Gosford Park - The Players

Information thanks to DNA Studio and USA Films

Who's Who at Gosford Park

Above stairs

Sir William McCordle Michael Gambon
Baronet; owner of Gosford Park; new money

Lady Sylvia McCordle Kristin Scott Thomas
Married to Sir William; from old but impoverished family;
titled snob

Isobel McCordle Camilla Rutherford
Daughter of Sir William and Lady Sylvia

Constance, Countess of Trentham Maggie Smith
Lady Sylvia's aunt; contemptuous of and dependent on
Sir William

Raymond, Lord Stockbridge Charles Dance
Lady Sylvia's brother-in-law; married to Louisa; he is a snob

Louisa, Lady Stockbridge Geraldine Somerville
Lady Sylvia's younger sister; fond of Sir William; unlike her
husband Raymond, she is not a snob

Lieutenant Commander Anthony Meredith Tom Hollander
Ex-officer; broke and desperate; married to Lavinia

Lady Lavinia Meredith Natasha Wightman
Lady Sylvia's youngest sister; supportive wife of Anthony

The Hon. Freddie Nesbitt James Wilby
Blackmailing Isobel; married to Mabel; has lost his job

Mabel Nesbitt Claudie Blakley
Married to Freddie; daughter of a factory owner; Freddie
married her believing her to be wealthy; they cannot
afford servants

Lord Rupert Standish Laurence Fox
Penniless younger son of a marquess; courting Isobel

Jeremy Blond Trent Ford
Friend of Lord Rupert

Ivor Novello Jeremy Northam
British matinee idol and film star; Sir William's cousin

Morris Weissman Bob Balaban
American film producer; makes Charlie Chan movies;
friend of Ivor Novello

Below stairs

At Gosford Park
Jennings Alan Bates
The McCordles' butler; head manservant of the house;
oversees Gosford Park with Mrs. Wilson

Mrs. Wilson Helen Mirren
The housekeeper; presides over the house with Jennings

Mrs. Croft Eileen Atkins
The cook; she runs the kitchen and is jealous of Mrs. Wilson

Probert Derek Jacobi
Sir William's valet

Elsie Emily Watson
Head housemaid; having an affair with Sir William

George Richard E. Grant
First footman; full of himself; lascivious

Arthur Jeremy Swift
Second footman

Lewis Meg Wynn Owen
Lady Sylvia's maid

Dorothy Sophie Thompson
Still room maid; in love with Jennings

Bertha Teresa Churcher
Head kitchen maid

Ellen Sarah Flind
Junior kitchen maid

Lottie Lucy Cohu
Junior kitchen maid

Janet Finty Williams
Housemaid

May Emma Buckley
Housemaid

Ethel Laura Harling
Scullery maid
Maud Tilly Gerrard
Scullery maid

Albert Will Beer
Servants hall footman

Fred Gregor Henderson Begg
Bootboy

Jim Leo Bill
Odd (job) man

Strutt Ron Puttock
Gamekeeper

McCordles' loader Adrian Preater

Visiting servants
Mary Maceachran Kelly Macdonald
Constance's maid; new to service

Robert Parks Clive Owen
Raymond's valet

Henry Denton Ryan Phillippe
Morris Weissman's valet; a bit odd

Renee Joanna Maude
Louisa's maid

Barnes Adrian Scarborough
Anthony's valet

Sarah Frances Low
Lavinia's maid

Merriman John Atterbury
Constance's chauffeur
Burkett Frank Thornton
Constance's butler

Outsiders
Inspector Thompson Stephen Fry
Bumbling; has pretensions of grandeur

Constable Dexter Ron Webster
Junior officer; more intelligent than his bos

About the Players

Eileen Atkins (Mrs. Croft)

Dame Eileen Atkins was born in London and attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Her initial London stage appearance was in Robert Atkins' staging of Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost, at the Open Air Theatre in Regents Park. Seasons in repertory followed, including two years with the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford-upon-Avon. She went on to star at the Old Vic in many Shakespeare roles, among them Miranda and Viola.

Venturing into contemporary plays, Dame Eileen starred opposite Laurence Olivier and Alec Guinness, among others. She won the 1965 (London) Evening Standard Award for Best Actress for her performance as Childie in Frank Marcus' play The Killing of Sister George, and then made her New York stage debut in the play. Her wealth of U.K. stage credits also includes portraying Saint Joan and Medea; and presenting an evening of T.S. Eliot's poetry at the Lyric Theatre. She won a Variety Club Award for her role as Elizabeth in Robert Bolt's Vivat! Vivat! Regina.; won the London Critics Circle Award., and was nominated for an Olivier Award, for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Richard Eyre's staging of Tennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana; and received an Olivier Award for her performance in Peter Hall's staging of Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale.

In 1989, Dame Eileen garnered unanimous acclaim for her one-woman show, A Room of One's Own, in which she portrayed Virginia Woolf. The off-Broadway production brought her a Drama Desk Award for Best Solo Performance; and a Special Citation from the New York Drama Critics Circle. She then toured the U.S. in the show, later taping the project for U.K. television on location at Girton College, Cambridge (the venue of Mrs. Woolf's original lecture). She would return to the role in 1992 with Vita and Virginia, which she wrote and starred in (opposite Penelope Wilton as Vita Sackville-West) for the U.K. stage as well as in the U.S. (opposite Vanessa Redgrave). The latter production earned Dame Eileen a second Special Citation from the New York Drama Critics Circle, for both her playwriting and her performance.

Among her recent stage credits are, in the U.K., Anthony Page's staging of Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance (with her fellow Gosford Park star Maggie Smith), which brought her a (London) Evening Standard Award; and, in the U.K. and New York, Matthew Warchus' staging of Yasmina Reza's The Unexpected Man (opposite her fellow Gosford Park star Michael Gambon, and then her fellow Gosford Park star Alan Bates, respectively). Her performance earned her an Olivier Award for Best Actress.

Dame Eileen's many television appearances include Simon Langton's miniseries Smiley's People (with Alec Guinness), Norman Stone's telefilm The Vision (with Dirk Bogarde and Lee Remick), and Nigel Finch's telefilm The Lost Language of Cranes. Recently, she played opposite Emma Thompson in Mike Nichols' telefilm Wit.

