Bruce Robinson
Encyclopedia
Bruce Robinson is an English director, screenwriter, novelist and actor. He is arguably most famous for writing and directing the cult classic Withnail and I
(1986), a film with comic and tragic elements, set in London during the 1960s which drew on his experiences as 'a chronic alcoholic and resting actor, living in squalor' in Camden Town
.
As an actor, he has worked with the likes of Franco Zeffirelli
(on whom he based the character of Uncle Monty in Withnail and I), Ken Russell
and François Truffaut
. In 1998, he returned to acting with a cameo in the 70s rock rival film Still Crazy
.
Robinson currently lives in Herefordshire with his wife, Sophie Windham, he has two children, Lily India (b. 1986) and Willoughby (b. 1994).
in Kent. In his youth, Robinson dreamed of being an actor and was admitted to the Central School of Speech and Drama
in London. His first film role was as Benvolio in Franco Zeffirelli
's film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet
(1968). He then appeared in Ken Russell
's The Music Lovers
(1970), Barney Platts-Mills
's Private Road (1971), and François Truffaut
's The Story of Adele H (1975), but eventually became disenchanted with acting after spending several years out of work and living on social security payments and began writing screenplays. He was soon commissioned by David Puttnam
to write the screenplay for Roland Joffé
's The Killing Fields
(1984). Robinson was nominated for an Academy Award and won a BAFTA for his work. In 1989, Robinson wrote again for Joffé on Fat Man and Little Boy
.
However, he is perhaps best known as the creative force behind the film Withnail and I
(1987). Loosely autobiographical, he based the film on his time as a struggling out-of-work actor. For instance, the character 'Withnail' is reportedly based on his friend, Vivian MacKerrell
, whilst the character 'I' (Marwood), on himself. Though unsuccessful at the box office, due to its success on video it has since been described as "one of Britain's biggest cult films". The film also launched the acting career of Richard E. Grant
.
Robinson's next two outings as a director (How to Get Ahead in Advertising
, teaming him again with Richard E. Grant
and Jennifer 8, a Hollywood thriller) were not as well received. Robinson become disillusioned with the restrictive film-making practises of Hollywood and turned his back on directing to concentrate solely on writing. However, projects such as Return to Paradise (1998) and In Dreams
(1999) were both altered drastically by their producers, leaving Robinson once again disappointed.
Robinson eventually returned to directing with an adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson
's novel The Rum Diary
, with the main role performed by Johnny Depp
. With Aaron Eckhart
and Richard Jenkins
also on board, filming started on 25 March 2009 in Puerto Rico
. It was released in 2011.
Recently, Robinson has completed a screenplay for his novel The Peculiar Memories of Thomas Penman and a book on Jack the Ripper
which has yet to be published.
Withnail and I
Withnail and I is a British black comedy made in 1986 by HandMade Films. It was written and directed by Bruce Robinson and is based on his life in London in the late 1960s. The main plot follows two unemployed young actors, Withnail and “I” who live in a squalid flat in Camden in 1969 while...
(1986), a film with comic and tragic elements, set in London during the 1960s which drew on his experiences as 'a chronic alcoholic and resting actor, living in squalor' in Camden Town
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
.
As an actor, he has worked with the likes of Franco Zeffirelli
Franco Zeffirelli
Franco Zeffirelli KBE is an Italian director and producer of films and television. He is also a director and designer of operas and a former senator for the Italian center-right Forza Italia party....
(on whom he based the character of Uncle Monty in Withnail and I), Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
and François Truffaut
François Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...
. In 1998, he returned to acting with a cameo in the 70s rock rival film Still Crazy
Still Crazy
Still Crazy is a 1998 comedy film about a fictional 1970s rock band named "Strange Fruit", who, after being split up for several decades, are persuaded to get back together to perform at a reunion of the same concert venue where they played their last gig...
.
Robinson currently lives in Herefordshire with his wife, Sophie Windham, he has two children, Lily India (b. 1986) and Willoughby (b. 1994).
