Tom Courtenay

Tom Courtenay began his film career in 1962, and his leading role in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, directed by Tony Richardson, was rewarded by the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer. The following year he won the BAFTA for Best Actor for the title role in Billy Liar, directed by John Schlesinger. In 1965 he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for David Lean's adaptation of Doctor Zhivago.

His love of theatre prevailed over the next years and he has had a long association with Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre where he has appeared in modern and classic plays, including King Lear. This did not prevent him from appearing in several films, his favorite being One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch.

In 1984 he was nominated for the Academy Award for the film The Dresser, as was his friend and co-star Albert Finney. In 2000, his memoir Dear Tom: Letters from Home, a collection of letters exchanged with his mother when he was a young actor in London in the Sixties, was published to critical acclaim. In 2002 he wrote and performed a one man show based on the letters and writings of poet Philip Larkin, first at Leeds Playhouse and then transferring to London's West End. In 2001 he was knighted Sir Tom Courtenay, by Queen Elizabeth, for forty years service to film and theatre.

Michael Lobell Productions