In addition, she co-created, with Jean Marsh, the classic television series Upstairs Downstairs. For her screenplay adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway (which starred Vanessa Redgrave and was directed by Marleen Gorris), she won the (London) Evening Standard Award for Best Screenplay.

Dame Eileen's other film acting roles include ones in Sidney Lumet's Equus, Peter Yates' The Dresser, Peter Medak's Let Him Have It, Mike Nichols' Wolf, and Stephen Daldry's upcomingThe Hours.

Alan Bates (Jennings)

Alan Bates was one of the first actors to appear with the English Stage Company at the Royal Court, where he created the role of Cliff in John Osborne's Look Back in Anger, which he later also performed in New York and Moscow.

His numerous stage credits include O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night; Chekhov's The Seagull; Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, and Hamlet; John Osborne's A Patriot for Me (in the U.K. and in Los Angeles); his own one-man show, A Muse of Fire; and, more recently, opposite fellow Gosford Park star Eileen Atkins, Yasmina Reza's The Unexpected Man (in New York).

Bates has starred onstage in numerous plays by Simon Gray, including Otherwise Engaged, Simply Disconnected, Life Support, and, in London and New York, Butley, directed by Harold Pinter, for which he won the Evening Standard Award and the Tony Award for Best Actor. Among the plays by David Storey that he has performed in are Stages, Life Class, and In Celebration. The latter two were both directed by Lindsay Anderson, who also directed him in the film version of In Celebration. Bates also starred in Harold Pinter's The Caretaker in both London and New York, and in Clive Donner's film version (titled The Guest in the U.S.).

His film credits also include these notable features: Tony Richardson's The Entertainer, Bryan Forbes' Whistle Down the Wind, John Schlesinger's A Kind of Loving (for which he received a BAFTA Award nomination) and Far From the Madding Crowd (for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination) Michael Cacoyannis' Zorba the Greek, Silvio Narizzano's Georgy Girl (which brought him a Golden Globe Award nomination), Philippe De Broca's King of Hearts, John Frankenheimer's The Fixer (which earned him Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations), Ken Russell's Women in Love (for which he received a BAFTA Award nomination), Joseph Losey's The Go-Between, Peter Medak's A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, Laurence Olivier's Three Sisters (1970), Paul Mazursky's An Unmarried Woman, Mark Rydell's The Rose, Herbert Ross' Nijinsky, Merchant Ivory's Quartet (which he starred in with Maggie Smith of Gosford Park), Alan Bridges' The Return of the Soldier, Colin Gregg's We Think the World of You, Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet ([1990] for which he was nominated for a BAFTA Award), Dennis Potter's Secret Friends, and Sam Shepard's Silent Tongue.

Bates has recently completed filming Mark Pellington's The Mothman Prophecies (with Richard Gere and Laura Linney) as well as Phil Alden Robinson's The Sum of All Fears (from the Tom Clancy novel of the same name, and starring Ben Affleck as Jack Ryan).

He has starred in a number of U.K. television productions, including Alvin Rakoff's telefilm version of John Mortimer's A Voyage Round My Father (opposite Laurence Olivier), John Schlesinger's telefilm An Englishman Abroad (written by Alan Bennett, and for which Bates won a BAFTA Award), and Christopher Morahan's telefilm Unnatural Pursuits (written by Simon Gray, and for which Bates was nominated for a BAFTA Award). His U.S. telefilm credits include Anthony Page's Pack of Lies, Robert Markowitz' Nicholas' Gift, Steve Barron's miniseries Arabian Nights, and Joseph Sargent's upcoming CBS miniseries Salem Witch Trials (starring Shirley MacLaine).

Claudie Blakley (Mabel Nesbitt)

Gosford Park is Claudie Blakley's second feature film, following her screen debut in Peter Bogdanovich's The Cat's Meow.

At the West Yorkshire Playhouse, she was honored with the London Critics Circle's Ian Charleson Award for her portrayal of Nina in Chekhov's The Seagull (directed by Jude Kelly). In that same season at the Playhouse, she also portrayed Miranda in Shakespeare's The Tempest (again directed by Jude Kelly) and Daphne in Noel Coward's Present Laughter (directed by Malcolm Sutherland). With the Royal National Theatre, she played Wendy in J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan (directed by John Caird) and Ophelia in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (directed by Matthew Francis). Among her many other stage credits are The Hampstead Theatre production of David Haig'sThe Good Samaritan (directed by John Dove) and, at the Soho Theatre, Holly Phillips' Billy and the Crab Lady (directed by Mark Brickman).

Blakley's U.K. television credits include four seasons as a series regular on Playing the Field; and such telefilms as An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (directed by David Evans) and the recently filmed Mr. Charity (directed by Nick Wood).

Charles Dance (Raymond, Lord Stockbridge)

Charles Dance joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1975, appearing in Terry Hands' acclaimed productions of the Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI history plays as well as Trevor Nunn's staging of As You Like It. In 1976, he took over the title role in Henry V at New York's Brooklyn Academy of Music. He left the RSC in 1979, returning in 1990 to play the title role in Terry Hands' production of Coriolanus.

His other U.K. stage credits include productions of John Gay'sThe Beggar's Opera, Alexandre Breffort's Irma La Douce, Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters, Ruth and Augustus Goetz' The Heiress, C.P. Taylor's Good, and, most recently, Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night (opposite Jessica Lange in the production directed by Robin Phillips).

Dance attained worldwide recognition, including a BAFTA Award nomination, for his performance as Guy Perron in the miniseries The Jewel in the Crown, directed by Christopher Morahan and Jim O'Brien. Among his other television credits are the miniseries Edward the King (directed by John Gorrie), Out on a Limb (opposite Shirley MacLaine, directed by Robert Butler), The Phantom of the Opera (directed by Tony Richardson), and Rebecca (again directed by Jim O'Brien).

His film credits include Fred Schepisi's film of David Hare's Plenty (opposite Meryl Streep), Michael Ritchie's The Golden Child, the Taviani brothers' Good Morning Babylon (in which he portrayed D.W. Griffith), Hidden City and Century (both directed by Stephen Poliakoff), Michael Radford's White Mischief, James Dearden's Pascali's Island, David Fincher's Alien3, Claude Massot's Kabloonak (for which he won the Best Actor award at the Paris Film Festival), John McTiernan's Last Action Hero, Neil Jordan's Michael Collins, Philip and Belinda Haas' The Blood Oranges, Anand Tucker's Hilary and Jackie, Jan Sverak's soon-to-be-released Dark Blue World, and Mark Mylod's recently completed Ali G is in Da House.

