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Biography
Sir Ian Holm CBE (born 12 September 1931), born as Ian Holm Cuthbert, is an English actor.
Holm was born in Goodmayes, Essex, and was educated at Chigwell School and then the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Holm was an established star of the Royal Shakespeare Company before making an impact on television and film. He has been married four times.
In 1965, Holm played Richard III in the BBCs serialisation of the Wars of the Roses plays, and gradually made a name for himself with minor roles in films such as Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) and Young Winston (1972). By the time of Alien (1979) and Chariots of Fire (1981), he was a major star in the UK, and his reputation gradually spread to the USA.
He continued to perform Shakespeare, and appeared with Kenneth Branagh in Henry V (1989) and as Polonius to Mel Gibson's Hamlet. He could also be seen as Desmond Cussen opposite Miranda Richardson in Dance with a Stranger.
In 1991 he married, as his third wife, popular actress Penelope Wilton, and they appeared together in The Borrowers (1993) on British television, although in 2001 they divorced. In 1989 Holm was created a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to drama, and in 1998 he was knighted.
He did his probably most notable appearance of the last years as the stressed but friendly Priest Vito Cornelius in the 1997 movie The Fifth Element. In 2001 he starred in From Hell as the physician Sir William Withey Gull. The same year he appeared as Bilbo Baggins in the blockbuster film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, having previously played Bilbo's nephew Frodo Baggins in 1981 BBC Radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.
He reappeared in the trilogy in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). In 2004, he appeared in The Day After Tomorrow, Zach Braff's Garden State, and Martin Scorsese's The Aviator. Recently, he appeared in 2005's Lord of War.
He has played Napoleon Bonaparte three times. First, in the 1972 television series Napoleon and Love. Next, in a cameo comic rendition, in Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits from 1981. He completed the set in 2001 playing the fallen and exiled leader in the fanciful film The Emperor's New Clothes.
He was treated in New York City for prostate cancer a few years ago, and appears to be in complete remission.
His is one of the most familiar voices in Britain, having been heard in countless TV documentaries and commercials.
Holm was slated to star in a CBS miniseries titled "Pope John Paul II" playing the late pontiff, but, on August 14, 2005, decided against it for "personal reasons." The late Pope John Paul II was instead portrayed by Jon Voight.
His son, Barnaby Cuthbert, is also an actor.
Filmography
The Bofors Gun 1968
The Fixer 1968
Oh! What A Lovely War 1969
A Severed Head 1970
Nicholas and Alexandra 1971
Mary, Queen of Scots 1971
Napoleon and Love tv series 1972
Young Winston 1972
The Homecoming 1973
Juggernaut 1974
Robin and Marian 1976
Shout at the Devil 1976
March or Die 1977
Alien 1979
Chariots of Fire 1981
Time Bandits 1981
The Return of the Soldier 1982
Inside the Third Reich 1982
Laughterhouse 1984
Greystroke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes 1984
Dreamchild 1985
Wetherby 1985
Brazil 1985
Dance with a Stranger 1985
Another Woman 1988
Henry V 1989
Hamlet 1990
Naked Lunch 1991
Kafka 1991
Blue Ice 1992
The Hour of the Pig 1993
Frankenstein 1994
The Madness of King George 1994
Big Night 1996
Loch Ness 1996
Night Falls on Manhattan 1997
The Sweet Hereafter 1997
The Fifth Element 1997
A Life Less Ordinary 1997
Incognito 1997
Shergar 1999
eXistenZ 1999
Simon Magus 1999
The Match 1999
Joe Gould's Secret 2000
Esther Kahn 2000
Beautiful Joe 2000
Bless the Child 2000
From Hell 2001
The Emperor's New Clothes
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2003
The Day After Tomorrow 2004
Garden State 2004
The Aviator 2004
Strangers With Candy 2005
Chromophobia 2005
Lord of War 2005
