Timothy Leonard Spall ( ; born 27 February 1957) is an English actor. He gained recognition for his

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

roles on stage and screen. In 2000, he was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) by

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. Spall is known for his collaborations with director Mike Leigh, acting in six of his films: '' Home Sweet Home'' (1982), '' Life is Sweet'' (1990), '' Secrets & Lies'' (1996), '' Topsy-Turvy'' (1999), '' All or Nothing'' (2002), and '' Mr. Turner'' (2014). He received nominations for the BAFTA Award for his roles in ''Secrets and Lies'' and ''Topsy-Turvy'' as well as received the Cannes Film Festival Best Actor Award for his portrayal of J. M. W. Turner in ''Mr. Turner''. Spall has acted in films such as ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' (1996), '' Still Crazy'' (1998), '' Nicholas Nickleby'' (2002), '' The Last Samurai'' (2003), '' Enchanted'' (2007), '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' (2007), '' The Damned United'' (2009), '' The King's Speech'' (2010), '' Ginger and Rosa'' (2012), '' Denial'' (2016), '' The Party'' (2017), and '' Spencer'' (2021). He voiced Nick the rat in '' Chicken Run'' (2000), and portrayed Peter Pettigrew in five ''Harry Potter'' films, from '' Prisoner of Azkaban'' (2004) to '' Deathly Hallows – Part 1'' (2010). On television, Spall played Barry Spencer Taylor in the ITV comedy drama series ''

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' () is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site ...

'' (1983–2004) and Lord Arthur Wallington in the

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drama '' Summer of Rockets'' (2019). He won the 2024 International Emmy Awards and BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, for his performance as Peter Farquhar in '' The Sixth Commandment''. From 2010 to 2012 the BBC broadcast three documentary series '' Timothy Spall: ...at Sea'' about Spall's voyage around Britain in his barge.

Early life

Spall, the third of four sons, was born on 27 February 1957 in Battersea, London. His mother, Sylvia R. (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Leonard), was a hairdresser, and his father, Joseph L. Spall, was a postal worker. Spall attended Battersea County Comprehensive School. At that time, he was planning on going to art school or joining the army. Spall's ambitions turned towards acting when he was 16, after appearing in a school play as the lion in the '' Wizard of Oz'': "I was up there on stage being funny, and people laughed. I wanted to do it again and again." He trained at the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...

, and at RADA, graduating in 1978, after being awarded the Bancroft Gold Medal as the most promising actor in his year.

Career

Spall initially made his mark in theatre performing in productions for Birmingham Rep, including the UK premier of Arnold Wesker's '' The Merchant'', and, later, the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

, including '' The Merry Wives of Windsor'', '' Three Sisters'', '' Nicholas Nickleby'' and '' The Knight of the Burning Pestle''. At The National Theatre Spall played the Dauphin in

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

's St Joan. Following a film debut in '' Quadrophenia'' and wider TV exposure playing, as Wayne says, "the gormless radish" wkwardBarry Taylor in all four series of ''

'', Kevin in ''Outside Edge'' and Aubrey the appalling chef in Mike Leigh's '' Life is Sweet'', Spall has since appeared in the films '' Crusoe'', '' Secrets & Lies'', '' Shooting the Past'', '' Topsy-Turvy'', '' Vanilla Sky'', '' Rock Star'', '' All or Nothing'', '' The Last Samurai'', '' Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' and '' The King's Speech''. He performed as Peter Pettigrew ("Wormtail") in the Harry Potter film series. In 1991 he guest starred in the series 5 ''

Red Dwarf A red dwarf is the smallest kind of star on the main sequence. Red dwarfs are by far the most common type of fusing star in the Milky Way, at least in the neighborhood of the Sun. However, due to their low luminosity, individual red dwarfs are ...

