Tim Roth(I)
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Often mistaken for an American because of his skill at imitating
accents, actor Tim Roth was born Timothy Simon Roth on May 14, 1961 in Lambeth, London, England. His mother, Ann, was a teacher and landscape painter. His father, Ernie, was a journalist who had changed the family name from "Smith" to
"Roth"; Ernie was born in Brooklyn, New York, to an immigrant family of
Irish ancestry.
Tim grew up in Dulwich, a middle-class area in the south of London. He
demonstrated his talent for picking up accents at an early age when he
attended school in Brixton, where he faced persecution from classmates
for his comfortable background and quickly perfected a cockney accent
to blend in. He attended Camberwell Art College and studied sculpture
before he dropped out and pursued acting.
The blonde actor's first big break was the British TV movie
Made in Britain (1982).
Roth made a huge splash in that film as a young skinhead named Trevor.
He next worked with director
Mike Leigh on
Meantime (1983), which he has
counted among his favorite projects. He debuted on the big screen when
he filled in for Joe Strummer in the
Stephen Frears neo-noir
The Hit (1984). Roth gained more
attention for his turn as Vincent Van Gogh in
Vincent & Theo (1990) and his work
opposite Gary Oldman in
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990).
He moved to Los Angeles in search of work and caught the eye of young
director Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino
had envisioned Roth as a possible Mr. Blonde or Mr. Pink in his heist
flick Reservoir Dogs (1992), but
Roth campaigned for the role of Mr. Orange instead, and ultimately won
the part. It proved to be a huge breakthrough for Roth, as audiences
found it difficult to forget his performance as a member of a group of
jewelry store robbers who is slowly bleeding to death. Tarantino cast
Roth again in the landmark film
Pulp Fiction (1994). Roth and
actress Amanda Plummer played a pair of
robbers who hold up a restaurant. 1995 saw the third of Roth's
collaborations with Tarantino, a surprisingly slapstick performance in
the anthology film Four Rooms (1995).
That same year Roth picked up an Academy Award nomination for his campy
turn as a villain in the period piece
Rob Roy (1995).
Continuing to take on disparate roles, Roth did his own singing (with
an American accent to boot) in the lightweight
Woody Allen musical
Everyone Says I Love You (1996).
He starred opposite Tupac Shakur in
Shakur's last film, the twisted comedy
Gridlock'd (1997). The pair received
positive critical notices for their comic chemistry. Standing in
contrast to the criminals and baddies that crowd his CV, Roth's work as
the innocent, seafaring pianist in the
Giuseppe Tornatore film
The Legend of 1900 (1998)
became something of a fan favorite. Grittier fare followed when Roth
made his directorial debut with
The War Zone (1999), a frank,
critically acclaimed drama about a family torn apart by incest. He made
his next high-profile appearance as an actor as General Thade, an evil
simian in the Tim Burton remake of
Planet of the Apes (2001).
Roth was, of course, all but unrecognizable in his primate make-up.
Roth has continued to enjoy a mix of art house and mainstream work,
including everything from the lead role in
Francis Ford Coppola's esoteric
Youth Without Youth (2007) to
becoming "The Abomination" in the special effects-heavy blockbuster
The Incredible Hulk (2008).
Roth took his first major American television role when he signed on to
the Fox-TV series Lie to Me (2009)
accents, actor Tim Roth was born Timothy Simon Roth on May 14, 1961 in Lambeth, London, England. His mother, Ann, was a teacher and landscape painter. His father, Ernie, was a journalist who had changed the family name from "Smith" to
"Roth"; Ernie was born in Brooklyn, New York, to an immigrant family of
Irish ancestry.
Tim grew up in Dulwich, a middle-class area in the south of London. He
demonstrated his talent for picking up accents at an early age when he
attended school in Brixton, where he faced persecution from classmates
for his comfortable background and quickly perfected a cockney accent
to blend in. He attended Camberwell Art College and studied sculpture
before he dropped out and pursued acting.
The blonde actor's first big break was the British TV movie
Made in Britain (1982).
Roth made a huge splash in that film as a young skinhead named Trevor.
He next worked with director
Mike Leigh on
Meantime (1983), which he has
counted among his favorite projects. He debuted on the big screen when
he filled in for Joe Strummer in the
Stephen Frears neo-noir
The Hit (1984). Roth gained more
attention for his turn as Vincent Van Gogh in
Vincent & Theo (1990) and his work
opposite Gary Oldman in
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990).
He moved to Los Angeles in search of work and caught the eye of young
director Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino
had envisioned Roth as a possible Mr. Blonde or Mr. Pink in his heist
flick Reservoir Dogs (1992), but
Roth campaigned for the role of Mr. Orange instead, and ultimately won
the part. It proved to be a huge breakthrough for Roth, as audiences
found it difficult to forget his performance as a member of a group of
jewelry store robbers who is slowly bleeding to death. Tarantino cast
Roth again in the landmark film
Pulp Fiction (1994). Roth and
actress Amanda Plummer played a pair of
robbers who hold up a restaurant. 1995 saw the third of Roth's
collaborations with Tarantino, a surprisingly slapstick performance in
the anthology film Four Rooms (1995).
That same year Roth picked up an Academy Award nomination for his campy
turn as a villain in the period piece
Rob Roy (1995).
Continuing to take on disparate roles, Roth did his own singing (with
an American accent to boot) in the lightweight
Woody Allen musical
Everyone Says I Love You (1996).
He starred opposite Tupac Shakur in
Shakur's last film, the twisted comedy
Gridlock'd (1997). The pair received
positive critical notices for their comic chemistry. Standing in
contrast to the criminals and baddies that crowd his CV, Roth's work as
the innocent, seafaring pianist in the
Giuseppe Tornatore film
The Legend of 1900 (1998)
became something of a fan favorite. Grittier fare followed when Roth
made his directorial debut with
The War Zone (1999), a frank,
critically acclaimed drama about a family torn apart by incest. He made
his next high-profile appearance as an actor as General Thade, an evil
simian in the Tim Burton remake of
Planet of the Apes (2001).
Roth was, of course, all but unrecognizable in his primate make-up.
Roth has continued to enjoy a mix of art house and mainstream work,
including everything from the lead role in
Francis Ford Coppola's esoteric
Youth Without Youth (2007) to
becoming "The Abomination" in the special effects-heavy blockbuster
The Incredible Hulk (2008).
Roth took his first major American television role when he signed on to
the Fox-TV series Lie to Me (2009)