Career
Bruce Robinson was born in BroadstairsBroadstairs
Broadstairs is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about south-east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St. Peter's and had a population in 2001 of about 24,000. Situated between Margate and...
in Kent. In his youth, Robinson dreamed of being an actor and was admitted to the Central School of Speech and Drama
Central School of Speech and Drama
The Central School of Speech and Drama was founded in London in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students...
in London. His first film role was as Benvolio in Franco Zeffirelli
Franco Zeffirelli
Franco Zeffirelli KBE is an Italian director and producer of films and television. He is also a director and designer of operas and a former senator for the Italian center-right Forza Italia party....
's film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet (1968 film)
Romeo and Juliet is a 1968 British-Italian cinematic adaptation of the William Shakespeare play of the same name.The film was directed and co-written by Franco Zeffirelli, and stars Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey. It won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design; it was also...
(1968). He then appeared in Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
's The Music Lovers
The Music Lovers
The Music Lovers is a 1970 British biographical film directed by Ken Russell. The screenplay by Melvyn Bragg, based on Beloved Friend, a collection of personal correspondence edited by Catherine Drinker Bowen and Barbara von Meck, focuses on the life and career of 19th century Russian composer...
(1970), Barney Platts-Mills
Barney Platts-Mills
Barney Platts-Mills is a British film director, best known for his award-winning films, Bronco Bullfrog and Private Road.-Biography:1944 Born in Colchester England...
's Private Road (1971), and François Truffaut
François Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...
's The Story of Adele H (1975), but eventually became disenchanted with acting after spending several years out of work and living on social security payments and began writing screenplays. He was soon commissioned by David Puttnam
David Puttnam
David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, FRSA is a British film producer. He sits on the Labour benches in the House of Lords, although he is not principally a politician.-Early life:...
to write the screenplay for Roland Joffé
Roland Joffé
Roland Joffé is an English-French film director who is known for his Oscar nominated movies, The Killing Fields and The Mission. He began his career in television. His early television credits included episodes of Coronation Street and an adaptation of The Stars Look Down for Granada...
's The Killing Fields
The Killing Fields (film)
The Killing Fields is a 1984 British drama film about the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, which is based on the experiences of two journalists: Cambodian Dith Pran and American Sydney Schanberg. The film, which won three Academy Awards, was directed by Roland Joffé and stars Sam Waterston as...
(1984). Robinson was nominated for an Academy Award and won a BAFTA for his work. In 1989, Robinson wrote again for Joffé on Fat Man and Little Boy
Fat Man and Little Boy
Fat Man and Little Boy is a 1989 film that reenacts the Manhattan Project, the secret Allied endeavor to develop the first nuclear weapons during World War II. The film is named after the nuclear weapons known by the code names "Fat Man" and "Little Boy". The code names can be taken for joking...
.
However, he is perhaps best known as the creative force behind the film Withnail and I
Withnail and I
Withnail and I is a British black comedy made in 1986 by HandMade Films. It was written and directed by Bruce Robinson and is based on his life in London in the late 1960s. The main plot follows two unemployed young actors, Withnail and “I” who live in a squalid flat in Camden in 1969 while...
(1987). Loosely autobiographical, he based the film on his time as a struggling out-of-work actor. For instance, the character 'Withnail' is reportedly based on his friend, Vivian MacKerrell
Vivian MacKerrell
Vivian Alan James MacKerrell was a British actor of the 1960s, who shared a house in Camden, London with film director Bruce Robinson, director of Withnail & I. He was the major basis for Withnail, a memorable character of British cinema...
, whilst the character 'I' (Marwood), on himself. Though unsuccessful at the box office, due to its success on video it has since been described as "one of Britain's biggest cult films". The film also launched the acting career of Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. His most notable role came in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.-Early life:...
.
Robinson's next two outings as a director (How to Get Ahead in Advertising
How to Get Ahead in Advertising
How to Get Ahead in Advertising is a 1989 British film written and directed by Bruce Robinson and starring Richard E. Grant and Rachel Ward. The title is a pun and can be literally taken as "How to Get a Head in Advertising".-Plot:...
, teaming him again with Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. His most notable role came in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.-Early life:...
and Jennifer 8, a Hollywood thriller) were not as well received. Robinson become disillusioned with the restrictive film-making practises of Hollywood and turned his back on directing to concentrate solely on writing. However, projects such as Return to Paradise (1998) and In Dreams
In Dreams (film)
In Dreams is a 1999 psychological thriller film directed by Neil Jordan. It stars Annette Bening as a New England illustrator who begins experiencing visions of a missing child who turns out to be her own daughter; through her dreams, she begins having psychic connections to a serial killer ...
