Laurence Fox
Encyclopedia
Laurence Fox is an English actor best known for his leading role as Detective Sergeant James Hathaway
in the British TV drama series Lewis (2006–). He is the scion of a show business family: his father is the actor James Fox
, and Edward Fox
and Robert Fox
are both uncles.
Fox's rebellious nature led to difficult times at Harrow School
and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
(RADA). His first break into film was in the horror-thriller The Hole
(2001), which he followed up with a part in Gosford Park
(2001). After playing a number of German and British soldiers, his performance in Colditz (2005) was noticed. This led to his being offered the role in Lewis, five series of which have been produced and aired between 2006 and 2011.
Fox has portrayed Prince Charles
, in Whatever Love Means (2005); Wisley, one of Jane Austen
's suitors, in Becoming Jane
(2007); and Sir Christopher Hatton
, the Lord Chancellor
of England in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, also released in 2007. In addition, that year Fox was seen on ITV
as Cecil Vyse in Andrew Davies
' adaptation of A Room with a View
based on E.M. Forster
's 1908 novel
.
On stage, Fox has appeared in Shaw
's Mrs Warren's Profession (2002), John Ford
's 'Tis Pity She's a Whore
(2005), and Christopher Hampton
's Treats
(2006–2007). He married his Treats co-star Billie Piper
on 31 December 2007. On 21 October 2008 Piper gave birth to a son, Winston James Fox.
The third of five children of actor James Fox
and his wife Mary Elizabeth Piper, and a great-grandson of dramatist Frederick Lonsdale
, Laurence Fox was born in 1978 in Yorkshire
, England. At the age of 13 he entered Harrow School
where, according to him, he was "shy around women, sensitive and a bit naive". Although he made friends and liked the drama teacher, he hated the school's strict regime and felt despised and out of place among pupils with titles and wealth. Constantly in trouble for smoking, fighting, going into town and seeing girls, he was eventually expelled a few weeks before his A-levels. According to him, "It was something to do with a girl at a dance. I went back to take the exams, but I wasn't allowed to speak to anyone." In hindsight, Fox has said that his experience at Harrow enabled him to portray "toffs" – the upper-class boys looking down on him whom he disliked – with much insight and cynicism.
Despite doing well in his A-level examinations, because of the report that Harrow had written on him, he was unable to obtain a place at any university. After working as a gardener for two years, and a stint as an office worker which he loathed, he discovered that he enjoyed acting and enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
(RADA). During his time there he appeared in numerous theatre productions, including the lead roles of Gregers Werle in Ibsen
's The Wild Duck
, Marcus Andronicus in Titus Andronicus
(possibly Shakespeare
's earliest tragedy
), and Stephen Daedalus in an adaptation of James Joyce
's novel Ulysses
. However, he was disappointed to find that he was treated "like a nonce" for being an Old Harrovian. He also made himself more unpopular by being outspoken and taking on roles in his second and third years despite the practice being forbidden by school policy. One of these was his first break into film – the 2001 horror-thriller The Hole
. Fox feels that in landing the role his name "probably helped – it's a combination of timing, luck and contacts". Nonetheless, "[t]he name opens some doors, but then you have to show you can do the job".
's 2001 Academy award-winning film Gosford Park
. He then donned uniforms in a slew of film and television features, including roles as a German airman in Island at War
(2004), an SS
officer in The Last Drop
(2005), and as British soldiers in the 2002 films Deathwatch and Ultimate Force
, and in Colditz (2005). In the latter made-for-television movie, Fox played Capt. Tom Willis who, after an unsuccessful attempt to break out of a prisoner-of-war camp
, is brought to Oflag IV-C
in Colditz Castle
, one of the most infamous German Army
POW camps for officers in World War II. Actor Kevin Whately
caught Fox's performance in the last ten minutes of the film, which he characterised as "this young English boy going bonkers and wandering out to be shot", and thought "He's interesting." The next day, at a lunch meeting with "all the powers that be" regarding a new project, Whately mentioned that Fox "would be worth taking a look at".
