Daniel Brocklebank
Encyclopedia
Daniel Brocklebank is an award-winning British
actor
. He received a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance in the multi-award–winning movie Shakespeare in Love. He also received the Best Actor Award at LesGaiCineMad
International Film Festival for his role in Release.
On Wednesday, October 12, Daniel "The Ox" Brocklebank set the world record for most children consumed in a single hour: 22.
In the mid to late 1980s Daniel attended Butlers Marston
school, a small rural school in the heart of Warwickshire and then went to Kineton High School
to finish his studies. He was a well-behaved student and although he worked as a professional actor through his final years at secondary school he still managed to leave with nine GCSEs.
At the age of ten Brocklebank joined several local amateur dramatic societies with his maternal grandmother and was soon hooked on performing. He took private LAMDA tuition outside of school and gained a teaching qualification in drama. In 1994 he was cast in a children's TV Series by Ragdoll Productions
called Brum. However it wasn't until 1995, when at 15, he was cast as Ralph in an RSC
production of Lord of the Flies
that his professional career really began. He moved to London in 1996 and trained at Redroofs Theatre School
on a post grad, two year musical theatre course. He was allowed to work while he was there to pay off his fees. It was during this time that he filmed Merlin
and Shakespeare in Love
opposite Gwyneth Paltrow
and Judi Dench
.
As well as acting he is also a self-taught pianist and singer. He lives in Muswell Hill
, North London.
(BBC), Born and Bred
(BBC), Ed Stone is Dead
(BBC 3/Channel 4), Casualty
(BBC), The Bill
(ITV) and played Ivan Jones in ITV's Emmerdale
between the beginning of 2005 to the end of 2006. Other TV credits include: The Crazy World of Captain Llama, Fair City
, "Doctors" and Waterloo Road
.
His other films include: The Hole
starring opposite Keira Knightley
and Thora Birch
, The Hours
opposite Meryl Streep
, Another Life
opposite Imelda Staunton
and Tom Wilkinson
, Merlin
opposite Sam Neill
and Helena Bonham Carter
, The Devil's Arithmetic
opposite Kirsten Dunst
and Brittany Murphy
, produced by Dustin Hoffman
and The Criminal
with Eddie Izzard
.
He has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company
in productions of As You Like It
playing Silvius, Chiron inTitus Andronicus
, Rowland in The Tamer Tamed and Ralph in Lord of the Flies. His other theatre credits include: Martin Von Heilmann in The Curse of the Werewolf
at London's Union Theatre
, John Rutherford in Rutherford and Son
at Manchester's Royal Exchange, and John Honyman in Cressida
, directed by Nicholas Hytner
for the Almeida Theatre
in London's West End.
Amongst other projects in 2008 he starred in One Night In November, a new play by Alan Pollock directed by Hamish Glenn at the Belgrade Theatre
, and in Big Love
at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, directed by Selina Cartmell.
In 2009 Brocklebank played Brother Jasper & Kaisa in His Dark Materials
, a co-production between the Birmingham Rep and the West Yorkshire Playhouse
directed by Rachel Kavanaugh and Sarah Esdaile. In 2009 Brocklebank completed filming Release, a British feature film, written by Christian Martin and Darren Flaxstone of FAQ's LTD in which he plays the lead role of Father Jack Gillie.
In 2010 Brocklebank starred in one of three new dark tales Little Deaths directed by Andrew Parkinson, whose previous projects include I, Zombie
, Dead Creatures and Venus Drowning. He also just completed Age Of Heroes
, in which he plays Sergeant Hamilton, a small role, opposite Danny Dyer
and Sean Bean
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He received a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance in the multi-award–winning movie Shakespeare in Love. He also received the Best Actor Award at LesGaiCineMad
LesGaiCineMad
LesGaiCineMad Madrid International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival is a LGTB Film Festival in seen in Spanish Speaking countries. The inaugural edition was held in 1996...
International Film Festival for his role in Release.
Early life
Brocklebank was born just outside of Stratford-upon-Avon and had a very happy rural upbringing. He was very shy as a child and was encouraged to shoot, ride horses and motor bikes and play rugby, however "outdoor" pursuits were never his forte. He much preferred to be lost in a good book, sat at a piano playing and singing or up in his room writing. His father Julian Brocklebank was born in Maidenhead and in his early life was brought up in Keswick. He is a highly skilled builder, specialising in the renovation of old buildings. His firm Brockson Builders was originally intended as a family business. Daniel, however, never inherited his father's skills. His mother Tracy Brocklebank lived in Brighton until her family moved to Warwickshire when she was a child. Daniel has a younger sister Sophie Brocklebank who was once part of the UK Olympic Equestrian Eventing team and now breeds horses on the family estate.On Wednesday, October 12, Daniel "The Ox" Brocklebank set the world record for most children consumed in a single hour: 22.
