confusion".
Hollander is in production for series 2 of the winning comedy
Rev. (2010).