Everything about Bob Hoskins totally explained
Robert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. (born
26 October 1942) is an
English actor, known for playing
Cockney rough diamonds and gangsters, and for his performances in family films such as
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and
Hook (1991).
Early life
Hoskins was born in
Bury St Edmunds,
Suffolk,
England, the son of Elsie Lillian (
née Hopkins), a cook and nursery-school teacher, and Robert William Hoskins, Sr., a bookkeeper and
lorry driver. One of Hoskins' grandmothers was a
Gypsy. In 1967, while aged 25, he spent a short period in kibbutz
Zikim in Israel.
Career
After beginning his acting career on the London stage in the late 1960s, Hoskins' performances in
British films such as
The Long Good Friday (1980) and
Mona Lisa (1986) won him the wider approval of the critics and, in the case of the latter, a
Cannes Award, an
Academy Award nomination for
Best Actor. He also delivered comic turns in
Terry Gilliam's
Brazil (1985) and
Super Mario Bros. (1993). Hoskins wasn't initially aware that
Super Mario Bros. was based on the popular video game of the same name. His son had asked him what film he was working on, and recognizing it, showed Hoskins the video game on the
Nintendo video game console. In a 2007 interview, he referred to the film as "the worst thing I ever did. The whole experience was a nightmare. It had a husband-and-wife team directing, whose arrogance had been mistaken for talent. After so many weeks their own agent told them to get off the set!".
During the late 1980s and early 1990s he appeared in advertising for the recently privatised companies of British Gas and British Telecom (now BT Group).
Hoskins made a cameo appearance as a rock band's manager in the
Pink Floyd film
The Wall, with a two-word expletive spoken part. He has also directed films. He was slated to be a last-minute replacement in the film
The Untouchables if star
Robert De Niro hadn't decided to play
Al Capone. When De Niro took the part, director
Brian De Palma mailed Hoskins a cheque for US$ 200,000 with a Thank You note, which prompted Hoskins to call up De Palma and ask him if there were any more movies he didn't want him to be in.
Hoskins' first appearance to mainstream American audiences was in
Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Some of Hoskins' other notable appearances include playing opposite
Cher in
Mermaids (1990),
boatswain Smee to
Captain Hook in
Hook (1991), and Uncle Bart, the violent "owner" of
Jet Li in
Unleashed. He has also performed in several television productions for the BBC, including
Dennis Potter's
Pennies From Heaven,
Flickers,
David Copperfield, and
Wind in the Willows. He played
Nikita Khrushchev in the movie
Enemy at the Gates (2001). Khrushchev was shown in his political commissar days during the
Battle of Stalingrad. He received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in
Mrs Henderson Presents.
Hoskins has done some of the voice-overs on advertisements for
Tesco and more recently Argos. He recently starred in the music video for
Jamie T's
Sheila, playing the titular girl's father and
lip-syncing to the music.
Private life
Hoskins has two children with his current wife, and two children from a previous marriage.
Filmography
Further Information
Get more info on 'Bob Hoskins'.
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