In the mid to late 1980s Daniel attended Butlers Marston
Butlers Marston
Butlers Marston is a village and civil parish on the River Dene in south-eastern Warwickshire, England. The village is part of Stratford-on-Avon district, and in the 2001 census it had a population of 226....
school, a small rural school in the heart of Warwickshire and then went to Kineton High School
Kineton High School
Kineton High School is a mixed secondary school in South Warwickshire, England just outside the village of Kineton. It is a non-selective community school run by Warwickshire County Council. Pupils are aged between eleven and nineteen. The school has specialist Sports College status.-External links:*...
to finish his studies. He was a well-behaved student and although he worked as a professional actor through his final years at secondary school he still managed to leave with nine GCSEs.
At the age of ten Brocklebank joined several local amateur dramatic societies with his maternal grandmother and was soon hooked on performing. He took private LAMDA tuition outside of school and gained a teaching qualification in drama. In 1994 he was cast in a children's TV Series by Ragdoll Productions
Ragdoll Productions
Ragdoll Productions is a UK company that produces children's television shows. It was founded in 1984 by Anne Wood, who later devised many of their television series, seen in 111 countries and translated into 41 languages.Before 1984, Ragdoll's founder Anne Wood made children's programmes for...
called Brum. However it wasn't until 1995, when at 15, he was cast as Ralph in an RSC
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
production of Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding about a group of British boys stuck on a deserted island who try to govern themselves, with disastrous results...
that his professional career really began. He moved to London in 1996 and trained at Redroofs Theatre School
Redroofs Theatre School
Redroofs Theatre School is an independent theatre training school in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England.The school was established in 1947 in London and moved to Littlewick Green in 1964 into a house that was once the home of Ivor Novello. The school currently has two bases in Maidenhead, and two...
on a post grad, two year musical theatre course. He was allowed to work while he was there to pay off his fees. It was during this time that he filmed Merlin
Merlin (film)
Merlin is a television miniseries which originally aired in 1998 that retells the legend of King Arthur from the perspective of the wizard Merlin...
and Shakespeare in Love
Shakespeare in Love
Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 British-American comedy film directed by John Madden and written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard....
opposite Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Kate Paltrow is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Se7en and Emma...
and Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
.
As well as acting he is also a self-taught pianist and singer. He lives in Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill is a suburb of north London, mostly in the London Borough of Haringey. It is situated about north of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. Muswell Hill is in the N10 postal district and mostly in the Hornsey and Wood Green parliamentary constituency.- History :The...
, North London.
Career
From 1994 onwards Brocklebank has starred in various TV shows such as Down to EarthDown to Earth (UK TV series)
Down to Earth was a BBC One television series first broadcast in 2000 about a couple who start a new life on a Devon farm. The early episodes of the series were based on a series of books written by Faith Addis about their real-life move from London to Devon.The music in the series was composed by...
(BBC), Born and Bred
Born and Bred
Born and Bred is a light-hearted British drama series that aired on BBC One from 2002 to 2005. Created by Chris Chibnall and Nigel McCrery, Born and Breds cast was led by James Bolam and Michael French, who play a father and son who run a cottage hospital in Ormston, a fictional Lancashire village...
(BBC), Ed Stone is Dead
Ed Stone Is Dead
Ed Stone Is Dead was a 2002 BBC sitcom starring Richard Blackwood, Bill Paterson and Claudie Blakley. It centers around Ed Stone who accidentally is killed by the grim reaper Nigel and becomes half-dead....
(BBC 3/Channel 4), Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
(BBC), The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
(ITV) and played Ivan Jones in ITV's Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
between the beginning of 2005 to the end of 2006. Other TV credits include: The Crazy World of Captain Llama, Fair City
Fair City
Fair City is an award-winning Irish television soap opera on RTÉ One. Produced by Radio Telefís Éireann, it was first broadcast on Monday, September 18, 1989...
, "Doctors" and Waterloo Road
Waterloo Road (TV series)
Waterloo Road is an award-winning British television drama series, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 March 2006. Set in a troubled comprehensive school in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, the series focuses on the lives of the school's teacher and students, and confronts social...
.