'' episode "Back to Reality". In 1993, Spall was a guest in the Scottish comedy series '' Rab C. Nesbitt''. He played Inspector Truscott in a 1997 Radio 3 broadcast of '' Loot'' by Orton, repeated in 2017. He was appointed

(OBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours. Spall performed lead vocals on the song "The Devil is an Englishman" from the

Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films were mainly liberal adaptations of ...

film '' Gothic'' (1986), in which Spall portrayed John William Polidori. Spall played the starring role of Albert Pierrepoint in the 2005 film '' Pierrepoint'', which was released as ''The Last Hangman'' in the United States. In the 2006 video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories'', Spall voiced

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

' manager, Barry Mickelthwaite. In 2007, he starred as Nathaniel in Disney's '' Enchanted'' and Beadle Bamford in

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

's production of '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street''. He also starred as Georgie Godwin in a one-off television drama '' The Fattest Man in Britain'' on ITV1 which aired on 20 December 2009. The drama also featured Bobby Ball, Frances Barber, Aisling Loftus and Jeremy Kyle. In 2010, he portrayed

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

in the film '' The King's Speech,'' for which, as a member of the ensemble, he was jointly awarded the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Spall reprised the role at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. In 2012, Spall filmed ''Wasteland'' (known as '' The Rise'' in Britain), with actors Matthew Lewis and Vanessa Kirby. The Newport Beach Film Festival in Newport Beach, California, screened ''Wasteland'' in April 2013.”Wasteland Newport Beach Film Festival 2013 Screenings”
/ref> Also in 2012 Spall played Charlie Morgan in the edgy film '' Comes a Bright Day''. In 2013 and 2014, Spall starred in the BBC television series "Blandings", a comedy series adapted by Guy Andrews from the Blandings Castle stories of P. G. Wodehouse. It was first broadcast 13 January 2013. In 2014, he won the Best Actor Award at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival for '' Mr. Turner'', a biographical film on J. M. W. Turner directed by Mike Leigh. Spall has mentioned that this role is his personal favourite as it inspired him to take on painting. In 2016, Spall portrayed Holocaust denier David Irving in the film '' Denial'', directed by Mick Jackson. From 29 March to 14 May 2016, Spall played the title role of Davies in

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...

's play '' The Caretaker'', directed by Matthew Warchus at the Old Vic theatre in London opposite George MacKay and Daniel Mays. In 2018 he played Terry Perkins, one of the robbers, in the ITV

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

''Hatton Garden''. Spall went on to play Major Alistair Gregory in the acclaimed dramatic film'' Spencer ''(2021). He shared several psychologically charged scenes with Kristen Stewart who portrayed Princess Diana. Spall received the 2024 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, for his performance as Peter Farquhar in the BBC's true life drama series ''The Sixth Commandment'', which aired in 2023. Also in 2024, Spall played the Duke of Norfolk in the BBC dramatisation of the Hilary Mantel novel ''Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light'', taking over the role played in the first series by the late Bernard Hill. To mark to 80th anniversary of the end of World War 2 in Europe, in May 2025, Spall performed a public reading in London of the speech Winston Churchill had delivered when Germany surrendered.

Personal life

Spall and his wife Shane have three children including Rafe, who is also an actor. He lives in Forest Hill, South East London. Having been a portly man for much of his career, Spall resolved to slim down for his role in 2015's '' The Enfield Haunting'' and, through his efforts, shed a notable amount of weight. In 1996, Spall was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, but has since been in remission. He has said of his illness:

I didn't know what made me ill but stress had something to do with it and the point is now to head off stress at the pass. It made me aware of things and become more selective. I am less worried about employment. I really do my homework so I am not getting stressed on the set because I don't know what I'm doing.

He is the owner of a

Dutch barge A Dutch barge is a traditional flat-bottomed shoal-draught barge, originally used to carry cargo in the shallow '' Zuiderzee'' and the waterways of The Netherlands. There are many types of Dutch barge, with characteristics determined by regiona ...

, in which he and his wife sailed around the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

; their voyage formed a

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

TV series '' Timothy Spall: ...at Sea''.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
Amy Raphael, "Spall in the Family," (Interview of Timothy Spall and actor son Rafe) ''The Observer'', 28 October 2007

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spall, Timothy 1957 births Living people 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Actors from the London Borough of Wandsworth Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Audiobook narrators Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor winners English male film actors English male Shakespearean actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male voice actors European Film Award for Best Actor winners Male actors from London National Youth Theatre members Officers of the Order of the British Empire Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners People from Battersea Royal Shakespeare Company members