Bob Hoskins - Biography

Last Editor: mhoward				Bob Hoskins Biography -   Name : Bob Hoskins Date of birth : 26 October 1942 place of birth : Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, UK Birth name : Robert William Hoskins Height : 5' 5˝

Bob Hoskins Trivia -

Ranked #97 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997] Children, with Banwell, Rosa and Jack Children, with Livesey, Alex and Sarah Has claimed to never have taken an acting lesson in his life and believes in the talent to be "all natural". Worked in a circus as a fire eater. Has portrayed three WWII leaders in films - Nikita Khrushchev (Enemy at the Gates (2001)), Winston Churchill (World War II: When Lions Roared (1994) (TV)), and Benito Mussolini (Mussolini: The Decline and Fall of Il Duce (1985) (TV)). He was Brian De Palma's second choice for the role of Al Capone in 1986's "The Untouchables" if Robert DeNiro was not available. Hoskins was reportedly given a six-figure paycheck by De Palma for "being a great standby." He adopted an American Accent for the role of Eddie Valiant on Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). Describes himself as "Five-foot-six and cubic". His mother was German Romani (Gypsy) and his film "The Raggedy Rawney" was based on stories his gypsy grandmother used to tell him. He was awarded the 1982 Critics' Circle Theatre Awards (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actor of 1981 for his performance in Guys and Dolls and True West. Is probably best known to American audiences for his role as down and out detective Eddie Valiant in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988). Spent several seasons with the Royal National Theatre and the Old Vic Theatre in London, where his credits included everything from a range of Shakespeare to Chechov to Shaw. Graduated from the Central School of Speech and Drama, London, England.

Bob Hoskins Detailed Biography -

Born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, on October 26, 1942, where his mother had been sent to get away from the then-raging London Blitz, Hoskins was sent back to London with his mother when he was only two weeks old. Growing up in a solidly working-class family in post-war London, Hoskins stayed in school until he was 15, and he then abandoned formal education in favor of a string of diverse jobs. Over the course of the next ten years, he worked as a Covent Garden porter, member of the Norwegian Merchant Marines, steeplejack, plumber's assistant, banana picker, circus fire-eater, trainee accountant, and even spent time working on a kibbutz in Israel. At the age of 25, having garnered a lifetime's worth of unusual experiences, Hoskins got into acting. Hanging out at a pub one night with a friend who was auditioning for a play, he was asked to read for a part in the production. He got the part, and in the course of performing, was approached by an agent who suggested that Hoskins take up acting professionally and began arranging auditions for him. From there, Hoskins began acting onstage, working throughout the '60s, '70s, and '80s with such theatres as London's Royal Court and National Theatre and as a member of such troupes as The Royal Shakespeare Company. Hoskins made his film debut in 1972 with a minor role in the comedy Up the Front. Three years later he got his first substantial film role in the forgettable Inserts, but in 1980, he made a significant breakthrough, turning in a brilliant portrayal of a successful gangster whose world suddenly begins to fall apart in The Long Good Friday. He found even greater success six years later portraying a gangster-turned-chauffeur assigned to a high-priced call girl in Mona Lisa. His performance earned him Best Actor awards from the British Academy, the Cannes Film Festival, and the New York Film Critics Circle, and a Best Actor Academy Award nomination. For all of the acclaim surrounding his work, it was not until he starred in the aforementioned Who Framed Roger Rabbit? in 1988 that Hoskins became known to a mainstream American audience. His American accent in the film was so convincing, that in addition to earning him a Golden Globe nomination, it led some viewers to assume that he was actually an American actor. Hoskins could subsequently be seen in a number of American films in addition to those he made in Britain, appearing in such features as Mermaids (1990), in which he played Cher's love interest; Heart Condition (1990), in which he played an unhinged racist detective; and Nixon (1995), which featured him as another crazed law enforcement official, J. Edgar Hoover. In 1997, he returned to his roots in Twentyfourseven, earning a European Film Academy Best Actor Award for his portrayal of a man trying to set up an amateur boxing league for working-class young men in economically depressed, Thatcher-era England. Two years later, Hoskins turned in a similarly gripping performance as a caterer with a dangerous secret in Felicia's Journey, a psychological thriller directed by Atom Egoyan. In addition to acting, Hoskins has worked behind the camera in a number of capacities. In 1989, he made his directorial and screenwriting debut with The Raggedy Rawney, a drama about a band of gypsies set during World War II. He also served as an executive producer for The Secret Agent in 1996.