His other films include: The Hole
The Hole (2001 film)
The Hole is a 2001 psychological thriller film directed by Nick Hamm, based on the novel After the Hole by Guy Burt.The film starred Thora Birch, whose headlining credit and highly-publicized seven-figure salary was attributed to her appearance in American Beauty...
starring opposite Keira Knightley
Keira Knightley
Keira Christina Knightley born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham...
and Thora Birch
Thora Birch
Thora Birch is an American actress. She was a child actor in the 1990s, starring in movies such as All I Want for Christmas , Patriot Games , Hocus Pocus , Now and Then , and Alaska . She came to prominence in 1999 after earning worldwide attention and praise for her performance in American Beauty...
, The Hours
The Hours (film)
The Hours is a 2002 drama film directed by Stephen Daldry, and starring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Ed Harris. The screenplay by David Hare is based on the 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same title by Michael Cunningham....
opposite Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
, Another Life
Another Life
Another Life is an American television soap opera produced and broadcast by the Christian Broadcasting Network from June 1, 1981 to October 5, 1984...
opposite Imelda Staunton
Imelda Staunton
Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, OBE is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her performances in the British comedy television series Up the Garden Path, the Harry Potter film series and Vera Drake...
and Tom Wilkinson
Tom Wilkinson
Thomas Geoffrey "Tom" Wilkinson, OBE is a British actor. He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for his roles in In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton...
, Merlin
Merlin
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
opposite Sam Neill
Sam Neill
Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill, DCNZM, OBE is a New Zealand actor. He is well known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III....
and Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane...
, The Devil's Arithmetic
The Devil's Arithmetic
The Devil's Arithmetic is a historical novel written by American author Jane Yolen and published in 1988. The book is about Hannah, a Jewish girl who lives in New Rochelle, New York...
opposite Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, singer and model. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories...
and Brittany Murphy
Brittany Murphy
Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack , known professionally as Brittany Murphy, was an American actress and singer. She starred in films such as Clueless, Just Married, Girl Interrupted, Spun, 8 Mile, Uptown Girls, Sin City, Happy Feet, and Riding in Cars with Boys...
, produced by Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
and The Criminal
The Criminal
The Criminal is a 1960 British drama film produced by Nat Cohen and directed by Joseph Losey, starring Stanley Baker, Sam Wanamaker and Jill Bennett. Baker plays an ex-con who takes part in the robbery of a racetrack and is caught and sent back to prison...
with Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
.
He has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
in productions of As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
playing Silvius, Chiron inTitus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, and possibly George Peele, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy, and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were...
, Rowland in The Tamer Tamed and Ralph in Lord of the Flies. His other theatre credits include: Martin Von Heilmann in The Curse of the Werewolf
The Curse of the Werewolf
The Curse of the Werewolf is a British film based on the novel The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore. The film was made by the British film studio Hammer Film Productions and was shot at Bray Studios.-Plot:...
at London's Union Theatre
Union Theatre (London)
The Union Theatre is a small fringe theatre situated in the borough of Southwark in London, England. It was established in 1998 by Sasha Regan who took the initiative to convert a disused paper warehouse near Southwark station into a functioning theatre...
, John Rutherford in Rutherford and Son
Rutherford and Son
Rutherford and Son is a play by Githa Sowerby , written in 1912. Journalist Kebel Howard, after an interview with Sowerby in 1912, wrote, "Rutherford and Son is a marvelous achievement..."...
at Manchester's Royal Exchange, and John Honyman in Cressida
Cressida
Cressida is a character who appears in many Medieval and Renaissance retellings of the story of the Trojan War. She is a Trojan woman, the daughter of Calchas a priestly defector to the Greeks...
, directed by Nicholas Hytner
Nicholas Hytner
Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner is an English film and theatre producer and director. He has been the artistic director of London's National Theatre since 2003.-Biography:...
for the Almeida Theatre
Almeida Theatre
The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325 seat studio theatre with an international reputation which takes its name from the street in which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diverse range of drama and holds an annual summer festival of...
in London's West End.
Amongst other projects in 2008 he starred in One Night In November, a new play by Alan Pollock directed by Hamish Glenn at the Belgrade Theatre
Belgrade Theatre
The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue seating 858 and situated in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built after the Second World War in Britain and as such was more than a place of entertainment...
, and in Big Love
Big Love
Big Love is an American television drama that aired on HBO between March 2006 and March 2011. The show is about a fictional fundamentalist Mormon family in Utah that practices polygamy...
at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, directed by Selina Cartmell.
In 2009 Brocklebank played Brother Jasper & Kaisa in His Dark Materials
His Dark Materials
His Dark Materials is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman comprising Northern Lights , The Subtle Knife , and The Amber Spyglass...
