Bob Hoskins

Bob Hoskins

born on 26/10/1942 in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom

died on 29/4/2014 in London, England, United Kingdom

Bob Hoskins

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Bob Hoskins

Hoskins during the filming of Ruby Blue (2007)
Born Robert William Hoskins Jr
October 26 1942
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England, UK
Occupation Actor and Film director
Years active 1972present
Spouse(s) Jane Livesey (1967-1978; divorced; 2 children)
Linda Banwell (1982-present; 2 children)

Robert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. (born 26 October 1942) is an English actor, known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, in films such as The Long Good Friday (1980), and Mona Lisa (1986), and lighter roles in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and Hook (1991).

Early life

Hoskins was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England, the son of Elsie Lillian (née Hopkins), a cook and nursery-school teacher, and Robert William Hoskins, Sr., a bookkeeper and lorry (truck) driver.[1][2] One of Hoskins's grandmothers was a Romani.[3] His father, a Communist, brought up Hoskins as an atheist, and he now describes himself as an agnostic.[4] In 1967, aged 25, Hoskins spent a short period of time in kibbutz Zikim in Israel.[5][6] In a recent interview, Hoskins stated that he owed his parents his 'Confidence. My mum used to say to me, "If somebody doesn't like you, fuck 'em, they've got bad taste." '[7]

Career

Hoskins's acting career started in London in the late 1960s when he was sitting in a pub enjoying a beer when someone came up to him and told him to go upstairs to audition for a play, which he did, and landed the role.[8] His first major television role was in On the Move (1978), an educational series intended to tackle adult illiteracy, in which he played Alf, a removal man who had problems reading and writing. In the same year, he came to wider attention in the original BBC version of Dennis Potter's drama Pennies from Heaven as sheet music salesman Arthur Parker. Later, he played Iago in Jonathan Miller's BBC Television Shakespeare production of Othello.

Hoskins's performances in British films such as The Long Good Friday (1980) and Mona Lisa (1986) won him the wider approval of the critics and, in the case of the latter, a Cannes Award, Best Actor Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He also delivered comic turns in Terry Gilliam's Brazil (1985) and Super Mario Bros. (1993). Hoskins was not initially aware that Super Mario Bros. was based on the popular video game of the same name. His son had asked him what film he was working on, and recognizing it, showed Hoskins the video game on the Nintendo video game console. In a 2007 interview, he revealed that despite getting praised for his performance on the film, he was extremely unhappy with the film and was greatly angered by his experiences making it, referring to it as the "worst thing I ever did".[2] During the late 1980s and early 1990s he appeared in advertising for the recently privatised companies of British Gas and British Telecom (now BT Group).

Hoskins had a small role as a rock band's manager in the Pink Floyd film The Wall. He has also directed films. He was slated to be a last-minute replacement in the film The Untouchables if star Robert De Niro had not decided to play Al Capone. When De Niro took the part, director Brian De Palma mailed Hoskins a cheque for £20,000 with a Thank You note, which prompted Hoskins to call up De Palma and ask him if there were any more movies he didn't want him to be in.[9]

Hoskins's first appearance to mainstream American audiences was in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, for which he received a second Golden Globe nomination. Some of Hoskins's other notable appearances include playing opposite Cher in Mermaids (1990), boatswain Smee to Captain Hook in Hook (1991), and Uncle Bart, the psychopathic and violent "owner" of Jet Li in Unleashed aka Danny The Dog. He has also performed in several television productions for the BBC, including Dennis Potter's Pennies From Heaven, Flickers, David Copperfield as Wilkins Micawber (1999), and The Wind in the Willows. He played Nikita Khrushchev in the movie Enemy at the Gates (2001). Khrushchev was shown in his political commissar days during the Battle of Stalingrad. He received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Mrs Henderson Presents.

In 2009, Hoskins made a return to British television in Jimmy McGovern's drama serial The Street, where he played a publican who stands up to a local gangster.

In a recent interview for The Guardian, Hoskins spoke of his regret at appearing in the Super Mario Brothers film, which at the time received mixed reviews. When asked which individual he most despised, Hoskins said former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, stating that "he's done even more damage than Thatcher". Hoskins also made light of his similarities with film actor Danny DeVito, who he joked would play him in a film about his life.[10]

