Spall, Tim
Best known for his grimy, boorish, highly dysfunctional, often repugnant blue-collars particularly in Mike Leigh films, actor Timothy Spall was the son of a postal worker and a hairdresser. Raised in London, he auditioned and earned a spot with the National Youth Theatre and later showed great promise at RADA where he portrayed the title roles in "Macbeth" and "Othello." In 1979 he j ...
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Best known for his grimy, boorish, highly dysfunctional, often repugnant blue-collars particularly in Mike Leigh films, actor Timothy Spall was the son of a postal worker and a hairdresser. Raised in London, he auditioned and earned a spot with the National Youth Theatre and later showed great promise at RADA where he portrayed the title roles in "Macbeth" and "Othello." In 1979 he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and stayed for approximately two years performing in "The Merry Wives of Windsor," "Cymbeline," "The Three Sisters" and "Nicholas Nickleby." In the early 80s he moved into TV roles with Leigh's "Home Sweet Home" and later had his own drama series "Frank Stubbs Promotes" in 1993. With Leigh, Timothy's appeared in a number of award-winning features, particularly "The Life Is Sweet (1990)" and "Secrets & Lies (1996)", for which he earned a BAFTA Award nomination, and the Gilbert & Sullivan biopic "Topsy-Turvy (1999)". He also worked for noted directors Ken Russell in "Gothic (1986)", Clint Eastwood in "White Hunter Black Heart (1990)", Bernardo Bertolucci in "Sheltering Sky (1990)", and Kenneth Branagh in "Hamlet (1996)" as Rosenkrantz. A chronic illness curtailed his momentum in the mid-90s, coming back resourcefully on stage and TV. On a roll recently with more of his odd characterizations he lent his voice to the popular animated feature "Chicken Run (2000)" and appeared in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)" as Peter Pettigrew, and "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)" as Mr. Poe.
Was named an Officer of the Order of British Empire (OBE) by Britain's Queen Elizabeth on New Year's Eve, 1999
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