Early life

Hollander was born in Bristol, the son of teachers, and was raised in Oxford. His father is descended from Czech Jews who converted to Catholicism and his mother is of English background. He attended the Dragon School and then Abingdon School, where he was chief chorister. As a youngster, he was a member of the National Youth Theatre and the National Youth Music Theatre (then known as the Children's Music Theatre). In 1981, at the age of 14, he won the lead role in a BBC dramatisation of Leon Garfield's John Diamond.

Hollander read English at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He was actively involved in stage productions as a member of the Footlights and was president of the Marlowe Society. Sam Mendes, a friend and fellow student, directed him in several plays while they were at Cambridge, including a critically acclaimed production of Cyrano de Bergerac (which also featured future Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg).

Career

Hollander won the 1992 Ian Charleson Award for his performance as Witwoud in The Way of the World at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre. He had been nominated and commended the previous year for his Celia in an all-male production of As You Like It for Cheek by Jowl and was again nominated and commended for his Khlestakov in The Government Inspector at the Almeida Theatre in 1997. He had also received a special commendation for his 1996 performance of the title role in Tartuffe at the Almeida Theatre. In all, Hollander has been the most frequent Ian Charleson Award honoree, with four appearances at the awards: one win, two commendations and one special commendation.

Hollander's film and television appearances include Absolutely Fabulous, Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence, Wives and Daughters, Harry, Cambridge Spies for which he received the FIPA D'OR Grand prize for best actor, Gosford Park, The Lost Prince and Pride & Prejudice for which he received the Evening Standard Film Awards Comedy Award, and London Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor. He has worked repeatedly with Michael Gambon and Bill Nighy and is a good friend of James Purefoy. Although highly respected as a character actor and the recipient of several awards, many of his films will still play on his height (5' 5" / 165 cm). Hollander has created several memorable comedic characters that draw more on his physical energy and intensity than his height, such as the "brilliantly foul-mouthed" Leon in BBC Two's Freezing, described in The Times as a "braying swirl of ego and mania".

Hollander has lent his vocal talents to a number of roles for BBC radio including Mosca in 2004's Volpone for Radio 3, Frank Churchill in Jane Austen's Emma and as Mr Gently Benevolent in the Dickensian parody Bleak Expectations for Radio 4. He has voiced a young Joseph Merrick, the "Elephant Man", a disembodied head named Enzio in an urban gothic comedy and Leon Theremin, the Russian inventor famous for the electronic instrument that bears his name. He provided the vocal texture for Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange recently with a "smooth, almost lyrical, crisp voice" that accomplished the task of rendering the extensive and unique slang of the book instantly understandable to readers. More recent readings include "The Casual Vacancy" by J.K. Rowling.

Hollander portrayed Lord Cutler Beckett, the "heavy" in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. He also appeared in the TNT miniseries The Company as Kim Philby, having previously played Guy Burgess in the BBC's Cambridge Spies. He returned to the stage in 2007 with the premiere of Joe Penhall's play Landscape with Weapon at the Royal National Theatre. In 2008 he made a notable cameo appearance as King George III in the HBO mini-series John Adams, and ended the year as a memorable Colonel Heinz Brandt in Valkyrie.

In 2009, Hollander played a symphonic cellist in Joe Wright's The Soloist, his second film with Wright, who cast him to great effect as the fevered suitor Mr. Collins in 2005's Pride and Prejudice. He has worked once more with Wright, portraying a memorably flamboyant and menacing villain in Hanna (2011). Hollander appeared in a lead role in Armando Iannucci's In the Loop as Secretary of State for International Development Simon Foster MP. Hollander later made a surprise appearance (in a different role) at the end of the third series of The Thick of It, the programme on which In the Loop was based.

In 2010, Hollander and writer James Wood co-created the TV series Rev., a sensitive comedy about the all-too-human vicar of an inner-city parish. Reviews called it intelligent, realistic and very funny. Hollander played the sympathetic title character, Rev. Adam Smallbone. The show won a BAFTA in 2011 for Best Situation Comedy, among other awards and recognition. A second series aired in the UK on BBC 2 in 2011 and a third series in 2014.

In 2010, Hollander returned to the live stage in a demanding comedic dual role in Georges Feydeau's A Flea in Her Ear at the Old Vic. Playing both master and servant with "lightning physical precision and shockingly true confusion", Hollander's was called "a virtuoso performance". Since 2008, he has written an occasional diary-style column for The Spectator and in January 2016, he became an Honorary Fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge (his former college).

Charity work

Hollander has contributed his running and cycling efforts to several charitable causes, including running to raise funds for the Childline Crisis Hotline in 2006 and in 2007, for the Teenage Cancer Trust. He is a long-time supporter of the Helen & Douglas House Hospice for Children and Young Adults in Oxford, which provides hospice care for children. He continues to support charitable organisations by contributing readings and other appearances throughout the year.

