Biography for
Tim Roth (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

14 May 1961, London, England, UK

Birth Name

Timothy Simon Smith

Height

5' 7" (1.70 m)

Mini Biography

British actor whose greatest success came after 1990 when he moved to the States to play American heavies. He has been a favorite of director Quentin Tarantino.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Ray Hamel

Mini Biography

Often mistaken for an American because of his skill at imitating accents, actor Tim Roth was born Timothy Simon Smith in London, England on May 14, 1961 to mother Ann, a teacher and landscape painter, and father Ernie, a journalist who changed the family name to "Roth". Tim grew up in Dulwich, a middle-class area in the south of London. He demonstrated his talent for picking up accents at an early age when he attended school in Brixton, where he faced persecution from classmates for his comfortable background and quickly perfected a cockney accent to blend in. He attended Camberwell Art College and studied sculpture before he dropped out and pursued acting.

The slightly built blonde actor's first big break was the British TV movie Made in Britain (1982) (TV). Roth made a huge splash in that film as a young skinhead named Trevor. He next worked with director Mike Leigh on Meantime (1984) (TV), which he has counted among his favorite projects. He debuted on the big screen when he filled in for Joe Strummer in the Stephen Frears neo-noir The Hit (1984). Roth gained more attention for his turn as Vincent Van Gogh in Vincent & Theo (1990) and his work opposite Gary Oldman in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990).

He moved to Los Angeles in search of work and caught the eye of young director Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino had envisioned Roth as a possible Mr. Blonde or Mr. Pink in his heist flick Reservoir Dogs (1992), but Roth campaigned for the role of Mr. Orange instead, and ultimately won the part. It proved to be a huge breakthrough for Roth, as audiences found it difficult to forget his performance as a member of a group of jewellery store robbers who is slowly bleeding to death. Tarantino cast Roth again in the landmark film Pulp Fiction (1994). Roth and actress Amanda Plummer played a pair of robbers who hold up a restaurant. 1995 saw the third of Roth's collaborations with Tarantino, a surprisingly slapstick performance in the anthology film Four Rooms (1995). That same year Roth picked up an Academy Award nomination for his campy turn as a villain in the period piece Rob Roy (1995).

Continuing to take on disparate roles, Roth did his own singing (with an American accent to boot) in the lightweight Woody Allen musical Everyone Says I Love You (1996). He starred opposite Tupac Shakur in Shakur's last film, the twisted comedy Gridlock'd (1997). The pair received positive critical notices for their comic chemistry. Standing in contrast to the criminals and baddies that crowd his CV, Roth's work as the innocent, seafaring pianist in the Giuseppe Tornatore film La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano (1998) became something of a fan favorite. Grittier fare followed when Roth made his directorial debut with The War Zone (1999), a frank, critically acclaimed drama about a family torn apart by incest. He made his next high-profile appearance as an actor as General Thade, an evil simian in the Tim Burton remake of Planet of the Apes (2001). Roth was, of course, all but unrecognizable in his primate make-up.

Roth has continued to enjoy a mix of arthouse and mainstream work, including everything from the lead role in Francis Ford Coppola's esoteric Youth Without Youth (2007) to becoming "The Abomination" in the special effects-heavy blockbuster The Incredible Hulk (2008). Roth took his first major American television role when he signed on to the Fox-TV series "Lie to Me" (2009)

IMDb Mini Biography By: Azure_Girl

Spouse

Nikki Butler

(25 January 1993 - present) 2 children

Trade Mark

Walks with an unusual stiff-legged gait that has been attributed to bow-legs.

Often plays characters who were spoiled in their youth.

Often plays Dutch or Jewish characters (as in 'Vincent & Theo', 'Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead', 'Little Odessa', 'The Million Dollar Hotel', both in 'Invincible')

Trivia

He and Gary Oldman are very good friends from back in the days of when they worked in London theater.

He bears tattoos on his right arm for significant events in his life. He currently has 5 such tattoos.

Even with his reputation as an actor firmly established, Tim Roth still tends bar from time to time.

He has a son named Jack (b. 1983), with Lori Baker.

Two sons, with Butler, Timothy (b. 1995) and Cormac (b. 1996)

One of the first actor/models to get the trendy "thorny tribal" tattoo around his arm.

His middle name is Simon.

His father changed the family name from the more British "Smith" to the German-Jewish 'Roth' in the 40s after World War II because he was a journalist who traveled in countries that disliked the British.

Was considered for the role of Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), but dropped out to star in Tim Burton's re-make of Planet of the Apes (1968). The role was then given to Alan Rickman.

Turned down the role of Johnny Rotten in Sid and Nancy (1986), because he felt the film depicted history that was "too recent."

Was considered as a replacement for Anthony Hopkins, when Hopkins was reluctant to return to play Hannibal Lector in Hannibal (2001). However, in the end, Hopkins accepted the role.

Served as president of the jury for the Camera D'Or - a prize awarded to first time filmmakers - at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004.

Ranked #16 on Tropopkin's Top 25 Most Intriguing People [Issue #100]

A former art student, Tim has played an artist in at least 3 roles: Vincent Van Gogh in Vincent & Theo, Jack in "Tales from the Crypt" (episode "Easel Kill Ya") and Joey, an ex-con with a gift for drawing in No Way Home.

Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006

Was considered for the role of McStarley in The Condemned (2007).

Personal Quotes

I have a bad time between jobs because I'm always convinced I'll never work again. I think it may be an English thing, this fear of unemployment.

(Of attending the Academy Awards Ceremony) "Like going to Liberace's house on acid."

There's a lot of blood in that film. I think there's only nine pints in a body; we had about four gallons." - on "Reservoir Dogs

(On "Gridlock'd" co-star Tupac Shakur) "I found him to be incredibly talented. I used to call him "New Money" because he had a massive Bentley and a different model sat in the car each day, and he used to call me "Free Shit" because I always used to get loads of free stuff from companies. It's a shame what happened - I think he could have gone on to be quite something as an actor."

I've never really played a goody in the traditional sense. Anyway, I don't think that I look the part of a heroic character, especially not in Hollywood, so they never really come up. On a childish level, villains are just more fun.

I remember watching the Sex Pistols on TV when I came home from school - I think it was Johnny Rotten and Siouxsie Sioux from the Banshees - and they started swearing and the guy interviewing them got fired for provoking them. It was a wonderful time. It was like saying, 'Ugly is beautiful, everything you taught us is wrong.'

Every film you make as an actor it's not yours, it's the director's.

I'm not a methodist actor. I don't really have to go live in a hut in the tundra to play an accountant. People tell you that's what you should do because it's what Deniro does. It never worked for me. I've always been able to learn what I need to learn from the script

There's stuff I'm really scared of doing that I think I *should* do. I *should* do some Shakespeare but it terrifies me. I want to... Harold Pinter adapted King Lear for me - into a film - and I want to try and make that at some point, but, you know, it's damned hard finding money for Shakespeare if you're not Kenneth Branagh, you know?

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