BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON

A classically trained British theater actor, JIM BROADBENT (Dad) won the Academy Award® and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for his moving portrait of John Bayley, Iris Murdoch's loyal husband, in Richard Eyre's Iris, starring opposite Judi Dench. He most recently starred in Mira Nair's screen adaptation of Vanity Fair with Reese Witherspoon. Broadbent first played Bridget Jones's father in Bridget Jones's Diary.

Among his many other films are Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits and Brazil; Mike Newell's The Good Father and Enchanted April; Neil Jordan's The Crying Game; Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway; Richard Loncraine's Richard III and The Gathering Storm (for HBO, which brought him another Golden Globe Award nomination as well as an Emmy Award nomination); Mark Herman's Little Voice; Baz Luhrmann's Academy Award®-winning Moulin Rouge!; Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York; Stephen Fry's Bright Young Things; and Frank Coraci's Around the World in 80 Days. He has collaborated several times with acclaimed filmmaker Mike Leigh, starring for him in Life is Sweet, the Academy Award®-winning Topsy-Turvy, the drama Vera Drake (which nabbed the Golden Lion for Best Film at the Venice International Film Festival) and the short feature A Sense of History (which Broadbent also wrote).

Broadbent's work in the theater includes Sam Mendes' Donmar Warehouse production of Habeas Corpus. Richard Eyre directed him in the Royal Court production of Kafka's Dick and in the National Theatre production of The Government Inspector. He was a longtime member of the National Theatre of Brent, appearing in productions of The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Complete Guide to Sex and The Messiah. Most recently, he starred in the National Theater staging of Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman, directed by John Crowley.

He is also a frequent presence on U.K. television, starring in a variety of projects over the years, ranging from Tales of the Unexpected to Blackadder to Inspector Morse.