Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson (5 February<!--- 5 February is the correct birthdate, not 12 December ---> 1948 – 30 December 2023) was an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards. In 2005, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
Wilkinson trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before making his West End debut portraying Horatio in Hamlet (1980) for which he received a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He returned to the West End playing Dr. Stockmann in the Henrik Ibsen play An Enemy of the People (1988) receiving a Laurence Olivier Award for Actor of the Year in a Revival nomination.
Wilkinson received the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for The Full Monty (1997) as well as two Academy Award nominations, one for Best Actor for In the Bedroom (2001) and Best Supporting Actor for Michael Clayton (2007). He became known as a character actor, appearing in numerous films such as In the Name of the Father (1993), Sense and Sensibility (1995), Shakespeare in Love (1998), Rush Hour (1998), The Patriot (2000), Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Batman Begins (2005), Valkyrie (2008), The Ghost Writer (2010), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), Belle (2013), Selma (2014), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and Denial (2016).
In 2009 he won a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for playing Benjamin Franklin in the HBO limited series John Adams (2008). His other Emmy-nominated roles were as Roy/Ruth Applewood in the HBO film Normal (2003), James Baker in the HBO film Recount (2008), and Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. in the limited series The Kennedys (2011).
Early life and education
Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson was born on 5 February 1948 in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, the son of Marjorie and Thomas Wilkinson, a farmer. At the age of 11, he and his family moved to Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada, where they lived for five years before returning to the United Kingdom and running a pub in Cornwall. Wilkinson graduated in English and American literature from the University of Kent at Canterbury.
Career
1973–1994: Rise to prominence
Wilkinson made his acting debut on stage at the Nottingham Playhouse. In 1976 he appeared his first film, the thriller ', directed by Andrzej Wajda, an adaption of Joseph Conrad's novel The Shadow-Line. He was simultaneously appearing in this series on television and on the West End stage in Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts, in which he played Pastor Manders.
1995–2008: Breakthrough and acclaim
thumb|left|250px|[[Sissy Spacek and Wilkinson in Todd Field's In the Bedroom (2001)]]
Wilkinson had a small but important role as the dying father, Mr. Dashwood, in the Ang Lee-directed Sense and Sensibility (1995), and played a villain in the adventure drama The Ghost and the Darkness (1996). The following year, he gained acclaim for his leading role as Gerald Cooper, an ex-foreman who reluctantly joins a group of unemployed steelworkers as a stripper, in the ensemble cast comedy-drama The Full Monty (1997). For his performance, he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. That same year, he portrayed Marquess of Queensberry in the biographical drama Wilde and Hugh Stratton in the romantic drama Oscar and Lucinda.
Wilkinson won wider critical acclaim for his portrayal of grieving father Matt Fowler in Todd Field's In the Bedroom (2001), with co-stars Sissy Spacek and Marisa Tomei. For this performance, he won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He then took roles in the period films The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) and Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003). For his role as Roy/Ruth Applewood in the HBO film Normal he received a nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award. The following year he played Dr. Howard Mierzwiak in the Michel Gondry-directed science fiction romantic comedy Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. He portrayed Carmine Falcone in Christopher Nolan's superhero film Batman Begins (2005). He also acted in films such as the horror film The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), Julian Fellowes' drama Separate Lies (2005), and Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream (2007).
In 2007, Wilkinson played Arthur Edens, an attorney with bipolar disorder, in Michael Clayton. The performance, which Variety described as "terrific", earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination. In 2008, Wilkinson portrayed American polymath Benjamin Franklin in the HBO mini-series John Adams, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award, That same year he starred in another HBO project, the political drama Recount, in which Wilkinson portrayed American political adviser and lawyer, James A. Baker, in Baker's capacity as Chief Counsel to George W. Bush during the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election, receiving an Emmy Award nomination. He portrayed Friedrich Fromm, acting alongside Tom Cruise, in the World War II thriller Valkyrie and acted in the Guy Ritchie action film RocknRolla (both 2008). He gained acclaim portraying Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., in the 2011 television miniseries The Kennedys, for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. He and his wife portrayed husband and wife Joe and Rose Kennedy. Earlier that year, he appeared in the comedy film The Green Hornet and the action film Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. The following year he acted in the comedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel starring opposite Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel and Maggie Smith. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter praised his performance writing, "Observed with sensitivity and played with a deep well of sorrow by Wilkinson, this story breathes real tenderness into the movie's reflections on growing older and making peace with past mistakes".
In 2013 he portrayed Lord Mansfield in the costume drama Belle starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw. The following year Wilkinson portrayed Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th President of the United States, in Ava DuVernay's historical drama film Selma (2014), and had a role in Wes Anderson's comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). They had two daughters.
Wilkinson died of cardiac arrest at his home in London, on 30 December 2023, at the age of 75.
Acting credits
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of Tom Wilkinson film credits
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Role
! class="unsortable" scope="col" | Notes
|-
| 1976
| '
| Chef Ransome
|
|-
| 1984
| Parker
| Tom
|
|-
| rowspan=2|1985
| Sylvia
| Keith Henderson
|
|-
| Wetherby
| Roger Braithwaite
|
|-
| rowspan=3|1994
| Priest
| Father Matthew Thomas
|
|-
| 1995
| Sense and Sensibility
| Mr. Dashwood
|
|-
| Spyship
| Martin Taylor
| Miniseries
|-
| rowspan=3|1984
| Strangers and Brothers
| George Passant
| 2 episodes
|-
| Sharma and Beyond
| Vivian
|-
| rowspan=2|1985
| A Pocket Full of Rye
| Detective Inspector Neele
|-
| 1986
| First Among Equals
| Raymond Gould
| Miniseries
|-
| 1989
| First and Last
| Stephen
| Television film
|-
| TECX
| Hugo Gillon
| Episode: "The Wine Business"
<!-- |-
| Counterstrike
| Unknown
| 2 episodes -->
|-
| 1990–1996
| Screen Two
| David Hanratty / Father McAteer / Dr. Middleton
| 4 episodes
|-
|rowspan=3|1991
| Parnell & the Englishwoman
| Sir Charles Russell
| Episode: "The Libel"
|-
| Resnick: Lonely Hearts
| rowspan=2|Detective Inspector Charlie Resnick
| rowspan=2|Television film
| Buckingham (voice)
| Episode: "King Richard II"
|-
| Performance
| Duke Vincentio
| Episode: "Measure for Measure"
|-
| Martin Chuzzlewit
| Seth Pecksniff
| Miniseries
| rowspan=2|Hugh Lloyd
|rowspan=6|Television film
|-
|1997
| Cold Enough for Snow
|-
| The Kennedys
| rowspan=2|Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.
| Miniseries
|-
| 2018
| Watership Down
| Threarah (voice)
| Miniseries
|-
| 1988 || An Enemy of the People || Dr. Stockmann || Playhouse Theatre, West End
|-
|}
Video games
{| class="wikitable"
|+ List of Tom Wilkinson video game credits
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Voice role
|-
| 2005
| Batman Begins
| Carmine Falcone
|-
| 2012
| Sleeping Dogs
| Superintendent Thomas Pendrew
|-
|}
Awards and honours
Wilkinson received a Doctor of Letters honorary degree from the University of Kent in July 2001.
See also
- List of British actors
- List of Academy Award winners and nominees from Great Britain
- List of actors with Academy Award nominations
- List of actors with more than one Academy Award nomination in the acting categories