>
Timothy Spall
A slightly paunched British actor of stage, television, and films, Timothy Spall has played a wide array of character parts, but his career has been most enhanced through his work with writer-director Mike Leigh. He first teamed with Leigh on the television drama "Home Sweet Home" (BBC, 1981), playing one of a trio of postmen, then on-stage in "Smelling a Rat" (1988). Feature collaborations between the two include "Life Is Sweet" (1991), in which Spall played an inept restaurateur, and the acclaimed "Secrets & Lies" (1996), where he played Maurice, a gentle photographer who possesses secret knowledge about his family.