As a result, Fox was cast in the ITV
detective drama Lewis as Detective Sergeant James Hathaway
, a Cambridge-educated former trainee priest who becomes the partner of Detective Inspector
Robert Lewis
, played by Whately. The pilot of this spin-off from Inspector Morse
(1987–2000), was ITV's highest rated drama of 2006. Five series have been broadcast between 2006 and 2011.
Real persons that Fox has portrayed include Charles, Prince of Wales
, in Whatever Love Means (2005); Wisley, one of Jane Austen
's suitors, in Becoming Jane
(2007); and Sir Christopher Hatton
, the Lord Chancellor
of England in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, also released in 2007. In addition, in that year Fox was seen on ITV as Cecil Vyse in Andrew Davies
' adaptation of A Room with a View
based on E.M. Forster
's 1908 novel
. He has expressed a desire to appear in a western, and to star as James Bond
– the closest he got to the latter was losing the role of villain Gustav Graves
in Die Another Day
(2002) to Toby Stephens
.
On stage, Fox appeared in Mrs Warren's Profession by George Bernard Shaw
at the Strand Theatre (now the Novello Theatre
) in London in 2002, and John Ford
's 17th-century play 'Tis Pity She's a Whore
in 2005. Between 2006 and 2007 he starred in Treats
by Christopher Hampton
with his future wife, Billie Piper
. In April 2007, Fox lost his temper with a paparazzi
photographer outside the Garrick Theatre
in London where he was performing in Treats and was arrested for assault. He was later released after receiving a police caution
. Newspaper reports stated that the caution would remain on his record
for three years and might prevent him obtaining a visa
to perform in the US.
When filming, Fox often plays the jester to amuse the cast and crew. He has said, "I'd just rather have a good time than I would be Daniel Day-Lewis
. There ain't no method to my acting
."
Fox dated British actress Billie Piper
in 2006 while they performed together in the stage play Treats. On 31 December 2007 Fox married Piper in the 12th-century parish church
of St. Mary's in Easebourne
, West Sussex. During a 21 February 2008 interview on ITV breakfast show
GMTV
, Fox revealed that after a "drunken lunch" during their honeymoon in Mexico he and Piper got matching tattoo
s to celebrate their marriage. His tattoo, on his forearm, reads "Mrs Fox 31 December 2007", while hers states "Mr Fox". Fox and Piper live in a country cottage in the market town
of Midhurst
in West Sussex. In March 2008 it was reported that Piper had expressed to family and friends a desire to adopt children as well as to have children of her own with Fox. On 27 April 2008 The Sun
, quoting an unnamed source, announced that Piper was three months' pregnant and that she and Fox were "absolutely over the moon". On 21 October 2008, Piper gave birth to a son, Winston James Fox (6 pounds (2.72155422 kg)), by emergency Caesarean section
.
Fox's siblings are Tom (born 1975), Robin (1976), Lydia (1979) and Jack (1985); Lydia Fox is herself an actress. His uncles are the actor Edward Fox
and the theatrical and film producer Robert Fox
. The actress Emilia Fox
is his first cousin, being the daughter of Edward Fox.
Some information in this table was obtained from .
Some information in this table was obtained from .
Some information in this table was obtained from the following websites: ; .
Detective Sergeant James Hathaway
James Hathaway is the Detective Sergeant working under Inspector Lewis in the ITV detective series Lewis . He is played by Laurence Fox.-Biography:...
in the British TV drama series Lewis (2006–). He is the scion of a show business family: his father is the actor James Fox
James Fox
James Fox, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:James Fox was born in London, England to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. The actress Emilia Fox is his niece and the actor Laurence Fox is his son. His...
, and Edward Fox
Edward Fox (actor)
Edward Charles Morice Fox, OBE is an English stage, film and television actor.He is generally associated with portraying the role of the upper-class Englishman, such as the title character in the film The Day of the Jackal and King Edward VIII in the serial Edward & Mrs...
and Robert Fox
Robert Fox (producer)
Robert Michael John Fox is an English theatre and film producer, whose work includes the 2002 film, The Hours.-Life and career:...
are both uncles.
Fox's rebellious nature led to difficult times at Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
(RADA). His first break into film was in the horror-thriller 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...
