{{Short description|British screenwriter and film director (born 1946)}} {{Other people}} {{Use British English|date=August 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox person | image = Hayfestival-2016-Bruce-Robinson-portrait.jpg | caption = Robinson in 2016 | image_size = | name = Bruce Robinson | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1946|5|2}} | birth_place = London, England | spouse = {{marriage|Sophie Windham|1984}} | children = 2 | partner = [[Lesley-Anne Down]]<br />(1969–1979) | occupation = {{hlist|Actor|screenwriter|director}} | alma_mater = [[Royal Central School of Speech and Drama]] | years_active = 1967–present | awards = '''[[BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay]]'''<br />1984 ''[[The Killing Fields (film)|The Killing Fields]]'' }}
'''Bruce Robinson''' (born 2 May 1946) is an English actor, director, screenwriter and novelist. He wrote and directed ''[[Withnail and I]]'' (1987), a film with comic and tragic elements set in London in the late 1960s, which drew on his experiences as a struggling actor, living in poverty in [[Camden Town]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Interview by Robert Chalmers |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/bruce-robinson-i-started-drinking-again-because-of-the-rum-diary-2216721.html |title=The Independent on Sunday, The New Review, p.15, 20 February 2011 |publisher=Independent.co.uk |date=20 February 2011 |access-date=29 February 2012}}</ref> He was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay]] for ''[[The Killing Fields (film)|The Killing Fields]]'' (1984).
As an actor, he has worked with [[Franco Zeffirelli]], [[Ken Russell]] and [[François Truffaut]].
==Early life== Bruce Robinson was born in London. He grew up in [[Broadstairs]], Kent, where he attended the [[Charles Dickens School|Charles Dickens Secondary Modern School]]. His parents were Mabel Robinson and American lawyer Carl Casriel, who had a short-term relationship during World War II. His father was a Lithuanian Jew.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last1=Brown|first1=Mick|date=2 October 2015|title=Jack the Ripper: Has Bruce Robinson solved the world's most famous crime?|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11899901/jack-the-ripper-mystery-solved.html|access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref> As a child, Robinson was constantly brutally abused by his stepfather Rob (a former [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] navigator and a wholesale newsagent), who knew the boy was not his son.<ref name=":0" /> He had an elder sister Elly, whom he asked to teach him some French.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/comment/articles/2015-10/05/jack-the-ripper-revealed-they-all-love-jack-bruce-robinson |title= How one man revealed Jack the Ripper's identity: the full story |publisher=GQ |access-date= 2 October 2015}}</ref>
==Film career== [[File:Lesley-Anne Down & Bruce Robinson.jpg|thumb|Bruce Robinson and [[Lesley-Anne Down]] in the late 1970s]] [[File:Bruce Robinson 2011.jpg|right|thumb|Robinson at the premiere of ''[[The Rum Diary (film)|The Rum Diary]]'']] In his youth, Robinson aspired to be an actor and was admitted to the [[Central School of Speech and Drama]] in London. His first film role was as [[Benvolio]] in [[Franco Zeffirelli]]'s film adaptation of ''[[Romeo and Juliet (1968 film)|Romeo and Juliet]]'' (1968). He then appeared in [[Ken Russell]]'s ''[[The Music Lovers]]'' (1970), [[Barney Platts-Mills]]'s ''[[Private Road]]'' (1971) and [[François Truffaut]]'s ''[[The Story of Adèle H.]]'' (1975). After spending several years out of work and living on social security payments, he became disenchanted and began writing screenplays. He was soon commissioned by [[David Puttnam]] to write the screenplay for [[Roland Joffé]]'s ''[[The Killing Fields (film)|The Killing Fields]]'' (1984). Robinson was nominated for an [[Academy Award]] and won a [[BAFTA]] for his work. In 1989, Robinson wrote again for Joffé on ''[[Fat Man and Little Boy (film)|Fat Man and Little Boy]]''. He returned to acting briefly in 1998, taking a role in the film ''[[Still Crazy]]''.