Stephen Fry (Inspector Thompson)

For his portrayal of the celebrated wit Oscar Wilde in Wilde (directed by Brian Gilbert), Stephen Fry was nominated for Golden Globe and Golden Satellite Awards, and won a Golden Space Needle at the Seattle International Film Festival.

Fry's other films include Jeroen Krabbé's upcoming The Discovery of Heaven, Pete Hewitt's Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?, Steven Zaillian's A Civil Action, Bob Spiers' Spice World, Fred Schepisi's I.Q., Charles Crichton's A Fish Called Wanda, and Kenneth Branagh's Peter's Friends (in the title role).

At Cambridge, with Hugh Laurie and Emma Thompson, he took part in the famed Footlights revues and appeared in over 40 plays. During this time, he also wrote his first play, Latin, which won a Scotsman Fringe First Prize at the Edinburgh Film Festival in 1980 and was subsequently performed at Oxford, the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith, and the New End Theatre Hampstead.

He is best known to U.K. television viewers for his role as Jeeves in the three Jeeves and Wooster series based on the novels of P.G. Wodehouse, starring alongside Hugh Laurie. He has also written and performed comedy programs with Hugh Laurie; and starred in the comedy series Blackadder. His recent television credits include the miniseries Gormenghast (directed by Andy Wilson).

Fry's first novel, The Liar, was published in 1991, and remained on the bestseller list for several months. His other books include Paperweight, a collection of writings; Moab is My Washpot, an autobiography; and three other novels, The Hippopotamus, Making History, and The Stars' Tennis Balls.

He wrote the book for the musical Me and My Girl, which ran for several years in London's West End (where it originally starred Emma Thompson). When the show transferred to Broadway, Fry was nominated for a Tony Award.

Michael Gambon (Sir William McCordle)

Sir Michael Gambon started his career with the Edwards/MacLiammor Gate Theatre in Dublin. In 1963, he became one of the original members of the National Theatre Company at the Old Vic, under Laurence Olivier. Gambon appeared there in many plays before leaving to join Birmingham Rep, where he played Othello. Also in repertory, he played the title roles in Shakespeare's Macbeth, Coriolanus, and Othello (the latter this time at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough).

His West End stage work includes Simon Gray's Otherwise Engaged; the London premieres of three plays by Alan Ayckbourn: The Norman Conquests, Just Between Ourselves, and Man of the Moment; Alice's Boys (with Ralph Richardson); Harold Pinter's Old Times; and the title role in Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. With the Royal Shakespeare Company, Gambon played leading roles in premieres of Harold Pinter's Betrayal and Mountain Language; Simon Gray's Close of Play; Christopher Hampton's Tales from Hollywood; and three more plays by Alan Ayckbourn: Sisterly Feelings, A Chorus of Disapproval (for which Gambon won an Olivier Award), and A Small Family Business. He has also starred in Shakespeare's Richard III and Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge (which transferred to the Aldwych, and for which he won all the major drama awards in 1987).

Gambon opened in David Hare's Skylight at the Royal National Theatre in 1995, before transferring to Wyndham's Theatre, and then, in 1997, to New York's Royale Theatre (marking his Broadway debut). His recent U.K. stage appearances include Yasmina Reza's The Unexpected Man and Nicholas Wright's Cressida (directed by Nicholas Hytner).

His work on U.K. television includes the title role in Dennis Potter's miniseries The Singing Detective (directed by Jon Amiel), for which he won awards from BAFTA, the Broadcasting Press Guild, and the Royal Television Society; and, more recently, the miniseries Wives and Daughters (adapted from Elizabeth Gaskell's novel and directed by Nicholas Renton), which also starred Tom Hollander of Gosford Park.

His films include David Hare's Paris by Night, Peter Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (starring opposite Helen Mirren of Gosford Park), Mike Figgis' The Browning Version (1994), Suri Krishnamma's A Man of No Importance, Nicolas Roeg's Two Deaths, Stephen Frears' Mary Reilly, Iain Softley's The Wings of the Dove, Pat O'Connor's Dancing at Lughnasa, Karoly Makk's The Gambler, Michael Mann's The Insider, Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, Deborah Warner's The Last September (starring with Maggie Smith of Gosford Park), Conor McPherson's filmization of Samuel Beckett's Endgame, Mel Smith's High Heels and Low Lifes, Gillian Armstrong's forthcoming Charlotte Gray, and Jimmy T. Murakami's (animated) Christmas Carol: The Movie. He is currently at work on John Frankenheimer's HBO telefilm Path to War, in which he portrays U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Richard E. Grant (George)

Gosford Park is Richard E. Grant's third film for Robert Altman, following The Player and Pret-a-Porter/Ready to Wear.

The Swaziland native received international recognition and acclaim for his film debut in Bruce Robinson's cult film classic Withnail & I. He subsequently has been seen in, among other films, Bruce Robinson's How to Get Ahead in Advertising, Philip Kaufman's Henry & June, Steve Miner's Warlock, Mick Jackson's L.A. Story, Bob Rafelson's Mountains of the Moon, Michael Lehmann's Hudson Hawk, Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula, Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence, Peter Capaldi's Academy Award-winning short film Franz Kafka's 'It's A Wonderful Life,' Tim Sullivan's Jack & Sarah, Trevor Nunn's Twelfth Night, Jane Campion's The Portrait of a Lady, Bob Spiers' Spice World, Robert Bierman's A Merry War, and Ulrich Edel's The Little Vampire.

Grant's theater credits include Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest (staged by Nicholas Hytner) and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (staged by David Conville).

His television work includes the BBC productions of Dennis Potter's Karaoke and Cold Lazarus (directed by Renny Rye), Tennessee Williams' Suddenly Last Summer (directed by Richard Eyre), and David Jones' Hallmark Entertainment adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (opposite Patrick Stewart and Saskia Reeves). He was most recently seen in a telefilm series of The Scarlet Pimpernel adventures, starring in the title role of the BBC/A&E productions.

