Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson

Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire. He lived in British Columbia, Canada, as a child before returning to England, where he studied English and American literature at the University of Kent. He subsequently trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, graduating in 1973 and performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Wilkinson broke through internationally in the 1997 smash comedy The Full Monty as Gerald Arthur Cooper, winning the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor. Revered for his towering emotional authenticity and quiet volcanic intensity, he earned Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in Todd Field's devastating drama In the Bedroom (2001) and Best Supporting Actor for his manic, conscience-stricken corporate attorney Arthur Edens in Tony Gilroy's Michael Clayton (2007). In 2008, he won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Benjamin Franklin in HBO's miniseries John Adams.