Laurence Fox

Infobox actor

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imagesize =
caption = Fox during the filming of "Lewis" in Oriel College, University of Oxford, on 18 September 2008
birthname = Laurence Fox
birthdate = Birth year and age|1978
birthplace = Yorkshire, England, UK
occupation = Film, television and stage actor
yearsactive = 2001–present
spouse = Billie Piper (2007–present)

Laurence Fox (born 1978) is an English actor best known for his leading role as Detective Sergeant James Hathaway in the British TV drama series "Lewis" (2006–2008). He is the of a show business family: his father is the actor James Fox, and Edward Fox, Robert Fox and Daniel Chatto are all uncles.

Fox's rebellious nature led to difficult times at Harrow School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). His first break into film was in the horror-thriller "The Hole" (2001), which he followed up with a part in "Gosford Park" (2001). After playing a number of German and British soldiers, his performance in "Colditz" (2005) was noticed. This led to him being offered the role in "Lewis", two seasons of which have been produced and broadcast between 2006 and 2008.

Fox has portrayed Charles, Prince of Wales, in "Whatever Love Means" (2005); Wisley, one of Jane Austen's suitors, in "Becoming Jane" (2007); and Sir Christopher Hatton, the Lord Chancellor of England in "", also released in 2007. In addition, that year Fox was seen on ITV as Cecil Vyse in Andrew Davies' adaptation of "A Room with a View" based on E.M. Forster's 1908 novel.

On stage, Fox has appeared in Shaw's "Mrs Warren's Profession" (2002), John Ford's "'Tis Pity She's a Whore" (2005), and Christopher Hampton's "Treats" (2006–2007). He married his "Treats" co-star Billie Piper on 31 December 2007.

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Early years and education

The third of five childrencitation|title=Biography for James Fox|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0289038/bio|publisher=Internet Movie Database (IMDb)|accessdate=2008-03-19.] of actor James Fox and his wife Mary Elizabeth Piper, [citation|title=Laurence Fox, M, #183080, b. circa 1978|url=http://www.thepeerage.com/p18308.htm#i183080|publisher=ThePeerage.com: A Genealogical Survey of the Peerage of Britain as well as the Royal Families of Europe|date=2006-01-30|accessdate=2008-03-19.] and a great-grandson of dramatist Frederick Lonsdale, [Laurence Fox's father James was the son of Major Robin Fox, who married Angela Muriel Darita Worthington, daughter of Frederick Lonsdale: citation|title=Major Robin Fox, M, #180016, d. 1972|url=http://www.thepeerage.com/p18002.htm#i180016|publisher=ThePeerage.com: A Genealogical Survey of the Peerage of Britain as well as the Royal Families of Europe|date=2006-01-15|accessdate=2008-03-19.] Laurence Fox was born in 1978citation|title=Biography for Laurence Fox|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0289114/bio|publisher=Internet Movie Database (IMDb)|accessdate=2008-03-16.] in Yorkshire, England.citation|author=Elizabeth Grice|title=The young pretender|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/12/16/btvfox16.xml|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=2005-12-16.] At the age of 13 he entered Harrow School where, according to him, he was "shy around women, sensitive and a bit naive".citation|author=Damian Whitworth|title=The face: Laurence Fox: He's got that luvvy feeling|url=http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/celebrity/article3099982.ece|newspaper=The Times|date=2007-12-28.] Although he made friends and liked the drama teacher, he hated the school's strict regime and felt despised and out of place among students with titles and wealth. Constantly in trouble for smoking, fighting, going into town and seeing girls, he was eventually expelled a few weeks before his A-levels. According to him, "It was something to do with a girl at a dance. I went back to take the exams, but I wasn't allowed to speak to anyone." On hindsight, Fox has said that his experience at Harrow enabled him to portray "" – the upper-class students looking down on him whom he disliked – with much insight and cynicism.citation|author=Cassandra Jardine|title='I wished Dad was a hell-raiser'|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2002/11/01/bflaur01.xml|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=2002-11-01.]

Despite doing well in his A-level examinations, because of the report that Harrow had written on him, he was unable to obtain a place at any university. After working as a gardener for two years, and a stint as an office worker which he loathed, he discovered that he enjoyed acting and enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). During his time there he appeared in numerous theatre productions, including the lead roles of Gregers Werle in Ibsen's "The Wild Duck", Marcus Andronicus in "Titus Andronicus" (possibly Shakespeare's earliest tragedy), and Stephen Daedalus in an adaptation of James Joyce's novel "Ulysses".citation|title=Laurence Fox|url=http://www.rada.org/grad01/fox.html|publisher=Royal Academy of Dramatic Art|accessdate=2008-03-18.] However, he was disappointed to find that he was treated "like a nonce" [ [http://en.wiktionary.org Wiktionary] defines "" as, among other things, a UK slang expression for a stupid or worthless person, while the "Oxford English Dictionary" explains it as " [a] sexual deviant; a person convicted of a sexual offence, esp. child abuse": citation|contribution=nonce, "n."²|url=http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00326098|title=OED Online|location=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=December 2003|accessdate=2008-03-18.] for being an Old Harrovian. He also made himself more unpopular by being outspoken and taking on roles in his second and third years despite the practice being forbidden by school policy. One of these was his first break into film – the 2001 horror-thriller "The Hole". Fox feels that in landing the role his name "probably helped – it's a combination of timing, luck and contacts". Nonetheless, " [t] he name opens some doors, but then you have to show you can do the job".