Grant has published his film-location diaries from the late 1980s and early 1990s in a collection entitled With Nails. More recently, he has published a novel entitled By Design.

Tom Hollander (Lieutenant Commander Anthony Meredith)

While at Cambridge, Tom Hollander was in the university's Cambridge Footlights revue; and played a much-celebrated Cyrano de Bergerac (directed by Sam Mendes). His honors include a Best Actor nod from Time Out; and four Ian Charleson Awards from the London Critics Circle.

His stage and radio credits include productions of The Judas Kiss, The Government Inspector, Tartuffe, Mojo, and The Threepenny Opera. On U.K. television, he has appeared on Absolutely Fabulous, among other series; and with fellow Gosford Park star Michael Gambon in the miniseries Wives and Daughters (adapted from Elizabeth Gaskell's novel and directed by Nicholas Renton).

Hollander's film credits include two more USA Films releases (Neil LaBute's upcoming Possession and Ben Elton's Maybe Baby), as well as Tom Hunsinger and Neil Hunter's recently completed The Lawless Heart, Michael Apted's Enigma (the first of three films that both he and Jeremy Northam have appeared in, the others being Possession and Gosford Park), Rose Troche's Bedrooms and Hallways, Nick Hamm's Martha., Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence (a.k.a. The Very Thought of You), and Terry George's Some Mother's Son.

Derek Jacobi (Probert)

Sir Derek Jacobi is one of the U.K.'s best and busiest actors, with successful careers in television, theater, and cinema.

Gosford Park is his third feature with Kristin Scott Thomas: the two have previously costarred in Philip and Belinda Haas' Up at the Villa and Jack Gold's telefilm adaptation of The Tenth Man (for which Jacobi earned an Emmy Award).

Jacobi's performance as the Roman emperor Claudius in the classic BBC miniseries I, Claudius made him a household name in Britain and entranced international audiences. His other television credits range from the title role in the popular U.K. mystery drama series Cadfael to a recent guest appearance on NBC's Frasier (for which he won a second Emmy Award).

He starred as real-life scientist Alan Turing in Hugh Whitemore's Breaking the Code, for both theater (in London's West End and on Broadway) and on television; and more recently starred in the U.K. world premiere of Whitemore's latest play, God Only Knows.

On stage, Jacobi has also given critically acclaimed performances as, among others, Benedick (receiving a Tony Award for his performance), Hamlet, Macbeth, Peer Gynt, Prospero, Cyrano de Bergerac, Becket, and Uncle Vanya.

His screen credits include Ridley Scott's Academy Award-winning Gladiator, John Maybury's Love is the Devil (as Francis Bacon), and three films for Kenneth Branagh: Henry V, Dead Again, and Hamlet (in which he played Claudius, opposite Julie Christie as Gertrude).

Kelly Macdonald (Mary Maceachran)

Kelly Macdonald arrived on the international film scene with a memorable screen debut as Diane, the beautiful and precocious schoolgirl in Danny Boyle's Trainspotting. The native Glaswegian was cast in the film version of Irvine Welsh's novel from an open audition.

She has since gone on to star in a number of films. These include Coky Giedroyc's Stella Does Tricks (in which she played the title role), Des McAnuff's Cousin Bette, Shekhar Kapur's award-winning Elizabeth (as the ill-fated lady-in-waiting Isobel Knollys), Phil Joanou's Entropy, Mike Figgis' The Loss of Sexual Innocence, Gregg Araki's Splendor, Amy Jenkins' "Mr. Cool" segment of the U.K. omnibus telefilm Tube Tales, Simon Cellan Jones' Some Voices, Julian Kemp's House!, Peter Capaldi's Strictly Sinatra, and Raymond De Felitta's Two Family House (for which she received an IFP/West Independent Spirit Award nomination).

Macdonald starred onstage as Donna in David Rabe's Hurlyburly, directed by Wilson Milam, at the Old Vic. On BBC Radio, she played Mary in Life House.

In February 2000, she was selected for the Berlin Film Festival's Shooting Stars European Film Promotion, the Festival's annual showcase of rising European talent.

Helen Mirren (Mrs. Wilson)

Helen Mirren is probably best known for her role as DCI Jane Tennison in the multi-award-winning Prime Suspect miniseries. For her work as Tennison, she has earned three BAFTA Awards and an Emmy Award. Mirren received a second Emmy Award for her portrayal of Ayn Rand in Christopher Menaul's telefilm The Passion of Ayn Rand.

Her film credits include Lindsay Anderson's O Lucky Man!, Ken Russell's Savage Messiah, Piers Haggard's The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu (starring opposite Peter Sellers), John Boorman's Excalibur, John Mackenzie's The Long Good Friday, Pat O'Connor's Cal, Peter Weir's The Mosquito Coast, Peter Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (starring opposite Michael Gambon of Gosford Park), Nicholas Hytner's The Madness of King George (for which she received an Academy Award nomination), Terry George's Some Mother's Son, Kevin Williamson's Teaching Mrs. Tingle, Sean Penn's The Pledge, Joel Hershman's Greenfingers (starring with Clive Owen of Gosford Park), Hal Hartley's soon-to-be-released No Such Thing, and, most recently, Fred Schepisi's Last Orders.

Mirren's distinguished stage career began at the Royal Shakespeare Company, where she played such Shakespearean characters as (among others) Lady Macbeth, Ophelia, Cressida, and Julia (of Two Gentlemen of Verona). More recently, she starred in New York and London in A Month in the Country; in London as Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra; and at London's Donmar Warehouse in Nicholas Hytner's production of Tennessee Williams' Orpheus Descending. She will return to the Broadway stage, from September 2001 until January 2002, starring opposite Sir Ian McKellen in August Strindberg's Dance of Death, adapted by Richard Greenberg and directed by Sean Mathias.

Jeremy Northam (Ivor Novello)

Jeremy Northam will soon be seen starring in another USA Films release, Possession, directed by Neil LaBute and starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Aaron Eckhart, and Jennifer Ehle; and in Vincenzo Natali's The Company Man, opposite Lucy Liu.

