Hats off to... Jim Broadbent

Jim Broadbent

Has this fella ever given a duff performance? I read something ages ago about James Bolam, how his performance is so thorough he even acts out the commas. I'm no expert on acting but Broadbent seems like that sort of bloke - he's just incredibly watchable.
Whether it's stealing the show in comedy (as bent copper Roy Slater in Only Fools and Horses or the Queen of Spain's translator Don Speekingleesh in Blackadder), or his Oscar-winning turn in Iris, he's always brilliant.
If a trailer comes on telly for something and it's got Broadbent in, I'll usually watch or tape it on my skywitchcraft box. And kicking off next Sunday Broadbent stars alongside some right crackers - Matthew Macfadyen, Kim Cattrall, Gillian Anderson,Tom Hollander, to name a few - in an adaption of some book or other that I've never heard of. I'm going to watch it because Broadbent's in it. Because he's ace. Because he makes it look effortless - something only those who really put the graft in can do (Warren Clarke is another) . And then of course, there's this.
Any Human Heart starts on Channel 4 on Sunday 21 November.

Previously:
BBC 5live football