Tom Hollander was born in 1967 in Oxford, UK to a Biology teacher and a prep school teacher. He claims to have been not much liked until he reached the sixth-form. He studied English at Cambridge University with his childhood friend Sam Mendes who went on to direct him in plays at Cambridge. Tom became an actor on leaving University and has since gained parts in Bedrooms and Hallways, The Lawless Heart and the critically acclaimed Gosford Park. He then starred as Guy Burgess in the BBC's Cambridge Spies, alongside Samuel West and made a small guest appearance in Peter Ackroyd's London. He is set to star in Stage Beauty and the thriller Paparazzi.