Simon Callow

Simon Philip Hugh Callow, CBE (born June 13, 1949 in London, England) is a highly-regarded British actor of stage, film and television, and a biographer of Orson Welles and Charles Laughton.

Related Topics:
CBE - June 13 - 1949 - London - England - British - Actor - Stage - Film - Television - Orson Welles - Charles Laughton

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Callow studied at Queen's University, Belfast before giving up his degree course to go into acting. He was already a successful stage actor before making his film debut in a minor role in Amadeus in 1984 (having played Mozart in the original stage production at the Royal National Theatre).

Related Topics:
Queen's University, Belfast - Amadeus - 1984 - Mozart - Royal National Theatre

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By his thirties, Callow was playing character and often comic parts. He starred in several series of the Channel 4 sitcom, Chance in a Million, as Tom Chance, an eccentric individual to whom coincidences happened regularly. Ironically, roles like this and his part in Four Weddings and a Funeral brought him a wider audience than his many critically-acclaimed stage appearances. At the same time, he was successful both as a director and as a writer — mostly of works about acting.

Related Topics:
Channel 4 - Sitcom - Chance in a Million - Four Weddings and a Funeral

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Callow, who is openly gay, also wrote about a former relationship in his partial autobiography, Love Is Where It Falls (1998). He has also written extensively about Charles Dickens, whom he has played in a one-man show on stage, reading from Dickens' work, and on television several times, including in The Unquiet Dead, a 2005 episode of the BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who.

Related Topics:
Autobiography - 1998 - Charles Dickens - The Unquiet Dead - 2005 - BBC - Science-fiction - Doctor Who

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In 1999, he was awarded the CBE for his services to acting.

Related Topics:
1999 - CBE

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His first TV role was in Carry On Laughing episode Orgy and Bess, in 1975, but it was apparently cut from the final print.

Related Topics:
Carry On Laughing - 1975

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He appeared with Saeed Jaffrey in 1994 British television series Little Napoleons.

Related Topics:
Saeed Jaffrey - 1994 - Little Napoleons

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In 2004, he appeared on a Comic Relief episode of Little Britain for charity causes.

Related Topics:
2004 - Comic Relief - Little Britain

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