At age 7, Ian Holm attended a performance of "Les Miserables" starring the legendary Charles Laughton, and he decided what he wanted to do with his life. Sixteen years later, the diminutive actor made his stage debut as a sword carrier in "Othello."Born Sept. 12, 1931, in Goodmayes, England, Holm joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1954, turning in numerous award-winning performances during his 10 years there. In 1968, he made his first film appearance of note in Peter Hall's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Despite steady work in film and TV over the next decade, it wasn't until his Oscar-nominated performance in 1981's Chariots of Fire that Holm finally achieved star status.
Over the years, Holm has continued to deliver nuanced performances in films such as Brazil (1985), The Madness of King George, The Sweet Hereafter, two Lord of the Rings movies and The Aviator (2004).
Garden StateHaving just weaned himself off antidepressants, Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff, who also directs) returns to his New Jersey hometown after a decade away to attend his mother's funeral and slowly begins to see his life in a new light. In the process, he confronts his psychologist father (Ian Holm) and... Read More
The Sweet HereafterDirector Atom Egoyan's haunting adaptation of Russell Banks's novel follows a grieving mountain community in the wake of a tragic school bus accident that takes the lives of numerous local children. A lawyer (Ian Holm) arrives in town to persuade the survivors to initiate a class-action lawsuit,... Read More
The Emperor's New ClothesIn this whimsical tale based on Simon Leys's novel The Death of Napoleon, the exiled Napoleon Bonaparte (Ian Holm) trades places with a look-alike -- a common drunk -- and makes his way back to Paris in disguise, intent on reclaiming his throne. During his travels, he discovers that France... Read More
The AdvocateHow far jurisprudence has come! This medieval court drama is set in the days when humans and animals were believed to harbor the devil. Courtois, an educated lawyer (Colin Firth), leaves the big city to find peace in the countryside but soon discovers acts of murder and mayhem that are holding a... Read More
The Last of the Blonde BombshellsWhile grieving after the loss of her husband, a widow (Judi Dench) finds comfort in an old friend: her saxophone. A chance meeting with a man from her past (Ian Holm) prompts her to reunite her all-girl bandmates -- who played all over England during World War II. As she tracks down each one for one... Read More