(2001), which he followed up with a part in Gosford Park
Gosford Park
Gosford Park is a 2001 British-American mystery comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Alan Bates, and Michael Gambon...
(2001). After playing a number of German and British soldiers, his performance in Colditz (2005) was noticed. This led to his being offered the role in Lewis, five series of which have been produced and aired between 2006 and 2011.
Fox has portrayed Prince Charles
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
, in Whatever Love Means (2005); Wisley, one of Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's suitors, in Becoming Jane
Becoming Jane
Becoming Jane is a 2007 historical film directed by Julian Jarrold. It is inspired by the early life of author Jane Austen , and her posited relationship with Thomas Langlois Lefroy . Also appearing are Julie Walters, James Cromwell and Maggie Smith...
(2007); and Sir Christopher Hatton
Christopher Hatton
Sir Christopher Hatton was an English politician, Lord Chancellor of England and a favourite of Elizabeth I of England.-Early days:...
, the Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
of England in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, also released in 2007. In addition, that year Fox was seen on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
as Cecil Vyse in Andrew Davies
Andrew Davies (writer)
Andrew Wynford Davies is a British author and screenwriter. He was made a Fellow of BAFTA in 2002.-Education and early career:...
' adaptation of A Room with a View
A Room with a View (2007 TV drama)
A Room with a View is televised adaptation of E. M. Forster's novel, A Room with a View, written by Andrew Davies. It was announced in 2006 and filmed in the summer of 2007...
based on E.M. Forster
E. M. Forster
Edward Morgan Forster OM, CH was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society...
's 1908 novel
A Room with a View
A Room with a View is a 1908 novel by English writer E. M. Forster, about a young woman in the repressed culture of Edwardian England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a romance and a critique of English society at the beginning of the 20th century...
.
On stage, Fox has appeared in Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's Mrs Warren's Profession (2002), John Ford
John Ford (dramatist)
John Ford was an English Jacobean and Caroline playwright and poet born in Ilsington in Devon in 1586.-Life and work:...
's 'Tis Pity She's a Whore
'Tis Pity She's a Whore
'Tis Pity She's a Whore is a tragedy written by John Ford. It was likely first performed between 1629 and 1633, by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre. The play was first published in 1633, in a quarto printed by Nicholas Okes for the bookseller Richard Collins...
(2005), and Christopher Hampton
Christopher Hampton
Christopher James Hampton CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, screen writer and film director. He is best known for his play based on the novel Les Liaisons dangereuses and the film version Dangerous Liaisons and also more recently for writing the nominated screenplay for the film adaptation of...
's Treats
Treats
Treats is a 1975 play by Christopher Hampton about a love triangle.-Plot summary:The play is set in 1974, London, in a single room in Ann's flat. There are three characters: Ann, her former boyfriend Dave, and her lover Patrick....
(2006–2007). He married his Treats co-star Billie Piper
Billie Piper
Billie Paul Piper is an English singer and actress.She began her career in the late 1990s as a pop singer and then switched to acting. She started in acting and dancing and was talent spotted at the Sylvia Young stage school by Smash Hits magazine who wanted a "face" for their magazine...
on 31 December 2007. On 21 October 2008 Piper gave birth to a son, Winston James Fox.
Early years and education
James Fox
James Fox, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:James Fox was born in London, England to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. The actress Emilia Fox is his niece and the actor Laurence Fox is his son. His...
and his wife Mary Elizabeth Piper, and a great-grandson of dramatist Frederick Lonsdale
Frederick Lonsdale
Frederick Lonsdale was an English dramatist.-Personal life:Lonsdale was born Lionel Frederick Leonard in St Helier, Jersey, the son of Susan and John Henry Leonard, a tobacconist. He began as a private soldier and worked for the London and South Western Railway...
