Movies

Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson OBE (born 5 February 1948) is a British actor of film, television, and stage. He has received various accolades throughout his career, including a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, a Primetime Emmy Award and nominations for two Academy Awards.

For his role in comedy film The Full Monty (1997) he received the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He has received two Academy Award nominations, one for Best Actor for In the Bedroom (2001) and the other for Best Supporting Actor for Michael Clayton (2007).

Some of his other notable films include In the Name of the Father (1993), Sense and Sensibility (1995), Shakespeare in Love (1998), The Patriot (2000), Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Batman Begins (2005), Valkyrie (2008), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), Selma (2014), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and Denial (2016).

In 2009, he won a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Film for playing Benjamin Franklin in the HBO limited series John Adams (2008).

Early life and education
Wilkinson was born on 5 February 1948 in Wharfedale, West Riding of Yorkshire, the son of Marjorie and Thomas Wilkinson, a farmer. At the age of 11, the family moved to Kitimat, British Columbia, in Canada, where they lived for five years before returning to the United Kingdom and running a pub in Cornwall. Wilkinson graduated in English and American literature from the University of Kent at Canterbury, while at university, Wilkinson became preoccupied with acting and directing with the University of Kent Drama Society (now called T24 Drama Society). After finishing his degree, Wilkinson then attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, graduating in 1973.