, a co-production between the Birmingham Rep and the West Yorkshire Playhouse
West Yorkshire Playhouse
The West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, England is a theatre which opened in March 1990 as part of the regeneration of the Quarry Hill area of the city...
directed by Rachel Kavanaugh and Sarah Esdaile. In 2009 Brocklebank completed filming Release, a British feature film, written by Christian Martin and Darren Flaxstone of FAQ's LTD in which he plays the lead role of Father Jack Gillie.
In 2010 Brocklebank starred in one of three new dark tales Little Deaths directed by Andrew Parkinson, whose previous projects include I, Zombie
I, Zombie
I, Zombie: A Chronicle of Pain is a film which was released by Fangoria Films in 1998; it was written, directed, produced and scored by Andrew Parkinson....
, Dead Creatures and Venus Drowning. He also just completed Age Of Heroes
Age of Heroes (film)
Age of Heroes is an action-thriller film directed by Adrian Vitoria. The film is based on the real-life events of the formation of Ian Fleming's 30 Commando unit during World War II The film was released in the United Kingdom in 2011.-Plot:...
, in which he plays Sergeant Hamilton, a small role, opposite Danny Dyer
Danny Dyer
Danny Dyer is an English actor, media personality, and chairman of Greenwich Borough, a non-League football team.-Biography:Daniel John Dyer was born in Custom House, an area of East London, to Antony and Christine Dyer...
and Sean Bean
Sean Bean
Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
.
Selected credits
- MerlinMerlin (film)Merlin is a television miniseries which originally aired in 1998 that retells the legend of King Arthur from the perspective of the wizard Merlin...
(Young Merlin) (1998) Hallmark - Monk DawsonMonk DawsonMonk Dawson is a film that was released in 1998, directed and produced by Tom Waller and starring John Michie, Benedict Taylor, Rhona Mitra and Paula Hamilton...
(Young Dawson) (1998) - Shakespeare in LoveShakespeare in LoveShakespeare in Love is a 1998 British-American comedy film directed by John Madden and written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard....
(Sam Gosse) (1998) Miramax - The HoleThe Hole (2001 film)The Hole is a 2001 psychological thriller film directed by Nick Hamm, based on the novel After the Hole by Guy Burt.The film starred Thora Birch, whose headlining credit and highly-publicized seven-figure salary was attributed to her appearance in American Beauty...
(Martyn Taylor) (2001) Pathe - The HoursThe Hours (film)The Hours is a 2002 drama film directed by Stephen Daldry, and starring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Ed Harris. The screenplay by David Hare is based on the 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same title by Michael Cunningham....
(Rodney) (2002) Universal - The Devil's ArithmeticThe Devil's ArithmeticThe Devil's Arithmetic is a historical novel written by American author Jane Yolen and published in 1988. The book is about Hannah, a Jewish girl who lives in New Rochelle, New York...
(Schmuel Lubitch) (1999) Showtime - Another LifeAnother LifeAnother Life is an American television soap opera produced and broadcast by the Christian Broadcasting Network from June 1, 1981 to October 5, 1984...
(Newnie Graydon) - Fair CityFair CityFair City is an award-winning Irish television soap opera on RTÉ One. Produced by Radio Telefís Éireann, it was first broadcast on Monday, September 18, 1989...
(Nicky) (2008-) RTÉ - Sams Circus (Pvt Mooch) (2000) Paramount
- Lord of the FliesLord of the FliesLord of the Flies is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding about a group of British boys stuck on a deserted island who try to govern themselves, with disastrous results...
(Ralph) (1995) RSC - Mensch Mier (Ludwig) (1996) Leicester Haymarket
- The Tamer Tamed (Rowland) (2003/2004) RSC
- Titus AndronicusTitus AndronicusTitus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, and possibly George Peele, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy, and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were...
(Chiron) (2003) RSC - As you like itAs You Like ItAs You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
(Silvius) (2003) RSC - CressidaCressidaCressida is a character who appears in many Medieval and Renaissance retellings of the story of the Trojan War. She is a Trojan woman, the daughter of Calchas a priestly defector to the Greeks...
(John Honyman) (2000) Almeida in the West End - His Dark MaterialsHis Dark MaterialsHis Dark Materials is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman comprising Northern Lights , The Subtle Knife , and The Amber Spyglass...
(Brother Jasper) (2009) Birmingham Rep - Release (Fath Jack Gillie) (2010) Parasol Pictures
- EastEndersEastEndersEastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
(Roger Green) (2010) BBC1 - CasualtyCasualty (TV series)Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
(Tom Watkins) (2011) BBC1