Derek Jacobi

Sir Derek Jacobi CBE
Jacobi in 2022
Born	(1938-10-22) 22 October 1938 (age 85) Leytonstone, Essex, England
Alma mater	St John's College, Cambridge
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1959–present
Works	Full list
Partner	Richard Clifford (1979–present)
Awards	Full list
Derek Jacobi's voice recorded 2012, as part of an audio description of the Old Vic Theatre for VocalEyes

Sir Derek George Jacobi CBE (⫽ˈdʒækəbi⫽; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. Jacobi is known for his work at the Royal National Theatre and for his film and television roles. He has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, two Olivier Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony Award. He was given a knighthood for his services to theatre by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994.^[1]

Jacobi started his professional acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the founding members of the National Theatre.^[2] He has appeared in numerous Shakespearean stage productions including Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, King Lear, and Romeo and Juliet.^[2][3][4] Jacobi received the Laurence Olivier Award, for the title role in Cyrano de Bergerac in 1983 and Malvolio in Twelfth Night in 2009. He also won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing in 1985.

Jacobi has also made numerous television appearances including starring as Claudius in the BBC series I, Claudius (1976), for which he won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. He received two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for The Tenth Man (1988), and Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for Frasier (2001). He is also known for his roles in the medieval drama series Cadfael (1994–1998),^[5] the HBO film The Gathering Storm (2002), the ITV sitcom Vicious (2013-2016) and in BBC's Last Tango in Halifax (2012–2020). He portrayed Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor, in the third season of the acclaimed Netflix series The Crown in 2019.^[6]

Though principally a stage actor, Jacobi has appeared in a number of films, including Othello (1965), The Day of the Jackal (1973), Henry V (1989), Dead Again (1991), Hamlet (1996), Gladiator (2000), Nanny McPhee (2005), The Riddle (2007), My Week with Marilyn (2011), Anonymous (2011), Cinderella (2015), and Murder on the Orient Express (2017). Jacobi has also earned two Screen Actors Guild Awards along with the ensemble cast for Robert Altman's Gosford Park (2001), and Tom Hooper's The King's Speech (2010).