, Laurence Fox was born in 1978 in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, England. At the age of 13 he entered Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
where, according to him, he was "shy around women, sensitive and a bit naive". Although he made friends and liked the drama teacher, he hated the school's strict regime and felt despised and out of place among pupils with titles and wealth. Constantly in trouble for smoking, fighting, going into town and seeing girls, he was eventually expelled a few weeks before his A-levels. According to him, "It was something to do with a girl at a dance. I went back to take the exams, but I wasn't allowed to speak to anyone." In hindsight, Fox has said that his experience at Harrow enabled him to portray "toffs" – the upper-class boys looking down on him whom he disliked – with much insight and cynicism.
Despite doing well in his A-level examinations, because of the report that Harrow had written on him, he was unable to obtain a place at any university. After working as a gardener for two years, and a stint as an office worker which he loathed, he discovered that he enjoyed acting and enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
(RADA). During his time there he appeared in numerous theatre productions, including the lead roles of Gregers Werle in Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
's The Wild Duck
The Wild Duck
The Wild Duck is an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.-Plot:The first act opens with a dinner party hosted by Håkon Werle, a wealthy merchant and industrialist. The gathering is attended by his son, Gregers Werle, who has just returned to his father's home following a self-imposed...
, Marcus Andronicus in Titus 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...
(possibly Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's earliest tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
), and Stephen Daedalus in an adaptation of James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
's novel Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
. However, he was disappointed to find that he was treated "like a nonce" for being an Old Harrovian. He also made himself more unpopular by being outspoken and taking on roles in his second and third years despite the practice being forbidden by school policy. One of these was his first break into film – the 2001 horror-thriller 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...
. Fox feels that in landing the role his name "probably helped – it's a combination of timing, luck and contacts". Nonetheless, "[t]he name opens some doors, but then you have to show you can do the job".
Career
Fox, who graduated from RADA on 1 July 2001, followed up The Hole by appearing in Robert AltmanRobert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
's 2001 Academy award-winning film Gosford Park
Gosford Park
Gosford Park is a 2001 British-American mystery comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Alan Bates, and Michael Gambon...
. He then donned uniforms in a slew of film and television features, including roles as a German airman in Island at War
Island at War
Island at War is a British television series that tells the story of the German Occupation of the Channel Islands. It primarily focuses on three local families: the upper class Dorrs, the middle class Mahys and the working class Jonases, and four German officers. The fictional island of St...
(2004), an SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
officer in The Last Drop
The Last Drop
The Last Drop is a 2005 war adventure film from writer/director Colin Teague. Teague teamed up with screenwriter Gary Young, with whom he had previously collaborated on the British crime drama films Shooters and Spivs...
(2005), and as British soldiers in the 2002 films Deathwatch and Ultimate Force
Ultimate Force
Ultimate Force is a British television drama series that was shown on ITV, which deals with the activities of the fictional Red Troop of the SAS...
, and in Colditz (2005). In the latter made-for-television movie, Fox played Capt. Tom Willis who, after an unsuccessful attempt to break out of a prisoner-of-war camp
Prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...
, is brought to Oflag IV-C
Oflag IV-C
Oflag IV-C, often referred to as Colditz Castle because of its location, was one of the most famous German Army prisoner-of-war camps for officers in World War II; Oflag is a shortening of Offizierslager, meaning "officers camp"...
in Colditz Castle
Colditz Castle
Colditz Castle is a Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden, and Chemnitz in the state of Saxony in Germany. Used as a workhouse for the indigent and a mental institution for over 100 years, it gained international fame as a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II for...
, one of the most infamous German Army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
POW camps for officers in World War II. Actor Kevin Whately
Kevin Whately
Kevin Whately is an English actor.Whately is known for his starring role as Neville Hope in the British television comedy Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, his role as Dr Jack Kerruish in the drama series Peak Practice, and as Robert "Robbie" Lewis in the crime dramas Inspector Morse and...
caught Fox's performance in the last ten minutes of the film, which he characterised as "this young English boy going bonkers and wandering out to be shot", and thought "He's interesting." The next day, at a lunch meeting with "all the powers that be" regarding a new project, Whately mentioned that Fox "would be worth taking a look at".
As a result, Fox was cast in the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
detective drama Lewis as Detective Sergeant James Hathaway
Detective Sergeant James Hathaway
James Hathaway is the Detective Sergeant working under Inspector Lewis in the ITV detective series Lewis . He is played by Laurence Fox.-Biography:...