Hollander is a patron of the British Independent Film Awards and has supported the efforts of the Old Vic's "24 Hour Plays New Voices" Gala, which forwards the cause of young writers for the British stage. In August 2014, he was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.

Personal life

Hollander lives in Notting Hill, London. He is a cyclist and runner.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1981	John Diamond	William Jones	TV film
1993	Sylvia Hates Sam	Friend	Short
	Harry	Jonathan	TV series (19 episodes: 1993-1995)
1994	Milner	Ben Milner	TV film
1995	The Bill	O'Leary	TV series (1 episode: "Getaway")
1996	Some Mother's Son	Farnsworth
	Absolutely Fabulous	Paolo	TV series, The Last Shout (2 episodes)
	True Blue	Sam Peterson
1997	Gobble	Pipsqueak	TV film
1998	Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Not!	Paolo	Video
	Martha - Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence	Daniel
	Bedrooms and Hallways	Darren
1999	The Clandestine Marriage	Sir John Ogelby
	Wives and Daughters	Osborne Hamley	TV mini-series (4 episodes)
2000	The Announcement	Ben
	Maybe Baby	Ewan Proclaimer
2001	Enigma	Logie
	The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby	Mr. Mantalini	TV film
	Lawless Heart	Nick
	Gosford Park	Anthony Meredith	Critics Choice Award - Best Acting Ensemble FFCC Award for Best Ensemble Cast OFCS Award - Best Ensemble PFCS Award - Best Acting Ensemble Satellite Awards - Outstanding Motion Picture Ensemble Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture
2002	Possession	Euan
2003	The Lost Prince	George V	TV film
	Cambridge Spies	Guy Burgess	TV mini-series (4 episodes). Role was awarded FIPA (Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels) D'OR Grand prize for best actor
2004	Piccadilly Jim	Willie Partidge
	The Hotel in Amsterdam	Laurie	TV film
	London	T.S. Eliot	TV film
	Stage Beauty	Sir Peter Lely
	Paparazzi	Leonard Clarke
	The Libertine	Etherege	Nominated - British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor
2005	Bridezillas	Narrator	TV series (1 episode: "Korliss and Noelle")
	Pride & Prejudice	Mr. Collins	Evening Standard British Film Awards - Peter Sellers Award for Comedy ALFS Award - British Supporting Actor of the Year
2006	The Darwin Awards	Henry
	Land of the Blind	Maximilian II
	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest	Cutler Beckett
	A Good Year	Charlie Willis
	Rabbit Fever	Tod Best
	American Dad!	Various (voice only)	TV series (5 episodes: 2006-2009)
2007	Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End	Cutler Beckett (voice)	Video game
	Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End	Cutler Beckett
	The Company	Adrian Philby	TV mini-series (6 episodes)
	Elizabeth: The Golden Age	Sir Amyas Paulet
	Freezing	Leon	TV series (3 episodes:2007-2008)
2008	The Meant to Be's		TV film
	John Adams	King George III	TV mini-series (1 episode: "Reunion")
	Headcases	David Cameron	TV series
	Valkyrie	Colonel Heinz Brandt
2009	In the Loop	Simon Foster	Nominated - British Independent Film Awards - Best Supporting Actor
	The Soloist	Graham Claydon
	Desperate Romantics	John Ruskin	TV series (6 episodes)
	Gracie!	Monty Banks	TV film
	The Thick of It	Cal Richards	TV series (1 episode: "Episode No.3.8")
2010	Legally Mad	Steven Pearle	TV film
	Rev.	The Reverend Adam Smallbone	TV series (3 series, 19 episodes). Series was awarded a BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy, 2011. Hollander was nominated for Male Performance in a Comedy Role. (2010 - present)
	Away We Stay		Short
	Any Human Heart	Edward, Duke of Windsor	TV series (3 episodes)
2011	Hanna	Isaacs
2012	Muppets Most Wanted	Irish Journalist
	Whole Lotta Sole	James Butler	Uncredited role
	Byzantium	Teacher	Uncredited role
2013	About Time	Harry
	Ambassadors	Prince Mark	TV series (1 episode: "Episode No.2")
	The Voorman Problem	Voorman	Short Film
2014	A Poet in New York	Dylan Thomas	TV film
	The Riot Club	Jeremy Villiers
2015	Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation	Prime Minister
2016	The Night Manager	Lance Corcoran	TV miniseries
	Doctor Thorne	Doctor Thorne	TV series
2018	Jungle Book	Tabaqui	Post-Production

[ Source: Wikipedia ]