Bruce Robinson (born May 1, 1946) is a British writer, actor and director, best known for his film Withnail and I. May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Withnail and I is a cult British film made in 1987 by Handmade Films. ...

He was born in Broadstairs in Kent and studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. At age 21 he was cast as Benvolio in Franco Zeffirelli's film adaption of Romeo and Juliet. After spending the seventies as a struggling actor, including in a film for François Truffaut, in 1980 he dedicated himself to writing. Broadstairs is a town in Kent, England, with a population of about 22. ... Kent is a county in England, south-east of London. ... London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England and is the most populous city in the European Union. ... Gianfranco Corsi (born February 12, 1923), better known as Franco Zeffirelli, is an Italian film director. ... Romeo and Juliet is a 1968 film adaptation of the William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet. ... François Truffaut. ...

Commissioned by David Puttnam Robinson had adapted The Killing Fields from book to screenplay: a story about two journalists' experiences fleeing the Khmer Rouge which earned him Oscar and Golden Globe nominations and a BAFTA award. Sir David Terence Puttnam, Lord Puttnam of Queensgate CBE film producer and politician. ... A commemmorative stupa filled with the skulls of the victims. ... Flag of the Khmer Rouge Photos from the Khmer Rouge regimes archives showing a few of their hundreds of thousands of victims (Photos on display at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, Phnom Penh Skulls of Khmer Rouge victims at the Killing Fields site at Choeung Ek The Khmer Rouge... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent film awards in the United States and most watched awards ceremony in the world. ... The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and television programs, given out each year during a formal dinner. ... The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organization that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, childrens film and television, and interactive media. ...

Robinson is most widely recognised for the film Withnail and I (1987), which he wrote and directed. It was partly autobiographical, the character Withnail largely based on a friend, Vivian MacKerrell, who died young and the 'I' (or Marwood) on Robinson. The script started life as a novel that circulated privately amongst friends and had an underground following. After 'Withnail' his career has had mixed success. How to Get Ahead in Advertising is also highly regarded. His first Hollywood film the mainstream thriller Jennifer 8 was a box office disappointment and Robinson returned to writing screenplays for others. Withnail and I is a cult British film made in 1987 by Handmade Films. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Vivian MacKerrell was a British actor of the 1960s, who shared a house with film director Bruce Robinson, director of Withnail & I, and was reputedly the major basis for Withnails character, considered one of the most memorable characters in the history of British cinema. ... How to Get Ahead in Advertising is 1989 British motion picture written and directed by Bruce Robinson and starring Richard E. Grant and Rachel Ward. ... ... Jennifer 8 is the name of a 1992 film starring Andy Garcia and Uma Thurman. ...

He has also written a novel, The Peculiar Memories of Thomas Penman and a novelette, Paranoia in the Launderette.

Selected filmography

As actor:

• Romeo and Juliet (1968)
• The Music Lovers (1970)
• L'Histoire d'Adèle H. (1975)

As writer: Romeo and Juliet is an Oscar-winning 1968 film adaptation of the William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet. ... The Music Lovers is a 1971 biopic of the 19th century Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, as conceived by maverick director Ken Russell. ... The Story of Adele H. (also LHistoire dAdèle H.) is a 1975 English/French film which tells the story of the real-life Adèle Hugo, the daughter of writer Victor Hugo, whose obsessive love for a naval officer led to her downfall. ...

• The Killing Fields (1984) (writer)
• Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
• In Dreams (1999)

As writer-director: The Killing Fields (1984) is an award-winning dramatic British film based on the experiences of the journalists Dith Pran, who survived the Khmer Rouge regime, Sydney Schanberg, and Jon Swain. ... Fat Man and Little Boy (aka Shadow Makers in the UK) is a 1989 film that reenacts the Manhattan Project, the secret Allied endeavor to develop the first nuclear weapons during World War II. It is named after the nuclear weapons known as Fat Man and Little Boy, and also... In Dreams is a movie released in 1999. ...

• The Rum Diary (2008) (Pre-Production)
• Withnail and I (1987)
• How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989)
• Jennifer 8 (1992)

The Rum Diary, an early novel by American writer Hunter S. Thompson, was written in 1959 but was not published until 1998. ... Withnail and I is a cult British film made in 1987 by Handmade Films. ... How to Get Ahead in Advertising is 1989 British motion picture written and directed by Bruce Robinson and starring Richard E. Grant and Rachel Ward. ... Jennifer 8 is the name of a 1992 film starring Andy Garcia and Uma Thurman. ...

Further reading

• Withnail and I (Bloomsbury Film Classics), Bruce Robinson, Bloomsbury, 1998, ISBN 0747538972
• The Peculiar Memories of Thomas Penman, Bruce Robinson, Bloomsbury, 1998, ISBN 0747542376
• Paranoia in the Launderette, Bruce Robinson, Bloomsbury, 1998, ISBN 0747542430

External links

• In-depth interview with Bruce Robinson, The Idler 12, November 1995. Contains discussion about the living conditions which inspired Withnail and I.
• Bruce Robinson at the Internet Movie Database