Career

Fox, who graduated from RADA in 2001, [citation|title=Graduate actors – 2001 part 1|url=http://www.rada.org/grad01/grad01a.html|publisher=Royal Academy of Dramatic Art|accessdate=2008-03-19.] followed up "The Hole" by appearing in Robert Altman's 2001 Academy award-winning film "Gosford Park". He then donned uniforms in a slew of film and television features, including roles as a German airman in "Island at War" (2004), an SS officer in "The Last Drop" (2005), and as British soldiers in the 2002 films "Deathwatch" and "Ultimate Force", and in "Colditz" (2005). In the latter made-for-television movie, Fox played Capt. Tom Willis who, after an unsuccessful attempt to break out of a prisoner-of-war camp, is brought to Oflag IV-C in Colditz Castle, one of the most famous German Army POW camps for officers in World War II. Actor Kevin Whately caught Fox's performance in the last ten minutes of the film, which he characterized as "this young English boy going bonkers and wandering out to be shot", and thought "He's interesting." The next day, at a lunch meeting with "all the powers that be" regarding a new project, Whately mentioned that Fox "would be worth taking a look at". [citation|author=Gerard Gilbert|title=Kevin Whately: An inspector calls|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/kevin-whately-an-inspector-calls-522652.html|newspaper=The Independent|date=2006-01-12.]

As a result, Fox was cast in the ITV detective drama "Lewis" as Detective Sergeant James Hathaway, a Cambridge-educated former trainee priest who becomes the partner of Detective Inspector Robert Lewis, played by Whately. The pilot of this spin-off from "Inspector Morse" (1987–2000), was ITV's highest rated drama of 2006.citation|title=Laurence Fox interview|url= http://www.itv.com/Drama/copsandcrime/Lewis/Castinterviews/LaurenceFox/default.html|publisher=ITV|date=2007-08-16|accessdate=2008-03-16.] Two series, broadcast between 2006 and 2008, have been produced.

Real persons that Fox has portrayed include Charles, Prince of Wales, in "Whatever Love Means" (2005);citation|author=Tom Peterkin|title=Royal love stories to be retold on TV|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/05/28/nroyal28.xml|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=2005-05-28; citation|author=Andrew Anthony|title=Even Bragg was boggled review of "Whatever Love Means"|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1675559,00.html|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2006-01-01.] Wisley, one of Jane Austen's suitors, in "Becoming Jane" (2007); and Sir Christopher Hatton, the Lord Chancellor of England in "", also released in 2007. In addition, in that year Fox was seen on ITV as Cecil Vyse in Andrew Davies' adaptation of "A Room with a View" based on E.M. Forster's 1908 novel. He has expressed a desire to appear in a western, and to star as James Bond – the closest he got to the latter was losing the role of villain Gustav Graves in "Die Another Day" (2002) to Toby Stephens.citation|author=Siobhan Duck|title=Lewis' Laurence Fox brooks the idea of playing James Bond|url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23362073-2902,00.html|newspaper=Herald Sun|date=2008-03-12.]