, a Cambridge-educated former trainee priest who becomes the partner of Detective Inspector
Inspector
Inspector is both a police rank and an administrative position, both used in a number of contexts. However, it is not an equivalent rank in each police force.- Australia :...
Robert Lewis
Inspector Lewis
Robert "Robbie" Lewis is a fictional character in the Inspector Morse crime novels by Colin Dexter. The "sidekick" to Morse, Lewis is a Detective Sergeant in the Thames Valley Police, and appears in all 13 Morse novels. In the television adaptation, Inspector Morse, he is played by Kevin Whately...
, played by Whately. The pilot of this spin-off from Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse (TV series)
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
(1987–2000), was ITV's highest rated drama of 2006. Five series have been broadcast between 2006 and 2011.
Real persons that Fox has portrayed include Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
, in Whatever Love Means (2005); Wisley, one of Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's suitors, in Becoming Jane
Becoming Jane
Becoming Jane is a 2007 historical film directed by Julian Jarrold. It is inspired by the early life of author Jane Austen , and her posited relationship with Thomas Langlois Lefroy . Also appearing are Julie Walters, James Cromwell and Maggie Smith...
(2007); and Sir Christopher Hatton
Christopher Hatton
Sir Christopher Hatton was an English politician, Lord Chancellor of England and a favourite of Elizabeth I of England.-Early days:...
, the Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
of England in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, also released in 2007. In addition, in that year Fox was seen on ITV as Cecil Vyse in Andrew Davies
Andrew Davies (writer)
Andrew Wynford Davies is a British author and screenwriter. He was made a Fellow of BAFTA in 2002.-Education and early career:...
' adaptation of A Room with a View
A Room with a View (2007 TV drama)
A Room with a View is televised adaptation of E. M. Forster's novel, A Room with a View, written by Andrew Davies. It was announced in 2006 and filmed in the summer of 2007...
based on E.M. Forster
E. M. Forster
Edward Morgan Forster OM, CH was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society...
's 1908 novel
A Room with a View
A Room with a View is a 1908 novel by English writer E. M. Forster, about a young woman in the repressed culture of Edwardian England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a romance and a critique of English society at the beginning of the 20th century...
. He has expressed a desire to appear in a western, and to star as James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
– the closest he got to the latter was losing the role of villain Gustav Graves
Gustav Graves
Sir Gustav Graves is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film Die Another Day, played by Toby Stephens...
in Die Another Day
Die Another Day
Die Another Day is the 20th spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth and last film to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond; it is also the last Bond film of the original timeline with the series being rebooted with Casino Royale...
(2002) to Toby Stephens
Toby Stephens
Toby Stephens is an English stage, television and film actor who has appeared in films in both Hollywood and Bollywood. He is best known for playing megavillain Gustav Graves in the James Bond film Die Another Day , Edward Fairfax Rochester in the BBC television adaptation of Jane Eyre and Philip...
.
On stage, Fox appeared in Mrs Warren's Profession by George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
at the Strand Theatre (now the Novello Theatre
Novello Theatre
The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster.-History:The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of the Waldorf Hotel, both being designed by W. G. R. Sprague. The theatre opened as the Waldorf Theatre on 22 May 1905, and was...
) in London in 2002, and John Ford
John Ford (dramatist)
John Ford was an English Jacobean and Caroline playwright and poet born in Ilsington in Devon in 1586.-Life and work:...
's 17th-century play 'Tis Pity She's a Whore
'Tis Pity She's a Whore
'Tis Pity She's a Whore is a tragedy written by John Ford. It was likely first performed between 1629 and 1633, by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre. The play was first published in 1633, in a quarto printed by Nicholas Okes for the bookseller Richard Collins...
in 2005. Between 2006 and 2007 he starred in Treats
Treats
Treats is a 1975 play by Christopher Hampton about a love triangle.-Plot summary:The play is set in 1974, London, in a single room in Ann's flat. There are three characters: Ann, her former boyfriend Dave, and her lover Patrick....
by Christopher Hampton
Christopher Hampton
Christopher James Hampton CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, screen writer and film director. He is best known for his play based on the novel Les Liaisons dangereuses and the film version Dangerous Liaisons and also more recently for writing the nominated screenplay for the film adaptation of...
with his future wife, Billie Piper
Billie Piper
Billie Paul Piper is an English singer and actress.She began her career in the late 1990s as a pop singer and then switched to acting. She started in acting and dancing and was talent spotted at the Sylvia Young stage school by Smash Hits magazine who wanted a "face" for their magazine...
