Tom Wilkinson Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Tom Wilkinson
OCCUPATION: Actor
BIRTH DATE: February 05, 1948 (Age: 65)
EDUCATION: Kent University, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (London)
PLACE OF BIRTH: Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Full Name: Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson, OBE
AKA: Thomas Wilkinson
Originally: Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson
AKA: Tom Wilkinson
ZODIAC SIGN: Aquarius

Best Known For

English actor Tom Wilkinson is best known for his Oscar-nominated roles in the films In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton.

Quiz

Think you know about Biography?

Answer questions and see how you rank against other players.

Play Now

Print Cite This

Tom Wilkinson

APA Style

Tom Wilkinson. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 02:31, May 22, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/tom-wilkinson-267543.

Harvard Style

Tom Wilkinson. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/tom-wilkinson-267543 [Accessed 22 May 2013].

MLA Style

"Tom Wilkinson." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 22 2013, 02:31 http://www.biography.com/people/tom-wilkinson-267543.

MHRA Style

"Tom Wilkinson," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/tom-wilkinson-267543 [accessed May 22, 2013].

Chicago Style

"Tom Wilkinson," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/tom-wilkinson-267543 (accessed May 22, 2013).

CBE/CSE Style

Tom Wilkinson [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 22] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/tom-wilkinson-267543.

Bluebook Style

Tom Wilkinson, http://www.biography.com/people/tom-wilkinson-267543 (last visited May 22, 2013).

AMA Style

Tom Wilkinson. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/tom-wilkinson-267543. Accessed May 22, 2013.

Synopsis

Born in England in 1948, actor Tom Wilkinson was a restless youth until a headmistress introduced him to theater. In the 1980s, Wilkinson joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. His stage work impressed, but he quickly switched to film. His debut film was 1987's First Among Equals. He is perhaps best known for his Oscar-nominated roles in the films In the Bedroom, opposite Sissy Spacek,

and Michael Clayton (2007), opposite George Clooney.

Early Life

Born Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson on February 5, 1948, in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, Tom Wilkinson was raised in Canada, Cornwell and Yorkshire. Wilkinson was a restless, lost youth until a concerned headmistress introduced him to the theater. He studied at Kent University before enrolling at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Wilkinson began performing soon after graduation at the Nottingham Playhouse, then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in the early 1980s.

Commercial Success

Though he garnered good reviews on stage, Wilkinson soon switched to film, debuting in 1987's First Among Equals. His breakthrough role came in Ang Lee's lush 1995 period drama Sense and Sensibility followed by a hilarious turn in 1997's The Full Monty, which earned the actor a BAFTA award as well as an international audience. Other notable films include Shakespeare in Loveand The Patriot.

After staying under the Hollywood radar for much of his career, Wilkinson was showered with critical and popular acclaim for his performance in 2001's In the Bedroom. His turn as a doctor coping with an unraveling marriage after the murder of his son earned him his first Academy Award nomination.