A tall, hearty British character player with extensive stage experience, an amiable and versatile talent and a sometimes flashy acting style that lends itself well to roistering types, Jim Broadbent began a stage career in the 1970s performing for directors including Lindsay Anderson, Max Stafford Clark, Richard Eyre and Trevor Nunn. His work with writer-director Mike Leigh also began with roles in the plays "Ecstasy" (1979) and "Goosepimples" (1981).

Broadbent began acting in films in the late 70s and for a number of years did his best by small roles; his two Terry Gilliam films, the imaginative "Time Bandits" (1981) and the haunting "Brazil" (1985), gave him some worthy off-beat credits. TV work also kept the actor busy (his credits on British TV over the years range from "Black Adder" to "Silas Marner") and he began an association with director Mike Newell on several BBC programs. It was Newell who gave him his largest role in features up to that time in "The Good Father" (1986), a powerful drama with Broadbent as a weak father who lost his son to a broken marriage, and is egged on to a custody battle by another divorced parent (Anthony Hopkins).

Broadbent continued to play both large and smaller supporting roles, and his profile kept rising, as did that of the features he made. "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" (1987) was an unworthy first US film, but he shone as an estranged husband in Newell's "Enchanted April" (1991), a friendly bartender in "The Crying Game" (1992), and an idolized stage actor and compulsive eater in "Bullets Over Broadway" (1994). He was especially superb in a very controlled performance as a cook who wants to open a restaurant in director Leigh's "Life Is Sweet" (1991); he also wrote and starred in Leigh's outrageous short, "A Sense of History" (1992).

The late 90s saw the actor at the top of his game, cast as a sleazy nightclub manager in "Little Voice" (1998) and, in perhaps his best work, the pompous William Gilbert (of Gilbert and Sullivan) in "Topsy-Turvy" (2000). He went on to take the featured role as the heroine's father in "Bridget Jones's Diary" and delivered a scene-stealing turn as a Parisian cabaret owner in "Moulin Rouge!" (both 2001). He rounded out the year with a heartfelt turn as John Bayley, the devoted husband caring for his wife, writer Iris Murdoch (Judi Dench), who had been stricken with Alzheimer's disease. Although Broadbent had done yeoman work in each of his 2001 roles, he earned a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his nuanced performance in “Iris”.

He was next seen on the big screen as the historic, corrupt politician Boss Tweed in the highly anticipated "Gangs of New York" (2002), directed by Martin Scorsese, a role Broadbent played with aplomb, demonstrating both charisma and ruthlessness. For his role as Desmond Morton in HBO's acclaimed Winston Churchill biopic "The Gathering Storm" (2002), Broadbent received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in A Miniseries or A Movie. He gave well-turned supporting appearances as Wackford Squeers in an adaptation of Dickens' "Nicholas Nickleby" (2002) and Mutual Film Corporation head Harry Aitken in the HBO film "And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself" (2003).

Broadbent perfected his bumbling everyman with a heart of gold routine opposite Hugh Laurie in the fine BBC film "The Young Visitors" (2003), playing a low-born Brit who undergoes rigorous training to become a gentleman in order to win the heart of a lovely social climber. He received a BAFTA TV award nomination for his portrayal. He next appeared in the all-star ensemble of "Around the World in 80 Days" (2004), a loose retelling of the Jules Verne classic in which he played Lord Kelvin, head of the Royal Academy of Science, who makes a bet challenging Phileas Fogg to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days or less. Then it was on to appear as George Osbourne's overbearing father in the big screen adaptation of Thackeray's "Vanity Fair" (2004) starring Reese Witherspoon. Broadbent returned to familiar territory with “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” (2004), once again playing the wry father of the title character (Renee Zellweger) in this ill-begotten sequel to the successful romantic comedy. He entered 2005 by providing the voice for Madame Gasket, the pushy, overbearing mother of a nefarious corporate tyrant (voiced by Greg Kinnear) in the well-reviewed animated feature, “Robots” (2005).

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  Free Jimmy (2006) (announced) (voice) .... Stromowskij

Art School Confidential (2006) .... Jimmy
"The Street" (2006) TV Series .... Stan
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) .... Professor Kirke
Valiant (2005) (voice) .... Sergeant
Spider-Plant Man (2005) (TV) .... Batman
Comic Relief: Red Nose Night Live 05 (2005) (TV) .... Batman
Robots (2005) (voice) .... Madame Gasket
... aka Robots: The IMAX Experience (USA: IMAX version)
The Magic Roundabout (2005) (voice) .... Brian (English version)
... aka Doogal (USA)
... aka Pollux - Le manège enchanté (France)
... aka Sprung! The Magic Roundabout (USA)
... aka The Magic Roundabout (UK)
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) .... Dad
... aka Bridget Jones 2 (UK: informal title)
... aka Bridget Jones: L'âge de raison (France)
Vera Drake (2004) .... Judge
Vanity Fair (2004) .... Mr. Osborne
Pride (2004) (TV) (voice) .... Eddie
Around the World in 80 Days (2004) .... Lord Kelvin
Tooth (2004) .... Voice of Rabbit
The Young Visiters (2003) (TV) .... Alfred Salteena
And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (2003) (TV) .... Harry Aitken
Bright Young Things (2003) .... Drunk Major
Nicholas Nickleby (2002) .... Mr. Wackford Squeers
Gangs of New York (2002) .... William 'Boss' Tweed
The King's Beard (2002) (voice) .... The Wizard
The Gathering Storm (2002) (TV) .... Desmond Morton
Iris (2001/I) .... John Bayley
Moulin Rouge! (2001) .... Harold Zidler
Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) .... Bridget's Dad
... aka Bridget Jones (UK: informal title)
... aka Journal de Bridget Jones, Le (France)

Topsy-Turvy (1999) .... W. S. Gilbert
Comic Relief: Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death (1999) (V) .... The (Shy) 11th Doctor
... aka Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death (UK: video box title)
Little Voice (1998) .... Mr. Boo
The Avengers (1998) .... Mother
The Borrowers (1997) .... Pod Clock
Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997) .... Dr. Lagermann
... aka Fräulein Smillas Gespür für Schnee (Germany)
... aka Fröken Smillas känsla för snö (Sweden)
... aka Frøken Smillas fornemmelse for sne (Denmark)
... aka Smilla's Feeling for Snow
The Secret Agent (1996) .... Chief Inspector Heat
... aka Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent
Rough Magic (1995) .... Doc Ansell
... aka Miss Shumway jette un sort (France)
"The Peter Principle" (1995) TV Series .... Peter Duff/Duffley
... aka The Boss (USA)
Richard III (1995) .... Duke of Buckingham
The Last Englishman (1995) (TV) .... Col. Alfred D. Wintle
... aka The Heroes and Villains: Last Englishman (UK: series title)
Bullets Over Broadway (1994) .... Warner Purcell
Princess Caraboo (1994) .... Mr. Worrall
Widows' Peak (1994) .... Con Clancy, Kilshannon Dentist
Prince Cinders (1993) (voice) .... Ugly brother
Wide-Eyed and Legless (1993) (TV) .... Deric Longden
... aka The Wedding Gift (USA)
The Crying Game (1992) .... Col
A Sense of History (1992) (TV) .... 23rd Earl of Leete
Enchanted April (1992) .... Frederick Arbuthnot
"Gone to Seed" (1992) TV Series .... Monty
Nona (1991) (TV)
Work! (1991) (TV) .... Steven Parrish
"Gone to the Dogs" (1991) (mini) TV Series .... Jim
Life Is Sweet (1990) .... Andy

"The Staggering Stories of Ferdinand De Bargos" (1989) TV Series
Erik the Viking (1989) .... Ernest the Viking (a Rapist)
... aka Erik viking (Sweden)
Revolution!! (1989) (TV) .... Wallace
... aka The National Theatre of Brent Presents: Revolution!! (UK: series title)
Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988) (TV) .... Prince Albert
Vroom (1988) .... Donald
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) .... Jean Pierre Dubois
Running Out of Luck (1987)
The Insurance Man (1986) (TV) .... Gutling
Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe (1985) (TV) .... Jem Rodney
The Good Father (1985) .... Roger Miles
Brazil (1985) .... Dr. Jaffe
The Hit (1984) .... Barrister
Messiah (1984) (TV) .... Wallace
... aka The National Theatre of Brent Presents: Messiah (UK: series title)
The Man Who Shot Christmas (1984) .... Nick/Father Christmas
Dead On Time (1983)
Walter and June (1983) (TV) .... Orderly
Intensive Care (1982) (TV) .... Mr. Horsfall
... aka Play for Today: Intensive Care (UK: series title)
Uliisses (1982)
Bird of Prey (1982) (TV) .... D.S. Stanley Richardson
Birth of a Nation (1982) (TV) .... Geoff Figg
... aka Tales Out of School: Birth of a Nation (UK: series title)
Time Bandits (1981) .... Compere
The Dogs of War (1981) .... Film Crew
Breaking Glass (1980) .... Station Porter

Long Distance Information (1979) (TV)
... aka Play for Today: Long Distance Information (UK: series title)
The Passage (1979) (uncredited) .... German Soldier
The Shout (1978) .... Fielder in cowpat
The Life Story of Baal (1978) (TV)