. In April 2007, Fox lost his temper with a paparazzi
Paparazzi
Paparazzi is an Italian term used to refer to photojournalists who specialize in candid photography of celebrities, politicians, and other prominent people...
photographer outside the Garrick Theatre
Garrick Theatre
The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster. It opened on 24 April 1889 with The Profligate, a play by Arthur Wing Pinero. In its early years, it appears to have specialised in the performance of melodrama, and today the theatre is a...
in London where he was performing in Treats and was arrested for assault. He was later released after receiving a police caution
Police caution
A police caution is a formal alternative to prosecution in minor cases, administered by the police and other law enforcement agencies in England and Wales, and in Hong Kong...
. Newspaper reports stated that the caution would remain on his record
Criminal record
A criminal record is a record of a person's criminal history, generally used by potential employers, lenders etc. to assess his or her trustworthiness. The information included in a criminal record varies between countries and even between jurisdictions within a country...
for three years and might prevent him obtaining a visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
to perform in the US.
When filming, Fox often plays the jester to amuse the cast and crew. He has said, "I'd just rather have a good time than I would be Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for the latter...
. There ain't no method to my acting
Method acting
Method acting is a phrase that loosely refers to a family of techniques used by actors to create in themselves the thoughts and emotions of their characters, so as to develop lifelike performances...
."
Personal life
Billie Piper
Billie Paul Piper is an English singer and actress.She began her career in the late 1990s as a pop singer and then switched to acting. She started in acting and dancing and was talent spotted at the Sylvia Young stage school by Smash Hits magazine who wanted a "face" for their magazine...
in 2006 while they performed together in the stage play Treats. On 31 December 2007 Fox married Piper in the 12th-century parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of St. Mary's in Easebourne
Easebourne
Easebourne is a village and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located half a mile north of Midhurst, across the River Rother on the A272 and A286 roads. The parish also includes the hamlet of Henley to the north...
, West Sussex. During a 21 February 2008 interview on ITV breakfast show
Breakfast television
Breakfast television or morning show , is a type of infotainment television program, broadcast live in the morning...
GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
, Fox revealed that after a "drunken lunch" during their honeymoon in Mexico he and Piper got matching tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
s to celebrate their marriage. His tattoo, on his forearm, reads "Mrs Fox 31 December 2007", while hers states "Mr Fox". Fox and Piper live in a country cottage in the market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
of Midhurst
Midhurst
Midhurst is a market town and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England, with a population of 4,889 in 2001. The town is situated on the River Rother and is home to the ruin of the Tudor Cowdray House and the stately Victorian Cowdray Park...
in West Sussex. In March 2008 it was reported that Piper had expressed to family and friends a desire to adopt children as well as to have children of her own with Fox. On 27 April 2008 The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
, quoting an unnamed source, announced that Piper was three months' pregnant and that she and Fox were "absolutely over the moon". On 21 October 2008, Piper gave birth to a son, Winston James Fox (6 pounds (2.72155422 kg)), by emergency Caesarean section
Caesarean section
A Caesarean section, is a surgical procedure in which one or more incisions are made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies, or, rarely, to remove a dead fetus...
.
Fox's siblings are Tom (born 1975), Robin (1976), Lydia (1979) and Jack (1985); Lydia Fox is herself an actress. His uncles are the actor Edward Fox
Edward Fox (actor)
Edward Charles Morice Fox, OBE is an English stage, film and television actor.He is generally associated with portraying the role of the upper-class Englishman, such as the title character in the film The Day of the Jackal and King Edward VIII in the serial Edward & Mrs...
and the theatrical and film producer Robert Fox
Robert Fox (producer)
Robert Michael John Fox is an English theatre and film producer, whose work includes the 2002 film, The Hours.-Life and career:...
