Name	Tom Hollander
Height	5' 5"
Naionality	British
Date of Birth	25 August 1967
Place of Birth	Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
Famous for

Tom Hollander was born on August 25, 1967, the second child of educated parents, both teachers. He grew up in Oxford, (UK). As a child, Hollander recalls being not much liked during his time at The Dragon School in North Oxford, but things began to turn around by the time he finished and he next attended the Abingdon School. He appears to have performed in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" there, and by age fourteen, Hollander had won a starring role in a BBC television production of Leon Garfield's "John Diamond" 1981, a role for which he is still remembered. As a teen he earned a place in the National Youth Musical Theatre and also the National Youth Theatre, where he appeared in Brecht's "The Caucasian Chalk Circle" in a dual role.

He attended Cambridge University at about the same time as his childhood friend Sam Mendes, who directed him in a controversial staging of "Cyrano de Bergerac" there in 1988. Other collaborations with Mendes have followed, including work together at the Royal Shakespeare Company in the "The Cherry Orchard" and several works at the Chichester Festival Theatre (1989) as well as the Toronto staging of "Kean" (1991) with Derek Jacobi. He also appeared in the Cambridge Footlights Revue of 1988.

Upon graduation, Hollander hoped to gain entry to drama school, but found himself disappointed. The oversight did nothing to discourage a career already well under way because since nearly his first stage appearance, his reputation has grown. He garnered an Ian Charleson Award for his turn as Witwould in "The Way of the World" (1992) with Peter Gill. He was nominated again for a performance as "Tartuffe" (1996) and was considered yet again as a finalist as Khlestakov in Gogol's "The Government Inspector" (1997), both with the Almeida Theatre Company.

Inevitably, Hollander was urged to try films, and appeared in two films as early as 1996: True Blue (aka Miracle at Oxford) and Some Mother's Son. Though reviews for his films are mixed, Hollander himself has stood out and earned praise in his films as a matter of course. Considered the character-actor-of-choice for a string of roles with comedic qualities, Hollander has opted to challenge assumptions about his ability in such difficult, thankless roles as the demented fascist dictator Maximillian II in "Land of the Blind" and a tightly-wound King George V in Poliakoff's "The Lost Prince" for BBC. Mainstream movie audiences know him as the petty tyrant Lord Cutler Beckett in the second and third installments of Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies.

Tom Hollander continues to diversify with roles onstage, as recently as 2007 in Joe Penhall's "Landscape with Weapon" for the National Theatre, television, radio plays for BBC, audio books, commercial voice overs and has even lent his voice to animated roles for U.S. television.

In addition, Hollander has generously lent his efforts and his name to a variety of charitable causes, in ways that amount to more than mere donations: in 2006 he ran his first marathon for the Childline Crisis hot-line, and in 2007 ran for the Teenage Cancer Trust. He is a long-time supporter of the Helen and Douglas House in Oxford, which provides Hospice care for children, and continues to support charitable organizations with readings and other appearances throughout the year.

Hollander is a patron of BIFA, the British Independent Film Awards, and has supported the efforts of the Old Vic's "24 Hour Plays New Voices" Gala, which forwards the cause of young writers for the British stage.

2008 has proved to be a busy year for Hollander. He has earned praise for the monstrously rude yet oddly endearing "Leon" in the satire "Freezing" for BBC, aired in February, and in March, offered a moving portrayal of King George III for HBO's "John Adams". He will appear in MGM's Valkyrie in June, and as of this writing, has been cast for a role as a cellist in "The Soloist", directed by Joe Wright. As of May, principal photography has begun on "In The Loop", Armando Iannucci's furious political satire on the machinations of war and media: Hollander will join a stellar cast as British Secretary of State for International Development, Simon Foster.