Born: October 26, 1942 - Bury St. Edmund's, Suffolk, England. (His mother was sent there from London because of WWII bombing. Two weeks later, with the bombing at its height, he was sent back with his mother to London). School: Well, Bob didn't seem to take too well to school. From all accounts he must have been sort of a hyperactive child and couldn't stand school, nor could most of the teachers stand him. He left at the age of 15. Odd Jobs: For the next ten years of his life, Bob had an infamous string of strange jobs and experiences, including work as a porter in Covent Garden, a member of the Norwegian Merchant Marines, a steeplejack, a plumber's helper, time spent on a kibbutz in Israel, a banana picker, a fire-eater in the circus, and three years as a trainee accountant. I have no idea of the chronology of this but it does seem that these years provided him with a wealth of experiences from which to draw in his performances. Acting: Bob began acting at the age of 25, after being asked to read for a part in a play while he was waiting for a friend to finish reading (it was in a pub and he had had a few). He got the part and after the first performance of the play an agent told him he should take it up professionally and arranged some auditions for regional theatres in England. From this point he does not seem to have been out of work for more than a few weeks. Theatre: He performed in a rather staggering amount of plays throughout England in the late 1960's, 70's and 80's. I've never seen a complete list but here are some of the ones I know about (in no particular order): The Feather-Pluckers, The Country Wife, Veterans, King Lear, As You Like It, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Richard III, Antony and Cleopatra, Geography of a Horse Dreamer, Lear, Pygmalion (Doolittle), The Homecoming (Lenny), The Iceman Cometh, The Devil's Disciple, A Man for All Seasons, Has Washington Legs?, The Duchess of Malfi, Ivanov, True West (Lee), and Guys and Dolls (Nathan Detroit). Theatres include the Royal Court, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. He returned to the stage for the first time in 14 years in 1996, appearing on the West End in Old Wicked Songs. Film/Television: Certainly why he is well-known, especially in the United States. See his Internet Movie Database Filmography for details of his full career, but it seems safe to say that after a number of appearances on British television his original breakthrough came with his amazing performance in the role of Arthur Parker in the BBC Series Pennies From Heaven, followed by his charismatic star turn as Harold Shand in The Long Good Friday. He reached a wider audience in 1986 with Mona Lisa (for which he received loads of awards, including a nomination for a Best Actor Academy Award), and is still probably best known as Eddie Valiant in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? After a few lean years in the early 90's, he has returned to more prominent and well-received roles in films such as TwentyFourSeven, Felicia's Journey and Last Orders. He has also increased his appearances on television, starring in productions such as Noriega: God's Favorite, David Copperfield, Don Quixote, and The Lost World. In addition to his acting, Bob co-wrote and directed The Raggedy Rawney, and has also directed a children's film called The Rainbow, a segment of a British anthology film entitled Tube Tales, and an episode of the TV series "Tales from the Crypt." He served as Executive Producer for The Secret Agent. Personal: Bob keeps the details of his private life just that, but also does not seem to lead the sort of "celebrity lifestyle" that would lend itself to much gossip anyway. He was an only child, and has been married twice. His first marriage ended around 1978 and produced two children, and he also has two from his second. He supposedly met his current wife, Linda, on the day of the Prince Charles/Princess Diana wedding in a pub, and has referred to it as love at first sight (at least on his part). It does seem they were married quite soon afterwards, however, so there may be something to it. Linda was previously a schoolteacher, a fact that has always struck me as ironic given his initial experiences in school. They live in the Chalk Farm area of London, right down the street from Derek Jacobi and one of the guys from Oasis. And that's about as glamorous as it gets! Know of any other fun facts or tidbits? By all means lay them on me:  
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