Tim Roth Biography
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Tim Roth
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| Tim Roth | |
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 Tim Roth |
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| Born | Timothy Simon Smith 14 May 1961 Dulwich, London, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actor/Director |
| Years active | 1982–present |
Tim Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English film actor and director best known for his roles in the American films Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk and Rob Roy, for which he received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He currently stars as Cal Lightman in the TV series Lie to Me.
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Early life
Roth was born Timothy Simon Smith in Dulwich, London, the son of Ann, a painter and teacher, and Ernie Smith, a journalist, painter and, until the 1970s, a member of the British Communist Party.123 His father adopted the surname Roth after World War II in order to hide his nationality when travelling in countries hostile to the British.34
Roth attended the Strand School in Tulse Hill. As a young man, Roth wanted to be a sculptor and studied at London's Camberwell School of Art.
Career
After some time at the Camberwell School of Art, Roth tried acting and made his debut at the age of 21 playing a white power skinhead in a TV movie entitled Made in Britain. Roth played an East End character in 'King of the Ghetto' which was made by the BBC. This four part drama was shown in 1986 on national television, based on a novel by Farukh Dhondy. The story partly set in Brick Lane, caused a sensation among the public, especially amongst the Bengali community. In 1984, Roth played an apprentice hitman in Stephen Frears' The Hit with Terence Stamp and John Hurt, earning an Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Newcomer. With that recognition, he appeared in several other films during the end of the decade. In 1989 he had a memorable supporting role as the buffoonish lackey, Mitchell, in Peter Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. In 1990, Roth began to enjoy international attention with starring roles as Vincent van Gogh in Robert Altman's Vincent & Theo and Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead.
Roth impressed director Quentin Tarantino and was cast as Mr. Orange in his 1992 ensemble piece Reservoir Dogs. This film paved the way for more work in Hollywood. In 1994, Tarantino cast him again as a robber in the acclaimed Pulp Fiction. They worked again in the 1995 movie Four Rooms, where Roth played the extremely physically animated role of "Ted the Bellhop". Roth was very successful playing viciously evil English nobleman Archibald Cunningham in Rob Roy opposite Liam Neeson. For that role he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, a Golden Globe nomination, and won a British Academy Award.
In 1996, he went a different way, starring with Drew Barrymore in Woody Allen's musical comedy Everyone Says I Love You. He also starred as Danny Boodman T.D. Lemon 1900 (or just "1900") in the movie The Legend of 1900. Also in 1996, he co-starred with the late Tupac Shakur in the drama Gridlock'd. In 1999 he made a critically acclaimed debut as a director with The War Zone, a film of Alexander Stuart's novel. In 2001, he made another important move by portraying General Thade in Tim Burton's blockbuster Planet of the Apes. He was also considered for the part of Hannibal Lecter in the 2001 film Hannibal had Anthony Hopkins not returned to the role.
Roth recently appeared in Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth and Michael Haneke's Funny Games. He starred opposite Edward Norton in The Incredible Hulk, as Emil Blonsky.
In 2009 he began starring in a new series on Fox called Lie To Me. He plays Dr. Cal Lightman, an expert on body language, whose team assists local and federal law organisations in the investigations of crimes. His character is based on Dr. Paul Ekman, notable psychologist and expert on body language and facial expressions.
Personal life
Roth had a son, Jack, with Lori Baker in 1983. He married Nikki Butler in 1993, and had two sons with her, Timothy Hunter (b. 1995) and Michael Cormac (b. 1996).
Filmography
As actor
As director
- The War Zone (1999)
Quotations
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- "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)
- "Like going to Liberace's house on acid." (On attending the Academy Awards Ceremony)
- "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."
- "I never do my own stunts...that's actor nonsense." (around Planet of the Apes filming)
- "I was having a great time scaring people." (as Thade in Planet of the Apes)
- "The War Zone is right. It's the truth. It's the truth about this subject. And I'm bullet-proof on that. Probably more so than I will be on any other film that I make as a director."
References
- ^ Tim Roth Biography (1961-)
- ^ Tim Roth: Press
- ^ a b Simon, Alex (2009-03-05). "Tim Roth: The Hollywood Interview". The Hollywood Interview. http://thehollywoodinterview.blogspot.com/2009/03/tim-roth-hollywood-interview.html. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
- ^ Tim Roth Biography