. The actress Emilia Fox
Emilia Fox
Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox is an award-winning English actress, known for her role as Dr. Nikki Alexander on BBC crime drama Silent Witness, having joined the cast in 2004 following the departure of Amanda Burton. She also appears as Morgause in the BBC's Merlin beginning in the programme's second...
is his first cousin, being the daughter of Edward Fox.
Film
| Year(s) of appearance |
Film | Role | Awards and nominations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 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... |
Geoff Bingham | |
| 2001 | Gosford Park Gosford Park Gosford Park is a 2001 British-American mystery comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Alan Bates, and Michael Gambon... |
Lord Rupert Standish | |
| 2002 | Deathwatch | Capt. Bramwell Jennings | |
| 2003 | Al Sur de Granada Al sur de Granada Al sur de Granada is a 2003 film written and directed by Fernando Colomo, based on the book by Gerald Brenan... (South from Granada) |
Ralph Partridge | |
| 2007 | Becoming Jane Becoming Jane Becoming Jane is a 2007 historical film directed by Julian Jarrold. It is inspired by the early life of author Jane Austen , and her posited relationship with Thomas Langlois Lefroy . Also appearing are Julie Walters, James Cromwell and Maggie Smith... |
Mr. Wisley | |
| 2007 | Elizabeth: The Golden Age | Sir Christopher Hatton Christopher Hatton Sir Christopher Hatton was an English politician, Lord Chancellor of England and a favourite of Elizabeth I of England.-Early days:... |
Some information in this table was obtained from .
Television
| Year(s) of appearance |
Film or series | Role | Awards and nominations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 (2 episodes) |
Ultimate Force Ultimate Force Ultimate Force is a British television drama series that was shown on ITV, which deals with the activities of the fictional Red Troop of the SAS... (2002–2006)
|
Cpl. Mick Sharp | |
| 2003 (1 episode) |
Foyle's War Foyle's War Foyle's War is a British detective drama television series set during World War II, created by screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz, and was commissioned by ITV after the long-running series Inspector Morse came to an end in 2000. It has aired on ITV since 2002... (2002–present) "War Games" |
Simon Walker | |
| 2004 | Island at War Island at War Island at War is a British television series that tells the story of the German Occupation of the Channel Islands. It primarily focuses on three local families: the upper class Dorrs, the middle class Mahys and the working class Jonases, and four German officers. The fictional island of St... |
Airman Bernhardt Tellemann | |
| 2004 | AD/BC: A Rock Opera AD/BC: A Rock Opera AD/BC is a parody rock opera with music by Matt Berry and lyrics by Matt Berry and Richard Ayoade. It aired on BBC Three in 2004.-Summary:... |
Townsfolk | |
| 2005 | Colditz | Capt. Tom Willis | |
| 2005 | The Last Drop The Last Drop The Last Drop is a 2005 war adventure film from writer/director Colin Teague. Teague teamed up with screenwriter Gary Young, with whom he had previously collaborated on the British crime drama films Shooters and Spivs... |
SS Schutzstaffel The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II... Maj. Kessler |
|
| 2005 (1 episode) |
Jericho
|
Peter Bridgewater | |
| 2005 (2 episodes) |
Egypt
|
Leonard | |
| 2005 | Whatever Love Means | Charles, Prince of Wales Charles, Prince of Wales Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay... |
|
| 2006–2011 | Lewis | D.S. James Hathaway Detective Sergeant James Hathaway James Hathaway is the Detective Sergeant working under Inspector Lewis in the ITV detective series Lewis . He is played by Laurence Fox.-Biography:... |
|
| 2006 | Agatha Christie's Marple: The Sittaford Mystery | Jim Pearson | |
| 2007 | A Room with a View A Room with a View (2007 TV drama) A Room with a View is televised adaptation of E. M. Forster's novel, A Room with a View, written by Andrew Davies. It was announced in 2006 and filmed in the summer of 2007... |
Cecil Vyse | |
| 2008 | Wired Wired (UK TV series) Wired is a 2008 three-part television miniseries starring Jodie Whittaker, Laurence Fox and Toby Stephens. It debuted on ITV at 9:00pm on Monday 13 October, 2008 and was shown over three consecutive Mondays.- Plot summary :... |
Philip Manningham |
Some information in this table was obtained from .
