Bruce Robinson

Introduction

Bruce Robinson's early acting career included highlights such as the role of Benvolio in Franco Zeffirelli's 'Romeo and Juliet' (1968) and parts in movies directed by Ken Russell (The Music Lovers) and Francois Truffaut (L'Histoire d'Adele H).

But the frustrations of an actor's life - periods with no work and the resulting acceptance of jobs such as TV commercials - weighed heavily upon him, so he moved into writing screenplays in the mid 1970s. The breakthrough came when David Puttnam finally produced Bruce Robinson's script 'The Killing Fields' in 1984.

'The Killing Fields' earned Bruce an Oscar nomination, but his greatest success came soon after when he wrote and directed 'Withnail & I', a film said to be heavily autobiographical about the lives of two unemployed actors. The contrasts between his subsequent films such as the unusual advertising satire 'How To Get Ahead in Advertising' and the slick mainstream thriller 'Jennifer 8', demonstrate that Bruce Robinson has great versatility.

Indeed, one of his more recent projects is 'The Obvious Elephant', a whimsical children's picturebook illustrated by his wife Sophie Windham.