(1999) were both altered drastically by their producers, leaving Robinson once again disappointed.
Robinson eventually returned to directing with an adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
's novel The Rum Diary
The Rum Diary (film)
The Rum Diary is a 2011 film based on the novel of the same name by Hunter S. Thompson. The film is directed by Bruce Robinson and stars Johnny Depp. Filming began in Puerto Rico in March 2009...
, with the main role performed by Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
. With Aaron Eckhart
Aaron Eckhart
Aaron Edward Eckhart is an American film and stage actor. Born in California, he moved to England at the age of 13, when his father relocated the family. Several years later, he began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Sydney, Australia, for his high school senior year...
and Richard Jenkins
Richard Jenkins
Richard Dale Jenkins is an American stage, film, and television actor. After beginning his career in theatre, Jenkins made his film debut in 1974, and appeared in supporting roles in numerous film productions in the 1980s and the 1990s. His breakthrough came in the 2000s for playing the deceased...
also on board, filming started on 25 March 2009 in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. It was released in 2011.
Recently, Robinson has completed a screenplay for his novel The Peculiar Memories of Thomas Penman and a book on Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
which has yet to be published.
Directing credits
- Withnail and IWithnail and IWithnail and I is a British black comedy made in 1986 by HandMade Films. It was written and directed by Bruce Robinson and is based on his life in London in the late 1960s. The main plot follows two unemployed young actors, Withnail and “I” who live in a squalid flat in Camden in 1969 while...
(1987) - How to Get Ahead in AdvertisingHow to Get Ahead in AdvertisingHow to Get Ahead in Advertising is a 1989 British film written and directed by Bruce Robinson and starring Richard E. Grant and Rachel Ward. The title is a pun and can be literally taken as "How to Get a Head in Advertising".-Plot:...
(1989) - Jennifer 8 (1992)
- The Rum DiaryThe Rum Diary (film)The Rum Diary is a 2011 film based on the novel of the same name by Hunter S. Thompson. The film is directed by Bruce Robinson and stars Johnny Depp. Filming began in Puerto Rico in March 2009...
(2011)
Screenwriting credits
- The Killing FieldsThe Killing Fields (film)The Killing Fields is a 1984 British drama film about the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, which is based on the experiences of two journalists: Cambodian Dith Pran and American Sydney Schanberg. The film, which won three Academy Awards, was directed by Roland Joffé and stars Sam Waterston as...
(1984) - Withnail and IWithnail and IWithnail and I is a British black comedy made in 1986 by HandMade Films. It was written and directed by Bruce Robinson and is based on his life in London in the late 1960s. The main plot follows two unemployed young actors, Withnail and “I” who live in a squalid flat in Camden in 1969 while...
(1987) - How to Get Ahead in AdvertisingHow to Get Ahead in AdvertisingHow to Get Ahead in Advertising is a 1989 British film written and directed by Bruce Robinson and starring Richard E. Grant and Rachel Ward. The title is a pun and can be literally taken as "How to Get a Head in Advertising".-Plot:...
(1989) - Fat Man and Little BoyFat Man and Little BoyFat Man and Little Boy is a 1989 film that reenacts the Manhattan Project, the secret Allied endeavor to develop the first nuclear weapons during World War II. The film is named after the nuclear weapons known by the code names "Fat Man" and "Little Boy". The code names can be taken for joking...
(1989) - Jennifer 8 (1992)
- Return to Paradise (1998)
- In DreamsIn Dreams (film)In Dreams is a 1999 psychological thriller film directed by Neil Jordan. It stars Annette Bening as a New England illustrator who begins experiencing visions of a missing child who turns out to be her own daughter; through her dreams, she begins having psychic connections to a serial killer ...
(1999) - The Rum DiaryThe Rum Diary (film)The Rum Diary is a 2011 film based on the novel of the same name by Hunter S. Thompson. The film is directed by Bruce Robinson and stars Johnny Depp. Filming began in Puerto Rico in March 2009...
(2011)
External links
- http://www.channel4.com/4car/ft/feature/feature/7434/1