Theatre
| Year(s) of appearance |
Production | Role | Awards and nominations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19–28 October 2000 | Kit's Play by Howard Brenton Howard Brenton -Early years:Brenton was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, son of Methodist minister Donald Henry Brenton and his wife Rose Lilian . He was educated at Chichester High School For Boys and read English Literature at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. In 1964 he was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal...
|
The DG/Earl of Northumberland Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland KG was an English aristocrat. He was a grandee and one of the wealthiest peers of the court of Elizabeth I. Under James I, Henry was a long-term prisoner in the Tower of London. He is known for the circles he moved in as well as for his own achievements... |
|
| [While at RADA] | The Wild Duck The Wild Duck The Wild Duck is an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.-Plot:The first act opens with a dinner party hosted by Håkon Werle, a wealthy merchant and industrialist. The gathering is attended by his son, Gregers Werle, who has just returned to his father's home following a self-imposed... (1884) by Henrik Ibsen Henrik Ibsen Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre... |
Gregers Werle | |
| [While at RADA] | Titus 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... (1584 – early 1590s) by William Shakespeare William Shakespeare William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"... |
Marcus Andronicus | |
| [While at RADA] | Ulysses based on the James Joyce James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century... novel first published in its entirety in 1922 |
Stephen Daedalus | |
| [While at RADA] | The Wild Goose Chase The Wild Goose Chase The Wild Goose Chase is a late Jacobean stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher, first published in 1621. It is often classed among Fletcher's most effective and best-constructed plays; Edmund Gosse called it "one of the brightest and most coherent of Fletcher's comedies, a play which it is... (1652) by John Fletcher John Fletcher (playwright) John Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's... |
Belleur | |
| [While at RADA] | The Provoked Wife The Provoked Wife The Provoked Wife is the second original comedy written by John Vanbrugh. The often-repeated claim that Vanbrugh wrote part of his comedy The Provoked Wife in the Bastille is based on allusions in a couple of much later memoirs, but is regarded with some doubt by modern scholars... (17th century) by John Vanbrugh John Vanbrugh Sir John Vanbrugh – 26 March 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse and The Provoked Wife , which have become enduring stage favourites... |
Constant | |
| 8–17 February 2001 | Hobson's Choice (first performed 1916) by Harold Brighouse Harold Brighouse Harold Brighouse was an English playwright and author whose best known play is Hobson's Choice. He was a prominent member, together with Allan Monkhouse and Stanley Houghton, of a group known as the Manchester School of dramatists.-Early life:Harold Brighouse was born in Eccles, Salford, the...
|
Fred Beanstock | |
| 2002 | Mrs Warren's Profession (1893) by George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
|
Frank Gardner | |
| 2005 | 'Tis Pity She's a Whore 'Tis Pity She's a Whore 'Tis Pity She's a Whore is a tragedy written by John Ford. It was likely first performed between 1629 and 1633, by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre. The play was first published in 1633, in a quarto printed by Nicholas Okes for the bookseller Richard Collins... (first performed 1629–1633) by John Ford John Ford (dramatist) John Ford was an English Jacobean and Caroline playwright and poet born in Ilsington in Devon in 1586.-Life and work:...
|
Soranzo | |
| 2006–2007 | Treats Treats Treats is a 1975 play by Christopher Hampton about a love triangle.-Plot summary:The play is set in 1974, London, in a single room in Ann's flat. There are three characters: Ann, her former boyfriend Dave, and her lover Patrick.... (1975) by Christopher Hampton Christopher Hampton Christopher James Hampton CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, screen writer and film director. He is best known for his play based on the novel Les Liaisons dangereuses and the film version Dangerous Liaisons and also more recently for writing the nominated screenplay for the film adaptation of...
|
Patrick |
Some information in this table was obtained from the following websites: ; .