His performances in Oliver Parker and David Mamet's adaptations of An Ideal Husband and The Winslow Boy, together with his work in Mark Illsley's Happy, Texas, garnered him these honors: the London Evening Standard Award for Actor of the Year, the Variety Club Film Award for Actor of the Year, and the London Critics Circle Award for Best British Actor. His other film credits include Christopher Hampton's Carrington, Irwin Winkler's The Net, Douglas McGrath's Emma, Brian Skeet's The Misadventures of Margaret, Guillermo del Toro's Mimic, Steven Spielberg's Amistad, Sidney Lumet's Gloria, the Merchant Ivory production of The Golden Bowl, and Michael Apted's Enigma (which costarred Tom Hollander, who has since also appeared in Gosford Park and Possession).

His U.K. television credits include the telefilms Journey's End (directed by Michael Simpson), A Fatal Inversion (directed by Tim Fywell), and The Tribe (directed by Stephen Poliakoff), as well as the miniseries Piece of Cake (directed by Ian Toynton).

Trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (1984-1986), Northam won the 1990 Olivier Award for Outstanding Newcomer for his performance as Edward Voysey in Richard Eyre's National Theatre production of The Voysey Inheritance. His many other stage credits include Royal Shakespeare Company productions of Love's Labour's Lost, The Country Wife, and The Gift of the Gorgon; National Theatre productions of Hamlet, The Shaughraun, and School for Scandal; and stagings of Certain Young Men, Way of the World, Three Sisters, and La Bete.

Clive Owen (Robert Parks)

Clive Owen's performance in the title role of Mike Hodges' sleeper hit Croupier had critics comparing him to the likes of Bogart, Mitchum, and Connery.

Owen first came to the U.K. public's attention as the star of the television series Chancer. U.S. television audiences later saw him starring opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones in Jack Gold's telefilm adaptation of The Return of the Native, which aired on CBS. More recently, the BBC's Second Sight police dramas, in which he stars as DCI Ross Tanner, aired on PBS' Mystery!

His U.K. telefilm credits also include Andrew Grieve's Lorna Doone, Andy Wilson's An Evening with Gary Lineker, Diarmuid Lawrence's The Echo, and David Blair's Split Second.

Owen's feature films also include Beeban Kidron's Vroom, Stephen Poliakoff's Close My Eyes and Century, Sean Mathias' Bent, and Joel Hershman's Greenfingers (his first teaming with Helen Mirren of Gosford Park). He will be reuniting with Croupier director Mike Hodges for a new film.

His acclaimed stage work includes portraying Romeo at the Young Vic; starring in Sean Mathias' staging of Noel Coward's Design for Living; and playing the lead role in Patrick Marber's original production of Closer at the Royal National Theatre. In the fall of 2001, he will be starring in London in Laurence Boswell's staging of Peter Nichols' A Day in the Death of Joe Egg.

Owen most recently starred in "The Hire" series of BMW Internet short features, in which he was directed by (respectively) John Frankenheimer, Ang Lee, Wong Kar-wai, Guy Ritchie, and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

Ryan Phillippe (Henry Denton)

As actor, producer, and writer, Ryan Phillippe has established himself as an in-demand talent in Hollywood. The diversity of his projects has enabled him to explore a variety of different characters.

His first major feature film role was in Ridley Scott's White Squall (as part of the young ensemble cast captained by Jeff Bridges). Next came the independent features Little Boy Blue (directed by Antonio Tibaldi) and Nowhere (directed by Gregg Araki).

Phillippe then starred in the boxoffice smash I Know What You Did Last Summer (directed by Jim Gillespie and written by Kevin Williamson, and for which he received a Blockbuster Entertainment Award nomination). In quick succession, he filmed starring roles in Stephen Gyllenhaal's Homegrown, Mark Christopher's 54, Willard Carroll's Playing by Heart (in which, as a member of the ensemble cast, he acted opposite Angelina Jolie, Gena Rowlands, and Sean Connery), and Roger Kumble's hit Cruel Intentions (opposite Reese Witherspoon and his I Know What You Did Last Summer costar Sarah Michelle Gellar). The latter film earned him an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Male Performance.

More recently, he played a cameo role in Peter Askin and Douglas McGrath's Company Man; and starred in Christopher McQuarrie's The Way of the Gun (opposite Benicio Del Toro) and Peter Howitt's Antitrust. He will next be seen starring in Burr Steers' Igby Goes Down, as part of an ensemble cast that includes Kieran Culkin, Claire Danes, Jeff Goldblum, Jared Harris, Amanda Peet, Bill Pullman, and Susan Sarandon.

Phillippe has formed a production company, Lucid Films. The company produces projects for all mediums, and is headquartered with Intermedia Films.

Camilla Rutherford (Isobel McCordle)

Camilla Rutherford is at the start of a promising film career. Before acting with Robert Altman's Gosford Park ensemble, the U.K. native starred in movies for Bruce McDonald (Picturing Claire, with Juliette Lewis and Gina Gershon, which world-premiered at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival) and Denys Arcand (the film festival favorite Stardom, with Jessica Paré and Dan Aykroyd). She also starred in Toby MacDonald's short film Je t'aime John Wayne [I Love You John Wayne].

Maggie Smith (Constance, Countess of Trentham)

Dame Maggie Smith's acting career, which spans five decades, has encompassed indelible comedic roles and memorable dramatic performances in all mediums.

Her first stage appearance was in 1952, with the Oxford University Drama Society (OUDS). Four years later, she made her professional stage debut, in New York City in the New Faces of 1956 revue. Returning to the U.K., she joined the Old Vic Company in 1959 and began working extensively on the stage. For her performances in The Private Ear and The Public Eye at the Globe Theatre, she received the (London) Evening Standard Award for Best Actress of 1962.

The following year, Dame Maggie joined The National Theatre and also starred at Chitchester as Desdemona in Othello, opposite Laurence Olivier in the title role. Among her other notable stage performances over the next few years were portrayals of Miss Julie and Hedda Gabler. She continued to perform onstage in not only the U.K., but also in the U.S. and Canada. Among the honors that she has earned for her stage performances are two Variety Club Awards for Best Actress (for Mary Mary and Private Lives); three more (London) Evening Standard Awards for Best Actress (for Virginia, The Way of the World, and, most recently, Three Tall Women); and a Tony Award for Lettice and Lovage.

