Timothy Spall

Timothy Leonard Spall is an award-winning classical character actor who was born on February 27, 1957, and raised in London. The son of blue-collar parents, Joseph L. Spall, a postal worker, and Sylvia R. (Leonard), a hairdresser, his interest in acting happened early and Spall auditioned and earned a spot with the National Youth Theatre.

The young actor 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 such plays as "The Merry Wives of Windsor," "Cymbeline," "The Three Sisters," "Nicholas Nickleby" and "The Knight of the Burning Pestle." With other rep companies, he appeared in, among others, "The Merchant" and "St. Joan."

Making his minor debut in a filmed version of the play The Life Story of Baal (1978), Tim went on to play featured roles in offbeat films such as Quadrophenia - 60-luvun kapinalliset (1979), Remembrance (1982), Lähetyssaarnaaja (1982), Hirviön morsian (1985), Body Contact (1987), Crusoe - Etelämeren seikkailija (1988), Salajuoni (1988), Dream Demon (1988) and 1871 (1990)

In the 1990's, Timothy surged forward largely through his association with prolific writer/director Mike Leigh, appearing in a number of his award-winning, working-class features. Those included his doomed chef Aubrey in Elämä on ihanaa (1990); brother/uncle Maurice in Salaisuuksia ja valheita (1996) (BAFTA Award nomination); the vulnerable performer Richard Temple in the Gilbert & Sullivan biopic Topsy-Turvy - mullin mallin (1999) (another BAFTA nomination); and the benign taxi driver Phil in Kaikki tai ei mitään (2002). He also worked for other noted directors including Ken Russell in Yövieraat (1986), Clint Eastwood in Valkoinen metsästäjä musta sydän (1990), Bernardo Bertolucci in Suojaava taivas (1990), and Kenneth Branagh in Hamlet (1996) (as Rosenkrantz).

Tim impressed on the small screen as well during this time, accentuated by his starring work on series TV as the luckless Frank Stubbs Promotes (1993) as well as the comedies Nice Day at the Office (1994) and Outside Edge (1994), and his BAFTA-nominated TV roles in Our Mutual Friend (1998), Valokuvien vangit (1999) and Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise (2001).

A battle with myeloid leukemia sharply curtailed Tim's momentum for a time, but he returned healthy into the millennium in superb lead and support form to create arguably his most hissable cinematic character. As the cowardly, half-blooded wizard Peter Pettigrew, Tim inhabited the role in several of the nine "Harry Potter" blockbusters from Harry Potter ja Azkabanin vanki (2004) to Harry Potter ja kuoleman varjelukset, osa 2 (2011). He also earned superb notices as: one of the charitable Cheeryble brothers in Nicholas Nicklebyn elämä ja seikkailut (2002); gullible banker Mr. Poe in the wild Jim Carrey adventure comedy Lemony Snicketin surkeiden sattumusten sarja (2004); humorous Simon Graham in the Tom Cruise starrer Viimeinen samurai (2003); evil queen henchman Nathaniel in the delightful Disney film Lumottu (2007); the villainous Beadle in the dark musical Sweeney Todd - Fleet Streetin paholaisparturi (2007); the over-anxious lawyer starring role in the family dramedy Reuniting the Rubins (2010); Sir Winston Churchill in Kuninkaan puhe (2010); werewolf hunter Sid in the horror comedy Love Bite (2012); eccentric painter J.M.W. Turner portrait in Mike Leigh's Mr. Turner (2014) (Cannes, London Critics Circle, New York Critics Circle and National Society of Film Critics winner); the co-lead with Juno Temple in the social drama Away (2016); legal combatant David Irving in the Holocaust-themed Denial (2016); part of an upper-class couple (opposite Kristin Scott Thomas in the dark social comedy The Party (2017); a syndicated boss in The Corrupted (2019); and as artist L.S. Lowry opposite Vanessa Redgrave playing his mother in the biopic Mrs Lowry & Son (2019).

Tim's more recent notable TV outings have included his Fagin in the mini-series version of the Dickens classic Oliver Twist (2007), the title role in the TV-movie The Fattest Man in Britain (2009), and as Eddie in the series Katu (2006), Lord Blandings in the comedy Blandings (2013) and Lord Wallington in the dramatic mini-series Salaisuuksien kesä (2019).

The father of three children, one of his children, Rafe Spall, is a prolific actor in his own right.