Bob Hoskins
Born: October 1942
Where: Suffolk, England, UK
Despite making East End roles his own in early appearances, Hoskins was in fact born in the rural wilds of East Anglia.
His Cockney accent made him an instantly distinctive actor, and after spending part of his youth travelling and holding a variety of odd jobs (like circus fire eater), he drifted into drama almost by accident.
In 1968, he made his stage debut in Feather Pluckers, and success on stage led to work in British films, the first of which was came in 1973, with The National Health.
Hoskins first won international attention in 1978, as a sheet-music salesman prone to fantasy in the Dennis Potter-scripted British TV series Pennies from Heaven.
His breakthrough big screen role came in 1980, when he played a mob boss whose world crumbles around him in The Long Good Friday.
In 1986, Hoskins offered one of his best onscreen portrayals as a recent con who lands a job driving a beautiful call girl in Mona Lisa.
His performance and his emergence as an unlikely romantic lead earned him numerous critical prizes as well as a Best Actor Academy Award nomination.
He offered a wicked turn as a decidedly gay J Edgar Hoover in Oliver Stone's sprawling Nixon and was amusing as a tabloid editor sending reporters in search of an angel in Michael.
Teaming with British director Shane Meadows he had one of his best screen roles of the decade as a scrappy owner of a local boxing club in TwentyFourSeven.
Continuing to surprise with his choice of roles, he co-starred as a pornographer in Live Virgin and reteamed with Meadows in a cameo as a teacher in A Room for Romeo Brass.
Felicia's Journey cast Hoskins as a strangely genial serial killer opposite newcomer Elaine Cassidy as a young Irish woman new in town marked to be his next victim.
Continuing to bring onscreen life to famed historical figures with appropriately charismatic performances, Hoskins played Nikita Khruschev in the war drama Enemy at the Gates.
In 2002 Hoskins had a nice character turn as a precise yet paternal butler in the otherwise lightweight romantic comedy Maid in Manhattan.
He co-starred with Brenda Blethyn in the 1920s set romance Sleeping Dictionary and played Sir Pitt Crawley in Vanity Fair.
Recent work includes the ultra-violent gangster caper Unleashed with Jet Li and Morgan Freeman.
