Lanky blond British lead of the 1960s who began as a child actor in the early 50s. Fox's career showed great promise with his role as a boy whose life gets complicated once he acquires "The Magnet" (1951), but he soon gave up acting to finish school. He did not return to acting until a decade later, but quickly enjoyed success in the role of a haughty but ultimately malleable aristocrat strangely corrupted by his butler (Dirk Bogarde) in Joseph Losey's striking drama, "The Servant" (1963). This part, one of Fox's finest, typified many of his subsequent roles: classy yet often duplicitous, prone to weakness, decadence, and bad judgment.
Successfully venturing to Hollywood, Fox essayed similar characterizations in "King Rat" (1965), as a POW under the influence of a schemer (George Segal), and in "The Chase" (1966), as Jane Fonda's wealthy but spineless Texas husband. More conventional leading man duties came with "Thoroughly Modern Millie" (1967) and as one of the lovers of "Isadora" (1968) in that biopic of the dancing Duncan. Perhaps Fox's finest work in this period came in the bizarre but galvanizing "Performance" (1970), as a vicious hit man on the lam who hides out at a reclusive rock star's (Mick Jagger) mansion and falls prey to a series of bisexual orgies and weird costume changes.
Fox left acting in 1973 when he joined a Christian missionary group, the Navigators, though he did act in the story of a suicidal woman saved by religion, "No Longer Alone" (1978). Since his return to acting in the early 80s, Fox has been more prolific than ever, alternating offbeat, small-scale efforts ("Pavlova" 1983, "As You Like It" 1992), with mainstream Hollywood fare ("The Russia House" 1990, "Patriot Games" 1992) and prestigious historical epics. With his distinguished middle-aged bearing, Fox has usually incarnated a series of old guard authority figures: David Lean specifically asked for him for "A Passage to India" (1984), and Fox was also effective as a British statesman who misguidedly gives in to his own prejudices and weaknesses while placating the Nazis in the name of peace in "The Remains of the Day" (1993). He is the son of influential talent agent Robin Fox, and brother of actor Edward and theatrical producer Robert.
- Also Credited As:
James William Fox, William Fox
- Born:
May 19, 1939 in London, England, United Kingdom
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Job Titles:
Actor, Assistant stage manager
Family
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Brother: Edward Fox. born in 1937
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Brother: Robert Fox. younger; produced the musical Chess on both the Broadway and London stages; formerly married to Natasha Richardson
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Father: Robin Fox. died of lung cancer in 1971
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Grandfather: Frederick Lonsdale. maternal grandfather
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Mother: Angela Muriel Fox. born on June 17, 1912; daughter of Lucy Glitters Worthington and Frederick Lonsdale; mother was married to Dr. Henry Worthington but had three daughters by Lonsdale; Noel Coward wrote his famous song Don t Put Your Daughter on the Stage, Mrs. Worthington about her; died on December 1, 1999; had stormy marriage to husband punctuated with separations and infidelities on both sides
Education
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Ashford Prep School, Ashford, England
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Central School of Speech and Drama, London, England
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Harrow School, Middlesex, England
Milestones
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1950 Made film acting debut, billed as William Fox in The Miniver Story
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1951 Played most prominent feature role as a child in The Magnet
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1962 Returned to feature films after a ten-year absence to act in a small role in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
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1963 First adult leading role in film, The Servant
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1965 First American film since The Miniver Story , King Rat
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1973 Left acting for a time to join an international Christian missionary sect, the Navigators
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1978 One-shot return to acting, the religious drama, No Longer Alone
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1981 Returned to acting regularly; appeared in the film, Country
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1984 Played Waldorf on the PBS biographical miniseries, Nancy Astor
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1992 Played Angus Meikle on the Masterpiece Theatre miniseries, A Perfect Hero
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2000 Co-starred in Up at the Villa
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2000 Starred in Jonathan Glazer s Sexy Beast
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2004 Cast as the King of Denmark in The Prince and Me
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2005 Played Mr. Salt in Tim Burton s adaptation of Roald Dahl s classic tale Charlie and the Chocolate Factory starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka
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After studying at the Central School of Speech and Drama, worked for a time as an assistant stage manager with a touring theatrical company
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Left acting; finished schooling at Ashford Prep and Harrow
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Served in the military with the Third Battalion of the Coldstream Guard
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Worked in advertising