On stage, Fox appeared in "Mrs Warren's Profession" by George Bernard Shaw at the Strand Theatre (now the Novello Theatre) in London in 2002,citation|author=Rhoda Koenig|title=Mrs Warren's Profession, Strand Theatre, London|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre/reviews/mrs-warrens-profession-strand-theatre-london-614142.html|newspaper=The Independent|date=2002-10-16.] and John Ford's 17th-century play "'Tis Pity She's a Whore" in 2005.citation|author=Michael Coveney|title='Tis Pity She's A Whore, Southwark Playhouse, London|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre/reviews/tis-pity-shes-a-whore-southwark-playhouse-london-509682.html|newspaper=The Independent|date=2005-10-05; citation|author=Charles Spencer|title=Heady mix of sex and gore|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/10/12/btpity12.xml|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=2005-10-12.] Between 2006 and 2007 he starred in "Treats" by Christopher Hampton with his future wife, Billie Piper.citation|title=Tickets now on sale for Treats at the Garrick Theatre|url=http://www.londontheatre.co.uk/londontheatre/news/dec06/treats28dec06.htm|publisher=London Theatre Guide|date=2006-12-28|accessdate=2008-03-16; citation|title=Treats reviews|url=http://www.albemarle-london.com/Reviews.php?Show_No=9778|publisher=Albemarle of London|year=2007|accessdate=2008-03-17; citation|title=Treats – Richmond Theatre|url=http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Theatre-Review/treats-richmond-theatre-review|publisher=IndieLondon|year=2007|accessdate=2008-03-16; citation|author=Charles Spencer|title=Treat yourself to a sick note, Billie|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/03/09/btreats09.xml|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=2007-03-09; citation|author=Michael Billington|title=Treats, Garrick Theatre, London|url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/drama/reviews/story/0,,2030066,00.html|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2007-03-09; citation|author=Alice Jones|title=First Night: Treats, Garrick Theatre, London: Billie finds it hard to shine in two dimensions|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre/reviews/first-night-treats-garrick-theatre-london-439506.html|newspaper=The Independent|date=2007-03-09; citation|title=Review round-up: Was Piper treated to good notices?|url=http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8821173438399|publisher=Whatsonstage.com|date=2007-03-09|accessdate=2008-03-17; citation|author=Viv Groskop|title=The method in Billie's maladies: Despite – or because of? – her turbulent week, Billie Piper's stage debut is a triumph|url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/news/story/0,,2030912,00.html|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2007-03-11.] In April 2007, Fox lost his temper with a paparazzi photographer outside the Garrick Theatre in London where he was performing in "Treats" and was arrested for assault. He was later released after receiving a police caution. Newspaper reports stated that the caution would remain on his record for three years and might prevent him obtaining a visa to perform in the US. [citation|title=Fox 'bitterly regrets' assault arrest|url=http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/fox%20bitterly%20regrets%20assault%20arrest_1028864|publisher=Contactmusic.com|date=2007-04-23|accessdate=2008-03-16; citation|title=Billie's brawling lover arrested|url=http://www.dailystar.co.uk/posts/view/12835/Billie-s-brawling-lover-arrested/|newspaper=Daily Star|date=2007-04-23; citation|title=Slap rap for Billie's boyfriend|url=http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article26318.ece|newspaper=The Sun|date=2007-04-24.]

When filming, Fox often plays the jester to amuse the cast and crew. He has said, "I'd just rather have a good time than I would be Daniel Day-Lewis. There ain't no method to my acting."citation|author=Serena Davies|title=Lewis: A class double act|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/02/23/nosplit/bvtvsatfeat23.xml|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=2008-02-23.]

elected work

Film

Some information in this table was obtained from the following websites: citation|title=Laurence Fox|url=http://www.rada.org/grad01/fox.html|publisher=Royal Academy of Dramatic Art|accessdate=2008-03-18; citation|title=Laurence Fox: Other works|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0289114/otherworks|publisher=Internet Movie Database (IMDb)|accessdate=2008-03-16.