Her television performances include the Alan Bennett Talking Heads monologue Bed Among the Lentils (for which she received the Royal Television Society Award, and a BAFTA Award nomination, for Best Actress); the title role in the teleplay Mrs. Silly ; Richard Eyre's 1992 telefilm version of Suddenly, Last Summer (for which she received an Emmy Award nomination); Jack Clayton and Jim Hubbard's Memento Mori; and Simon Curtis' 1999 miniseries version of David Copperfield (for which she earned Emmy and BAFTA Award nominations).

Dame Maggie's notable initial films include Seth Holt's Nowhere to Go (her film debut, which brought her a BAFTA Award nomination); Jack Cardiff's Young Cassidy (for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination); the 1965 Stuart Burge/Laurence Olivier film version of Othello (for which she earned her first Academy Award nomination); Richard Attenborough's Oh! What a Lovely War; and Ronald Neame's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. For her portrayal of the title character in the latter, she was honored with the Academy Award and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress, as well as a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress.

Her films over the next two decades included George Cukor's Travels with My Aunt (for which she received Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actress); John Guillermin's Death on the Nile (for which she a BAFTA Award nomination); Herbert Ross' film version of Neil Simon's California Suite (for which she was honored with her second Academy Award, this time for Best Supporting Actress, and for which she was also honored with a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Actress); Merchant Ivory's Quartet (which she starred in with Alan Bates of Gosford Park, and which earned her a BAFTA Award nomination); Alan Bennett's A Private Function (for which she received BAFTA and Variety Club Awards for Best Actress); Merchant Ivory's A Room with a View; (for which she received a second Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress); and Jack Clayton's The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (for which she earned a third consecutive, and fourth overall, BAFTA Award for Best Actress).

More recently, Dame Maggie's films have included Steven Spielberg's Hook; Emile Ardolino's Sister Act; Agnieszka Holland's The Secret Garden ([1993] for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination) and Washington Square (1997); Richard Loncraine's Richard III (1995); Hugh Wilson's The First Wives Club; Franco Zeffirelli's Tea with Mussolini (for which she received a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress); Deborah Warner's The Last September (starring with Michael Gambon of Gosford Park); Chris Columbus' globally anticipated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone; and Callie Khouri's just-wrapped Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

In the 1970 New Year's Honours List, she received the CBE. In 1990, she received the DBS and became Dame Maggie Smith. She was awarded the Hamburg Shakespeare Prize in 1991 and a Silver BAFTA Award in 1993. She is a fellow of the British Film Institute, a patron of the Jane Austen Society, and honorary degrees from Cambridge University and St. Andrews.

Geraldine Somerville (Louisa, Lady Stockbridge)

Geraldine Somerville will be soon be seen, along with fellow Gosford Park star Maggie Smith, in Chris Columbus' eagerly awaited Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone (in which she plays Lily Potter).

Her other film credits include Ferdinand Fairfax' True Blue, Lewis Gilbert's Haunted, Stephen Poliakoff's Close My Eyes (which marked her screen debut, and which toplined fellow Gosford Park star Clive Owen), and Coral Houtman's Augustine (in which she played the title role, and which was the winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Houston International Film and Video Festival).

Somerville's U.K. television credits include adaptations of Terence Rattigan's The Deep Blue Sea and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (in which she played Juliet); and David Caffrey's miniseries Aristocrats. In addition, she starred for three seasons as Penhaligon on the popular Cracker series (for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination).

Trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, she has performed onstage several times at the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Court. She has essayed such roles as Nora in Ibsen's A Doll's House, Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (at the [Bristol] Old Vic), and Laura in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie (for which she received a [Manchester] Evening News Award nomination).

Kristin Scott Thomas (Lady Sylvia McCordle)

Well-known to audiences in her native Britain and around the world, Kristin Scott Thomas will soon be seen starring opposite Kevin Kline in Irwin Winkler's Life as a House.

She received Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for her starring role, opposite Ralph Fiennes, in Anthony Minghella's multi-Academy Award-winningThe English Patient.

Gosford Park marks Scott Thomas' third feature with Derek Jacobi: the two have previously costarred in Philip and Belinda Haas' Up at the Villa and Jack Gold's telefilm adaptation of The Tenth Man.

Her other screen credits include Sydney Pollack's Random Hearts, The Horse Whisperer (starring opposite the film's director, Robert Redford), Brian De Palma's Mission: Impossible, Philip and Belinda Haas' Angels and Insects (for which she received the [London] Evening Standard Award for Best Actress), Richard Loncraine's Richard III, Mike Newell's Four Weddings and a Funeral (for which she received honors including the BAFTA Award for Best Actress), Roman Polanski's Bitter Moon, and Charles Sturridge's A Handful of Dust (for which she received the [London] Evening Standard Award for Best Newcomer).

Scott Thomas speaks several languages, and has appeared in a number of foreign-language films, including Pierre Jolivet's Force Majeure, Marie-France Pisier's Le Bal du Gouverneur, Eric Rochant's Aux Yeux du Monde, Lucien Pintille's Un Ete Inoubliable (filmed in Romania), and Carlo Cotti's Bille en Tete (which brought her awards from the Europacinema Festival and France's Carbourg Festival). She recently toured France, and is currently working in Paris, in a stage production of Racine's Berenice.

Her television credits include the U.K. miniseries Body and Soul (which earned her an award at the Chicago Film Festival), Gavin Millar's La Belle Epoque (from a screenplay by Francois Truffaut), and Charles Sturridge's epic miniseries Gulliver's Travels.

Sophie Thompson (Dorothy)

Sophie Thompson began her career with some initial U.K. stage and television work (including Don Taylor's telefilm version of Arthur Miller's The Crucible) before training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

On graduation, she joined the Bristol Old Vic for two seasons. Her wealth of subsequent stage appearances includes Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing (staged by Peter Wood); the Renaissance Theater Company productions of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing (directed by Judi Dench), As You Like It (as Celia, directed by Geraldine McEwan), and Hamlet (directed by fellow Gosford Park star Derek Jacobi); the Royal Shakespeare Company productions of As You Like It (this time as Rosalind, directed by John Caird) and All's Well That Ends Well (directed by Peter Hall); Alan Ayckbourn's Wildest Dreams (for which she received an Olivier Award nomination); Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Company (as Amy, directed by Sam Mendes, and for which she won the Clarence Derwent Award and received her second Olivier Award nomination); and, at the Donmar Warehouse, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods (as the Baker's Wife, directed by John Crowley, for which she earned the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical).

