Happy 83rd birthday to Sir Ian Holm!
Sir Ian Holm is celebrating his 83rd birthday today! Sir Ian has had a long and celebrated career on stage, in films, television, and radio. He is beloved by fans of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films for his role as the older Bilbo Baggins.
Ian Holm Cuthbert was born on September 12, 1931, in Goodmayes, Essex, the second son of Scottish parents Dr. James Harvey Cuthbert and Jean Holm. Ian was educated at Chigwell School in Essex, and won a spot at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 1949. His studies at RADA were interrupted in 1950 when he was called to service in the British Army, and again in 1952 when he volunteered for an acting tour of the United States. Ian graduated from RADA in 1953. After graduation, Ian went to work acting in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he stayed for 13 years. Any plans he had to move on sooner than that changed in 1960 with the establishment of the permanent company in residence at Stratford, the Royal Shakespeare Company. Ian became an established star of that renowned company.
Ian Holm in his Oscar-nominated performance in ‘Chariots of Fire’ (1981). Photo copyright: 20th Century Fox Film Corp.
In the mid- and late-1960s, Ian branched out into television and film roles. He has appeared in more than 40 films through the years. Notable film roles include the android Ash in Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979), and Ian’s Oscar-nominated portrayal of Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire (1981). Ian took his deep experience with Shakespeare roles to the big screen in Kenneth Branagh’s acclaimed Henry V (1989), and as Polonius in Franco Zefferelli’s Hamlet (1990). The year 1997 saw Ian step into some high-profile roles, as the priest Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element and in the leading role of attorney Mitchell Stephens in The Sweet Hereafter. In 2001, Ian donned the furry feet of Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, under Peter Jackson’s direction, reprising the role in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). In 2012, Middle-earth fans again saw Ian as Bilbo Baggins, now as the older Bilbo in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins in ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.” Photo credit: New Line Productions, Saul Zaentz Company, Tolkien Enterprises.
Ian’s work has won him many nominations and recognitions through the years. He won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play in 1967 as Lenny in The Homecoming by Harold Pinter. His role in Chariots of Fire (1981) won Ian a special award that year at the Cannes Film Festival and the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor and an Oscar nod. In addition, Ian was awarded the Commander of the Most Excellent order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1990, and elevated to Knight Commander (KBE) in 1998, for Service to Drama.
All of us at Middle-earth News wish Sir Ian Holm a most excellent birthday! May the hair on his toes never fall out!