Personal life

Fox dated actress Martha Swann for six years [citation|author=Veronica Schmidt|title=Guess who turned up for Billie Piper's wedding to Laurence Fox?|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article3113865.ece|newspaper=The Times|date=2007-12-31.] before getting together with British actress Billie Piper in 2006 while they performed together in the stage play "Treats".citation|author=Kathryn Knight|author2=Clemmie Moodie|title=Chris Evans and Billie: A very bizarre divorce|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=459325&in_page_id=1770|newspaper=Daily Mail|date=2007-06-04.] On 31 December 2007 Fox married Piper in the 12th-century parish church of St. Mary's in Easebourne, West Sussex.citation|title=Church wedding for Piper and Fox|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7165825.stm|publisher=BBC News|date=2007-12-31.] [citation|author=Hilary Osborne|title=Stars respond to Piper's wedding call|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/dec/31/theatrenews.theatre|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2007-12-31; citation|author=Helen Pidd|title=Billie Piper goes traditional for her second wedding|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jan/01/musicnews.theatrenews|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2008-01-01; citation|author=Paul Harris|title=Billie Piper and Laurence Fox tie the knot at their quintessential English wedding|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=505312&in_page_id=1773&ico=Homepage&icl=TabModule&icc=picbox&ct=5&ico=Homepage&icl=TabModule&icc=picbox&ct=5|newspaper=Daily Mail|date=2008-01-02; citation|author=Sophie Borland|title=Billie Piper's New Year's Eve wedding|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/31/npiper131.xml|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=2008-01-04; citation|title=The things they say 7468|url=http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/the%20things%20they%20say%207468_1061243|publisher=Contactmusic.com|date=2008-03-02|accessdate=2008-03-16; citation|title=Billie Piper and Laurence Fox wedding photos|url=http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/celebrity/redcarpet/3095/0/0/billie_piper_and_laurence_fox_wedding_photos.html|newspaper=Marie Claire|accessdate=2008-03-16.] During a 21 February 2008 interview on ITV breakfast show "GMTV", Fox revealed that after a "drunken lunch" during their honeymoon in Mexico he and Piper got matching tattoos to celebrate their marriage. His tattoo, on his forearm, reads "Mrs Fox 31.12.07", while hers states "Mr Fox". [citation|title=Billie and Laurence Fox's inky dedication|url=http://www.express.co.uk/features/view/35795/Billie-and-Laurence-Fox-s-inky-dedication|newspaper=Daily Express|date=2008-02-22; citation|title=Crazy ink love: Billie Piper and Laurence Fox get tattoos to mark their wedding|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=517447&in_page_id=1773|newspaper=Daily Mail|date=2008-02-22; citation|author=Fiona Cummins|title=Billie Piper and Laurence Fox get tattoos to mark their wedding|url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/showbiz/2008/02/22/billie-piper-and-laurence-fox-get-tattoos-to-mark-their-wedding-89520-20327335/|newspaper=The Daily Mirror|date=2008-02-22; citation|author=Sara Nathan, ed.|title=Fox-y Billie Piper is so ink love|url=http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article831986.ece|newspaper=The Sun|date=2008-02-22.] Fox and Piper live in a country cottage in the market town of Midhurst in Chichester, West Sussex. In March 2008 it was reported that Piper had expressed to family and friends a desire to adopt children as well as to have children of her own with Fox. [citation|author=Catherine Evans|title=Billie Piper and her husband Laurence Fox are planning to adopt a child|url=http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/03/09/billie-piper-and-her-husband-laurence-fox-are-planning-to-adopt-a-child-91466-20582492/|newspaper=Wales on Sunday (reproduced on icWales.co.uk)|date=2008-03-09.] On 27 April 2008 "The Sun", quoting an unnamed source, announced that Piper was three months' pregnant and that she and Fox were "absolutely over the moon". [citation|author=Sara Nathan|author2=Emma Cox|title=Billie: Yes, I'm having a baby|url=http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article1092773.ece|newspaper=The Sun|date=2008-04-26; see also citation|author=Richard Simpson|title=Could that be a baby bump you're patting, Billie?|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=561566&in_page_id=1773|newspaper=Daily Mail|date=2008-04-24; citation|title=Is Billie Piper pregnant? Singer shows off baby bump while on holiday|url=http://www.ok-magazine.co.uk/celebnews/view/941/Is-Billie-Piper-pregnant-/|newspaper=OK!|date=2008-04-24; citation|author=Sara Nathan|author2=Emma Cox|title=Billie Piper's tum pat on beach|url=http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article1081594.ece|newspaper=The Sun|date=2008-04-24.]

Fox's siblings are Tom (born 1975), Robin (1976), Lydia (1979) and Jack (1985); Lydia Fox is herself an actress. [imdb name|1799714|Lydia Fox. Retrieved on 19 March 2008.] His uncles are the actors Edward Fox and Daniel Chatto (husband of Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, daughter of the late Princess Margaret), and the theatrical and film producer Robert Fox. The actress Emilia Fox is his first cousin, being the daughter of Edward Fox. [citation|title=Emilia Fox, F, #180027, b. 31 July 1974|url=http://www.thepeerage.com/p18003.htm#i180027|publisher=ThePeerage.com: A Genealogical Survey of the Peerage of Britain as well as the Royal Families of Europe|date=2007-12-08|accessdate=2008-03-19.]

Notes

References

*citation|last=Grice|first=Elizabeth|title=The young pretender|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/12/16/btvfox16.xml|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=2005-12-16.
*citation|last=Jardine|first=Cassandra|title='I wished Dad was a hell-raiser'|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2002/11/01/bflaur01.xml|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=2002-11-01.
*imdb name|0289114|Laurence Fox. Retrieved on 17 March 2008.
*citation|last=Whitworth|first=Damian|title=The face: Laurence Fox: He's got that luvvy feeling|url=http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/celebrity/article3099982.ece|newspaper=The Times|date=2007-12-28.

Further reading

*citation|last=Shearing|first=Caroline|title=Laurence Fox's heaven and hell: British actor Laurence Fox – star of ITV's spin-off series Lewis – talks to Caroline Shearing about his best and worst holiday experiences|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/760690/Laurence-Fox's-heaven-and-hell.html|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph (Travel)|date=2008-02-29.

External links

* [http://www.fandango.com/laurencefox/biographies/p321740 Laurence Fox at Fandango]
* [http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/laurence-fox/ Laurence Fox at Hello!]

Persondata
NAME = Fox, Laurence
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = English film, television and stage actor
DATE OF BIRTH = 1978
PLACE OF BIRTH = Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =