Tom Wilkinson Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson
OCCUPATION: Film Actor, Theater Actor, Television Actor
BIRTH DATE: February 05, 1948 (Age: 64)
EDUCATION: Kent University, London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
PLACE OF BIRTH: Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom

ZODIAC SIGN: Aquarius

more about Tom

Best Known For

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

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Tom Wilkinson

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Synopsis

English 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.

Profile

Actor. Born Thomas Jeffery Wilkinson, Jr. on December 12, 1948 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. 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.

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.

Recent films include The Importance of Being Earnest, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, HBO's The Path to War and Normal, a television project about a Midwestern husband and father who announces his intention to undergo a sex change operation. In 2008, Wilkinson was nominated for his second Academy Award for his performance as a star attorney in the midst of a breakdown in Michael Clayton opposite George Clooney.

Tom Wilkinson and his wife, actress Diana Hardcastle, have two daughters, Alice and Molly.