Filmography

  • Up the Front (1972) - Recruiting Sergeant
  • Villains (1972) (TV)
  • The National Health (1973) - Foster
  • Crown Court (1973) (TV)
  • New Scotland Yard (1973) (TV) - Eddie Wharton
  • Softly, Softly: Taskforce (1973) (TV) - Parker
  • Shoulder to Shoulder (1974) (TV) - Jack Dunn
  • Thick as Thieves (1974) (TV) - Dobbs
  • Royal Flash (1975) - Police Constable
  • Inserts (1975) - Big Mac
  • Thriller (1976) (TV) - Sammy Draper
  • The Crezz (1976) (TV) - Det. Sgt. Marble
  • Van der Valk (1977) - Johnny Palmer
  • Rock Follies of '77 (1977) (TV) - Johnny Britten
  • On the Move (1978) (TV) - Alf
  • Pennies from Heaven (1978) (TV) - Arthur Parker
  • Of Mycenae and Men (1979) (TV) - Mr. Taramasalatopoulos
  • Zulu Dawn (1979) - C.S.M. Williams
  • Big Jim and the Figaro Club (1979) (TV) - Narrator
  • Flickers (1980) (TV) - Arnie Cole
  • The Long Good Friday (1980) - Harold
  • Othello (1981) (TV) - Iago
  • Pink Floyd The Wall (1982) - Rock and Roll Manager
  • The Beggar's Opera (1983) (TV) - Beggar
  • The Honorary Consul (1983) - Colonel Perez
  • Lassiter (1984) - Inspector John Becker
  • The Cotton Club (1984) - Owney Madden
  • The Woman Who Married Clark Gable (1985) - George
  • The Dunera Boys (1985) (TV) - Morrie Mendellsohn
  • Brazil (1985) - Spoor
  • Mussolini and I (1985) (TV) - Benito Mussolini
  • Sweet Liberty (1986) - Stanley Gould
  • Mona Lisa (1986) - George
  • A Prayer for the Dying (1987) - Father Michael Da Costa
  • The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987) - James Madden
  • Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) - Eddie Valiant
  • The Raggedy Rawney (1988) - Darky
  • Heart Condition (1990) - Jack Moony
  • Mermaids (1990) - Lou Landsky
  • The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish (1991) - Louis Aubinard
  • Shattered (1991) - Gus Klein (pet store owner/private investigator)
  • Hook (1991) - Smee
  • The Inner Circle (1991) - Beria
  • Passed Away (1992) - Johnny Scanlan
  • Blue Ice (1992) - Sam Garcia
  • Super Mario Bros. (1993) - Mario
  • The Big Freeze (1993) - Sidney, plumber's mate
  • The Changeling (1994) (TV) - De Flores
  • World War II - When Lions Roared (1994) (TV) - Winston Churchill
  • The Forgotten Toys (1995-1999) (voice) - Teddy
  • Nixon (1995) - J. Edgar Hoover
  • Balto (1995) (voice) - Boris the Goose
  • Tales from the Crypt (1996) (TV series)
  • Rainbow (1996) - Frank Bailey
  • The Secret Agent (1996) - Verloc
  • Michael (1996) - Vartan Malt
  • Twenty Four Seven (1997) - Alan Darcy
  • Spice World (1997) - Geri's Disguise
  • Saturday Night Live (1998) (TV) - Captain Kidd
  • Cousin Bette (1998) - Cesar Crevel
  • Let the Good Times Roll (1999) -
  • Parting Shots (1999) - Gerd Layton
  • Captain Jack (1999) - Jack Armistead
  • Felicia's Journey (1999) - Hilditch
  • A Room for Romeo Brass (1999) - Steven Laws
  • The White River Kid (1999) - Brother Edgar
  • David Copperfield (1999) (TV) - Micawber
  • American Virgin (2000) - Joey
  • Noriega: God's Favorite (2000) (TV) - Manuel Noriega
  • Don Quixote (2000) (TV) - Sancho Panza
  • Enemy at the Gates (2001) - Nikita Khrushchev
  • Last Orders (2001) - Ray 'Raysie' Johnson
  • The Lost World (2001) (TV) - Prof. George Challenger
  • Where Eskimos Live (2002) - Sharkey
  • Maid in Manhattan (2002) - Lionel Bloch, Beresford Butler
  • The Good Pope: Pope John XXIII (2003) (TV) - Angelo Roncalli/Pope John XXIII
  • The Sleeping Dictionary (2003) - Henry
  • Frasier (2003) (TV series) - Coach Fuller
  • Den of Lions (2003) - Darius Paskevic
  • Vanity Fair (2004) - Sir Pitt Crawley
  • Beyond the Sea (2004) - Charlie Maffia
  • Unleashed (2005) - Bart
  • Son of the Mask (2005) - Odin
  • Mrs Henderson Presents (2005) - Vivian Van Damm
  • Stay (2005) - Dr. Leon Patterson
  • Paris, je t'aime (2006) - Bob Leander (segment 'Pigalle')
  • Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006) (voice) - Winston
  • Hollywoodland (2006) - Eddie Mannix
  • The Wind in the Willows (2006) (TV) - Badger
  • Sparkle (2007) - Vince
  • Outlaw (2007) - Walter Lewis
  • Ruby Blue (2007) - Jack
  • Go Go Tales (2007) - The Baron
  • Doomsday (2008) - Bill Nelson
  • The Englishman's Boy (2008) (TV) - Damon Ira Chance
  • Pinocchio (2008) (TV) - Geppetto
  • The Street (2009) (TV) - Paddy Gargan
  • A Christmas Carol (2009) - Mr. Fezziwig/Old Joe
  • Made in Dagenham (2010) - Albert
  • Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) - Constantine
  • Who Framed Roger Rabbit 2 (2013) - Eddie Valiant

References

  1. Bob Hoskins Biography (1942-)
  2. 2.0 2.1 Hattenstone, Simon, The Method? Living it out? Cobblers!, The Guardian, 3 August 2007. URL accessed on 26 April 2010.
  3. Moline, Karen (1988). Bob Hoskins: An Unlikely Hero, Michigan: Sidgwick & Jackson.
  4. Bob Hoskins - Celebrity Atheist List
  5. After nearly a century, Israels first kibbutz calls time on communism, The Times, 2007-02-24. URL accessed on 2010-05-20.
  6. Stuart, Jan, MOVIES Still Breathing Fire BOB HOSKINS dropped out of high school. Joined a circus. Fled to Israel. Then, he discoovered acting., Newsday, 1999-11-07. URL accessed on 2010-05-20.
  7. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/18/bob-hoskins-interview-neverland
  8. Production notes on the Special Edition of Who Framed Roger Rabbit
  9. 'Bob Hoskins paid not to play Capone'
  10. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/18/bob-hoskins-interview-neverland

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This page was last modified 12.07.2011 02:21:14

This article uses material from the article Bob Hoskins from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.