For television, Thompson has had stints as a series regular on Thompson, The Phil Cool Show, Nelson's Column, Blind Men, and, most recently, Lee Evans: So What Now? Among her telefilms are Dennis Potter's Message for Posterity (directed by David Jones) and Catherine Morshead's The Railway Children.

Her films include Richard Loncraine's The Missionary, Don Boyd's Twenty-one, Mike Newell's Four Weddings and a Funeral, Roger Michell's Persuasion, Douglas McGrath's Emma (with fellow Gosford Park star Jeremy Northam), Pat O'Connor's Dancing at Lughnasa, and Eric Styles' Relative Values (for which she received a London Film Critics Circle Award nomination).

Emily Watson (Elsie)

Over the last several years, Emily Watson has become one of the entertainment world's most acclaimed actresses.

The U.K. native came to international prominence at the 1996 Cannes International Film Festival, where Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves had its world premiere. The film marked Watson's screen debut, and her performance as Bess earned her Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and BAFTA Award nominations for Best Actress. In addition, she was named Best Actress by the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Society of Film Critics, and the European Film (Felix) Awards; was given the New Generation Award by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association; and earned the (London) Evening Standard Award as Most Promising Newcomer.

Watson received her second Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and BAFTA Award nominations for Best Actress for portraying real-life cellist Jacqueline du Pré (opposite Rachel Griffiths as Hilary du Pré), in Anand Tucker's Hilary and Jackie. Her performance also brought Watson Screen Actors Guild Award and BAFTA Award nominations for Best Actress; and the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress.

Among her other film credits are Philip Saville's Metroland (starring opposite Christian Bale); Graham Theakston's BBC/PBS "Masterpiece Theatre" telefilm adaptation of The Mill on the Floss (from the George Eliot novel); Jim Sheridan's The Boxer (starring opposite Daniel Day-Lewis); Tim Robbins' Cradle Will Rock (starring with an ensemble cast that included John Turturro); Alan Parker's Angela's Ashes (in which she starred as the title character, author Frank McCourt's mother; for which she received her third BAFTA Award nomination for Best Actress); Alan Rudolph's Trixie (her first collaboration with Gosford Park director/producer Robert Altman, who produced the film); and Marleen Gorris' The Luzhin Defence (again starring with John Turturro; for which she was nominated for a British Independent Film Award). She has completed filming two movies: Paul Thomas Anderson's untitled film, in which she stars opposite Adam Sandler; and Kurt Wimmer's Equilibrium, which reteams her with Christian Bale.

Watson's extensive U.K. stage experience includes productions of Chekhov's Three Sisters, Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour (at the Royal National Theatre), and Royal Shakespeare Company stagings of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and All's Well That Ends Well.

Natasha Wightman (Lady Lavinia Meredith)

Just prior to filming Gosford Park, Natasha Wightman was part of another ensemble cast, appearing in the CBS telefilm remake of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, playing opposite Alfred Molina as Hercule Poirot (directed by Carl Schenkel).

Her other films include Stuart Urban's Revelation and Eric Magnans' just-wrapped Rendezvous in Paris.

Wightman took courses at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) and trained at Elmhurst Ballet and Theatre School. At the latter, she was in productions of Shakespeare's Richard III and Arthur Schnitzler's La Ronde. Her subsequent stage work includes starring roles in Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit and a European tour of Shakespeare's As You Like It (in the Soho Theatre Group production).

James Wilby (The Hon. Freddie Nesbitt)

James Wilby's first lead film role was in the Merchant Ivory adaptation of Maurice, playing the title part. He later reunited with the filmmakers to star in Howards End and, more recently, Cotton Mary.

His other screen credits include Joel Hopkins' Jump Tomorrow, Willard Carroll's Tom's Midnight Garden, Gillies Mackinnon's Regeneration (in which he portrayed Siegfried Sassoon), and Charles Sturridge's A Handful of Dust.

Wilby's extensive U.K. television work includes adaptations of D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover (starring as Sir Clifford Chatterley for director Ken Russell) and Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities (starring as Sydney Carton for director Philippe Monniere); the popular miniseries Mother Love (directed by Simon Langton); and an appearance on The Storyteller (in an episode directed by Steve Barron).

Onstage, he has starred in several plays at the Chitchester Festival Theatre; Nicholas Hytner's staging of Shakespeare's As You Like It (at the Royal Exchange); and Peter Gill's staging of John Osborne's A Patriot for Me (with the Royal Shakespeare Company).

About the Filmmakers

Robert Altman (Director/idea for story/Producer)

Robert Altman's extraordinary career has surprised, entertained and challenged audiences with vibrant, freewheeling films that stretch the boundaries of the medium.

In the 1950s in his native Kansas City, he began making industrial and documentary films at the Calvin Company. His feature directorial debut, made in Kansas City, was the teenage gang drama The Delinquents (1957). He next co-directed the documentary feature The James Dean Story (1957).

Altman then spent several years directing episodes of top television series, including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Millionaire, Bonanza, and Kraft Suspense Theatre. His 1964 episode of the latter anthology series, about a serial killer, was expanded to the feature-length Nightmare in Chicago.

Returning his focus to feature films, he directed the taut space drama Countdown (1968) and the enigmatic thriller That Cold Day in the Park (1969). His next film, M*A*S*H (1970), was an irreverent black comedy about surgeons in a Korean War medical unit. It won the coveted Palme d'Or at the Cannes International Film Festival; was a global boxoffice smash; and firmly established Altman as a major American director.

He next helmed the quirky fantasy Brewster McCloud (1970), followed by a ground-breaking reinvention of the American Western, McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971). The story hinged on the building of a frontier bordello, while Altman's filmmaking boldly synthesized overlapping dialogue, distinctive cinematography, and a soundtrack of Leonard Cohen songs.

In the years that followed, his films successfully explored such diverse themes as pulp noir (by inventively reworking Raymond Chandler in The Long Goodbye [1973]); The Depression (Thieves Like Us [1974]); the communion of two male gamblers on a spree (California Split [1974]); and haunting explorations of the interior lives of women (Images [1972] and 3 Women [1977]).

