Bob Hoskins Robert (Bob) William Hoskins was born October 26, 1942, in Bury St. Edmund’s, Suffolk, England. His mother had recently evacuated to Bury St. Edmund’s because her previous home was in such grave danger from heavy war-related bombing. Receiving very limited education, Hoskins left school at the age of fifteen. However, he always possessed a strong passion for English language and literature. And while he was immediately drawn to acting and was an avid theater buff, Hoskins was forced to work many odd jobs just to make rent. It is rumored Hoskins at one point was even the resident fire eater for a traveling circus. Boasting that he’d never received a day of formal acting training, Hoskins received his first role quite by accident. In a scene that seems straight out of a movie, he followed his friend to watch an audition but was subsequently mistaken for a prospective candidate. He had a script shoved in his hand and was told he was next. Hoskins read for the part, and was rewarded with the lead. He realized that his dream was quickly coming true, acquired an agent, and began to work steadily on the stage.
After several successful roles, Hoskins expanded into the arena of television. He landed a role in the 1972 British television drama Villains. He followed this role with several one-time television appearances until he landed another recurring role as George Dobbs in the 1974 British comedy Thick as Thieves. The series only ran for one season, a short eight shows, but Hoskins was gaining popularity and fame. Hoskins continued to work on various television series and even made the occasional appearance in a feature film such as a small role in Royal Flash in 1975, with fellow Brits Malcolm McDowell and Alan Bates. He also had a more central role in the 1974 film Inserts, alongside Richard Dreyfuss. Hoskins’ real break came a few years later in 1978 when he starred in Pennies from Heaven, a television mini-series that aired in six installments. This musical garnered Hoskins a BAFTA TV nomination for Best Actor. He followed on this success to make The Long Good Friday in 1980, with the always wonderful Helen Mirren. The gritty crime-thriller won Hoskins yet another BAFTA nomination for Best Actor. For this role, he also won the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor. Working steadily, Hoskins knew eventually another great role would come his way. And that is exactly what happened in 1985 when he received the script for Brazil. Set in a futuristic world, the film stars Jonathon Pryce, Robert De Niro, Ian Holm, and Jim Broadbent. Illustrating the film’s tremendous staying power, even today it ranks on many various best-of-lists.
1986 brought another script with the ability to jettison Hoskins onto the Hollywood A-list. Hoskins read and accepted the lead in Mona Lisa, a crime-thriller somewhat in the vein of The Long Good Friday. The film also featured Michael Caine. For Hoskins’ role, he won an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, a BAFTA win for the same category, a Cannes Film Festival Award, a Golden Globe, and numerous and varied other awards from organizations across the globe commending his performance. In 1988, Hoskins took the role for which he’s probably most known in the United States. He played Eddie Valiant in Robert Zemeckis’ Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Hoskins, at this point no longer a stranger to accolades, was nominated for another Golden Globe. In this same year, Hoskins made his directorial debut with The Raggedy Rawney. Hoskins also wrote and starred in the film. The film played heavily on the theme of gypsies influenced by the fact that Hoskins’ mother was a German Romani gypsy. The film itself was based on the gypsy stories his grandmother used to tell him. Hoskins continued to take smaller, independent roles, but he was also enough of an established name that larger Hollywood roles came his way. Of these offers, he took Mermaids in 1990, with Cher, Winona Ryder, and Christina Ricci; and Hook in 1991, with Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, and Julia Roberts. He even took the role of Mario in the live-action Super Mario Bros. 1993 film with John Leguizamo as videogame brother Luigi. Hoskins has worked in a tremendous amount of films, solidifying himself as the go-to character actor of Hollywood. In recent years, he’s taken roles in films such as Vanity Fair (2004), Beyond the Sea (2004), and Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005). Never stopping to take a rest, Hoskins is currently filming three projects—The Wind in the Willows, Sparkle, and Outlaw. Hoskins has been married twice. His first marriage was to Jane Livesey from 1967 to 1978, and his second marriage was to Linda Banwell from 1982 to present. He had two children with Livesey and has two with Banwell as well. YUDDY |