He is perhaps best known as the creative force behind the loosely autobiographical film ''[[Withnail and I]]'' (1987) which he based on his time as a struggling out-of-work actor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/481230/index.html |title=BFI Screenonline: Withnail and I (1986) |publisher=Screenonline.org.uk |access-date=29 February 2012}}</ref> The character 'Withnail' is reportedly based on his friend, [[Vivian MacKerrell]], the character 'I' (Marwood), on himself. Though unsuccessful at the box office, because of its success on video it has since been described as "one of Britain's biggest cult films".<ref>{{cite web|last=Russell |first=Jamie |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2001/11/05/withnail_and_i_1987_article.shtml |title=How "Withnail & I" Became a Cult |publisher=BBC |access-date=29 February 2012}}</ref> The film also launched the acting career of [[Richard E. Grant]].
Robinson's next two outings as a director (''[[How to Get Ahead in Advertising]]'', teaming him again with Richard E. Grant, and ''[[Jennifer 8]]'', a Hollywood thriller) were not as well received.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/584216/ |title=BFI Screenonline: Robinson, Bruce (1946–) Biography |publisher=Screenonline.org.uk |date=2 May 1946 |access-date=29 February 2012}}</ref> Robinson became disillusioned with the restrictive film-making practices of Hollywood and stopped directing to concentrate solely on writing. He wrote the screenplays for the films ''[[Return to Paradise (1998 film)|Return to Paradise]]'' (1998) and ''[[In Dreams (film)|In Dreams]]'' (1999), but both were altered drastically by their producers, leaving Robinson once again disappointed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britmovie.co.uk/directors/Bruce-Robinson |title=Bruce Robinson | Britmovie | Home of British Films |publisher=Britmovie |access-date=29 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120721233422/http://www.britmovie.co.uk/directors/Bruce-Robinson |archive-date=21 July 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
Robinson eventually returned to directing with an adaptation of [[Hunter S. Thompson]]'s novel ''[[The Rum Diary (film)|The Rum Diary]]'', with the main role performed by [[Johnny Depp]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.empireonline.com/News/story.asp?nid=16802 |title=Withnail's Bruce Robinson To Direct The Rum Diary | Movie News | Empire |publisher=Empireonline.com |date=5 December 2006 |access-date=29 February 2012}}</ref> With [[Aaron Eckhart]] and [[Richard Jenkins]] also on board, filming started on 25 March 2009 in [[Puerto Rico]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://movies.ign.com/articles/969/969133p1.html | title=The Rum Diary Now Filming | work=[[IGN]] | date=2 April 2009 | access-date=7 August 2010 }}</ref> It was released in 2011. In 2012, Robinson's comic novella ''Paranoia in the Launderette'' was substantially filled out and adapted for the screen as ''[[A Fantastic Fear of Everything]]'' starring [[Simon Pegg]]. Robinson has completed a screenplay for his novel ''The Peculiar Memories of Thomas Penman'' and a book on [[Jack the Ripper]], titled ''They All Love Jack''.
==Author== Robinson is also a successful author. His first published work was the semi-autobiographical novel ''The Peculiar Memories of Thomas Penman'' in 1998, based on his own childhood growing up in [[Broadstairs]], [[Kent]]. In 2000, ''Smoking in Bed: Conversations with Bruce Robinson'', edited by [[Alistair Owen]], was published, made up of a selection of interviews given by Robinson. Meanwhile, since becoming a father, Robinson has also written two children's books, ''The Obvious Elephant'' (2000) and ''Harold and the Duck'' (2005), both illustrated by his wife. The former is also available as an audiobook edition (2003), read by [[Lorelei King]] and [[Michael Maloney]]. He spent about 15 years collecting and researching the materials on the mystery of [[Jack the Ripper]], which later became his book ''They All Love Jack: Busting the Ripper'' (2015). Robinson identified songwriter [[Michael Maybrick]] as his prime suspect for the killings.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=P.D. |title=They All Love Jack: Busting the Ripper by Bruce Robinson review – a huge establishment cover-up |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/03/they-all-love-jack-busting-ripper-bruce-robinson-review-withnail-i |work=The Guardian |date=3 October 2015 |access-date=3 October 2015}}</ref>