With the unforgettable Nashville (1975), Altman first displayed his unique talent for braiding the stories of a large ensemble cast, set in and around the burgeoning country-music scene in Nashville. This approach has also characterized a number of his other films, including the nuptials-themed A Wedding (1978); Short Cuts (1993), the biting vision of love and death in L.A.; the Paris-based haute-couture farce Pret-a-Porter/Ready to Wear (1994); and now the U.K. period mystery Gosford Park.

Unpredictable and versatile, his other films include biopics of Buffalo Bill (Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson [1976]) and the brothers Van Gogh (Vincent and Theo [1990]); a fictionalized private history of Richard M. Nixon (in Secret Honor [1984]); a romantic comedy (A Perfect Couple [1979]); a social satire (HEALTH [1979]); a comic-book adaptation (Popeye [1980]); the popular film-industry odyssey The Player (1992); cinematic homages to music (the gangster-themed Kansas City [1996] and its documentary companion piece, Robert Altman's Jazz '34: Remembrances of Kansas City Swing [1997]); and, most recently, contemporary comedies of Southern manners (Cookie's Fortune [1999] and Dr. T and the Women [2000]).

Altman has also successfully adapted several stage works into different mediums. Among these are film versions of David Rabe's Streamers (1983), Sam Shepard's Fool for Love (1985), and Christopher Durang's Beyond Therapy (1987); telefilm versions of Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter and The Room (both 1987); and, from Herman Wouk's original play, a television staging of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1988).

He won an Emmy Award for directing the bold HBO series Tanner '88, which placed a fictional candidate (played by Michael Murphy) among actual politicians in the real-life 1988 elections.

In addition to most of his own films, Altman's producing credits include five films directed by Alan Rudolph: Welcome to L.A. (1977), Remember My Name (1978), Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994), Afterglow (1997), and Trixie (2000); Robert Benton's The Late Show (1977); and Robert M. Young's Rich Kids (1979).

While continually experimenting with music in his filmmaking, he has also staged successful productions of Stravinsky's opera The Rake's Progress (at the University of Michigan and the Opéra du Nord at Lille, France) and William Bolcom's opera McTeague for Chicago's Lyric Opera; and filmed Black and Blue for PBS' Great Performances series. He also co-authored the 1970s country music hit song "Black Sheep of the Family."

Julian Fellowes (Writer)

Julian Fellowes was recently named one of Variety's "10 Screenwriters to Watch." Gosford Park is his first feature film screenplay to have been produced.

Born in Egypt and later raised in England , Fellowes attended Cambridge University as well as the Webber Douglas School of Drama. After graduation, he performed in stage repertory. He soon began acting in movies. His films include B.W.L. Norton's Baby…Secret of the Lost Legend, Philip Saville's Fellow Traveler, Louis Malle's Damage, Richard Attenborough's Shadowlands, Gillies Mackinnon's Regeneration (with Gosford Park star James Wilby), Roger Spottiswoode's Tomorrow Never Dies, and Nicole Garcia's Place Vendome.

His many television credits include Don Boyd's telefilm Goldeneye: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming (in which he portrayed Noel Coward, and which toplined Gosford Park star Charles Dance in the title role); Mike Vardy's miniseries The Final Cut (with Ian Richardson); Danny Boyle's telefilm For the Greater Good; David Caffrey's miniseries Aristocrats (with Gosford Park star Geraldine Somerville); and, most recently, a recurring role on the BBC series Monarch of the Glen.

Fellowes began writing while in Hollywood in the mid-1980s, but his screenwriting career began in earnest in 1990 once he was back in England, resulting in his successful adaptation of Little Lord Fauntleroy (from Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic novel of the same name). The 1994 BBC miniseries, directed by Andrew Morgan, was honored with an International Emmy Award as well as a Banff Festival Award. Fellowes subsequently adapted and produced for the BBC The Prince and the Pauper (from Mark Twain's classic story), which was directed by Andrew Morgan and nominated for a BAFTA Award.

He is working on, among other projects, two screenplay adaptations: of Kate O'Riordan's novel The Angel in the House, the film version of which will be produced by Tiger Aspect Films; and of P.G. Wodehouse's Piccadilly Jim, the film version of which will be produced by Mission Pictures.

Bob Balaban ([role of] Morris Weissman/idea for story/Producer)

Bob Balaban's acting career of over 30 years has continued to surprise critics and audiences alike. He has also established second and third careers behind the camera, as film director and producer (through his production company, Chicagofilms).

The Chicago native's roots are in the entertainment world: his uncle was a longtime president of Paramount Pictures, and his grandfather headed production at MGM for many years. While attending NYU, Balaban originated the role of Linus in the off-Broadway production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. He went on to appear in such Broadway productions as The Inspector General (for which he was nominated for a Tony Award) and Speed-the-Plow.

He made his film debut in John Schlesinger's Academy Award-winning Midnight Cowboy, and has since appeared in such features as Mike Nichols' Catch-22, Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Ken Russell's Altered States, Sidney Lumet's Prince of the City, Sydney Pollack's Absence of Malice, John Badham's Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Peter Hyams' 2010, Woody Allen's Alice and Deconstructing Harry , Christopher Guest's Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show, Tim Robbins' Cradle Will Rock, Gore Verbinski's The Mexican, Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World, and Frank Darabont's soon-to-be-released The Majestic.

Balaban's television acting work includes Betty Thomas' HBO telefilm The Late Shift; and a memorable recurring role on NBC's Seinfeld. In addition, he has directed episodes of HBO's Oz; NBC's Amazing Stories, Lateline, and Deadline; CBS' Now and Again; and a segment of the HBO omnibus telefilm Subway Stories.

His feature work as director includes The Last Good Time, starring Armin Mueller-Stahl and Olivia d''Abo (which earned the Best Film and Best Director awards at the Hamptons International Film Festival); and Parents, starring Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt, and Sandy Dennis.

In addition to Gosford Park, Balaban is working with USA Films as producer and director of the film version of the Tony Horwitz novel Confederates in the Attic. Chicagofilms is also developing the romantic comedy Kiss the Bride with Jonathan Demme; and a half-hour TV series for Imagine Entertainment.

He will be directing The Exonerated in the spring of 2002, off-Broadway.