An odd-looking but quite fascinating bloke with prominent, bony cheeks and a rawboned figure, distinguished character actor Pete Postlewaite was born in 1945 and grew up in Cheshire, England amid middle-class surroundings. He went to college and while completing his studies developed an interest in theatre, to the chagrin of his family. His father, a laborer, wanted him to find a more secure position in life. A drama teacher initially, he decided to follow his acting instincts full-time and gradually built up an impressive array of classical stage credits via repertory, including training at the Bristol Old Vic Drama School and stints with Liverpool Everyman, Machester Royal Exchange and Royal Shakespeare Company. By the 80s he was ready to branch out into film and TV, giving a startling performance as a wife abuser in the British film Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988). His highly distinctive features were subsequently put to good use in a number of versatile roles, usually menacing but sometimes humble, and most frequently as working-class types. By 1993 he had crossed over into Hollywood parts and earned his first Oscar nomination for his superb role as Daniel Day-Lewis' father in In the Name of the Father (1993). Other quality roles came his way with The Usual Suspects (1995), Brassed Off (1996), and Amistad (1997). Television has been a creative and positive venue as well with such fine work in "Sharpe's Company" (1994), Lost for Words (1999) and The Sins (2000). Working equally both here and abroad these days, Postlewaite avoids the public limelight for the most part and lives quietly in England.


He was raised in Northern England. He was awarded OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2004 New Year's Honors List for his services to drama. He is married to a BBC drama assistant and has two children. At the beginning of one hit wonder "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba, it is his voice saying these words from the movie "Brassed Off!" (1996): "Truth is I thought it mattered, I thought that music mattered. But does it bollocks! Not compared to how people matter." His portrait by Christopher Thompson was acquired by The National Portrait Gallery. He is the only actor in Romeo + Juliet (1996) who speaks in iambic pentameter, the rhythm of speech William Shakespeare's plays are written in.