| After father's death, moved with mother to Plymouth |
| Member of the Royal Shakespeare Company; made London debut in 1975 in "Hamlet" |
1968 | Worked as stage hand in the West End (date approximate) |
1970 | Stage debut in "It's a Two Foot Six Inches Above the Ground World" |
1974 | TV acting debut in the ATV miniseries "Edward VII" |
1981 | Feature acting debut, "For Your Eyes Only" |
1984 | Had leading role in the Granda Television production "The Jewel in the Crown" |
1985 | First film starring role, "Plenty" |
1986 | Portrayed D W Griffith in the Taviani brothers film "Good Morning, Babylon" |
1987 | Co-starred opposite Shirley MacLaine in the ABC miniseries "Out on a Limb" |
1987 | Played leading role in Michael Radford's "White Mischief" |
1993 | Had villainous role in "The Last Action Hero" |
1997 | Starred in "The Blood Oranges" |
1998 | Played the patriarch of the du Pre family in "HIlary and Jackie" |
1999 | Appeared on the British stage to acclaim in a revival of the play "Good" |
2000 | Acted alongside Ian Richardson in the British telefilm "Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes" |
2000 | Starred as James Tyrone opposite Jessica Lange in a London production of "Long Day's Journey Into Night" |
2001 | Cast as Ralph Nickleby in the ITV adaptation of Dickens' "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby" |
2001 | Had featured role in the WWII drama "Dark Blue World" |
2001 | Portrayed a WWI veteran in "Gosford Park", directed by Robert Altman |
2002 | Donned drag for a comic role in "Ali G Indahouse" |
2006 | Earned an Emmy nomination for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for "Bleak House" (Masterpiece Theatre) |
2007 | Co-starred in the adaptation of the David Nicholls novel, "Starter for Ten" |