==Personal life== Robinson married artist Sophie Windham in 1984, and they live in England. They have a daughter, Lily, and a son, Willoughby.<ref>{{cite web |last=Chalmers |first=Robert |title=Bruce Robinson: 'I started drinking again because of The Rum Diary' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/bruce-robinson-i-started-drinking-again-because-of-the-rum-diary-2216721.html |website=independent.co.uk/ |date=20 February 2011 |publisher=The Independent |access-date=10 June 2024}}</ref>
Robinson claimed to have been the target of [[Sexual harassment|unwanted sexual advances]] by [[Franco Zeffirelli]] during the filming of ''[[Romeo and Juliet (1968 film)|Romeo and Juliet]]'', in which Robinson played [[Benvolio]]. Robinson says that the lecherous character of Uncle Monty in the film ''[[Withnail and I]]'' was influenced by Zeffirelli.<ref>{{cite web|last=Murphy|first=Peter|title=Interview with Bruce Robinson|url=http://www.laurahird.com/newreview/brucerobinson.html|access-date=2007-08-07|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070707184620/http://www.laurahird.com/newreview/brucerobinson.html|archive-date=7 July 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
==Filmography== ===Director/writer=== {| class="wikitable" |- !Year !Title ! width="65" | Director ! width="65" | Writer ! width="300" | Notes |- | 1984 | ''[[The Killing Fields (film)|The Killing Fields]]'' |{{No}} |{{Yes}} | |- | 1987 | ''[[Withnail and I]]'' |{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} | |- |rowspan="2"| 1989 | ''[[How to Get Ahead in Advertising]]'' |{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} | |- | ''[[Fat Man and Little Boy (film)|Fat Man and Little Boy]]'' |{{No}} |{{Yes}} | |- | 1992 | ''[[Jennifer 8]]'' |{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} | |- | 1998 | ''[[Return to Paradise (1998 film)|Return to Paradise]]'' |{{No}} |{{Yes}} | |- | 1999 | ''[[In Dreams (film)|In Dreams]]'' |{{No}} |{{Yes}} | |- | 2011 | ''[[The Rum Diary (film)|The Rum Diary]]'' |{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} | |- | 2012 | ''[[A Fantastic Fear of Everything]]'' |{{No}} |{{partial|Novella}} |Based on ''Paranoia in the Launderette'' (1998) |- |}
===Actor=== * ''[[Romeo and Juliet (1968 film)|Romeo and Juliet]]'' (1968) as Benvolio * ''[[Sleep Is Lovely]]'' (1968) as Colin * ''[[Baby Love (1968 film)|Baby Love]]'' (1969) as Man in Nightclub (uncredited) * ''[[Tam-Lin (film)|Tam-Lin]]'' (1970) as Alan * ''[[The Music Lovers]]'' (1971) as Alexei Sofronov * ''[[Private Road]]'' (1971) as Peter Morrissey * ''[[The Story of Adèle H.]]'' (1975) as Lt Albert Pinson * ''Los viajes escolares'' (1976) as Óscar * ''The Brute'' (1977) as Mark * ''[[Kleinhoff Hotel]]'' (1977) as Karl Axel * ''[[Harry's War (1981 film)|Harry's War]]'' (1981) as IRS Agent #2 * ''[[How to Get Ahead in Advertising]]'' (1989) as The Boil (voice, uncredited) * ''[[Still Crazy]]'' (1998) as Brian Lovell
==Bibliography== ===Books=== * ''Paranoia in the Launderette'' (1998) * ''The Peculiar Memories of Thomas Penman'' (1998) * ''The Obvious Elephant'' (2000) * ''Smoking in Bed: Conversations With Bruce Robinson'' (edited by Alastair Owen) (2001) * ''Harold and the Duck'' (2005) * ''They All Love Jack: Busting the Ripper'' (2015)
===Plays=== * ''[[Withnail and I (play)|Withnail and I]]'' (2024)
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Wikiquote|Bruce Robinson}} * {{IMDb name|id=0732430}} * {{Screenonline name|id=584216}}
{{Bruce Robinson}} {{Navboxes | title = Awards for Bruce Robinson | list = {{BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay 1983–1999}} {{Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay}} }} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Bruce}} [[Category:1946 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama]] [[Category:Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award winners]] [[Category:English film directors]] [[Category:English male screenwriters]] [[Category:English people of American-Jewish descent]] [[Category:English people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent]] [[Category:English screenwriters]] [[Category:Historians of Jack the Ripper]] [[Category:Actors from Broadstairs]] [[Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners]] [[Category:Male actors from Kent]]