Timothy Leonard Spall (born February 27, 1957) is an English actor and presenter. He became a household name in the UK after appearing as Barry Spencer Taylor in the 1983 ITV comedy-drama series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.
Spall performed in Secrets & Lies (1996), and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Subsequently, he starred in many films, including Hamlet (1996), Still Crazy (1998), Nicholas Nickleby (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), Enchanted (2007), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), The Damned United (2009), The King's Speech (2010), Ginger and Rosa (2012), Denial (2016), and The Party (2017). He voiced Nick, a cynical, portly rat in Chicken Run (2000). He played Peter Pettigrew in five Harry Potter films, from Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) to Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010).
Spall has collaborated with director Mike Leigh, making six films together: Home Sweet Home (1982), Life is Sweet (1990), Secrets & Lies (1996), Topsy-Turvy (1999), All or Nothing (2002), and Mr. Turner (2014). Spall won great acclaim for his performance in the last of these for his portrayal as J. M. W. Turner winning him the Best Actor Award at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.
He starred in the television documentary Timothy Spall: ...at Sea (2010–2012) and in 2019 he appeared as Lord Arthur Wallington in the 6-part BBC Cold War drama Summer of Rockets.
Known For
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
(2005)
Peter Pettigrew
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
(2009)
Peter Pettigrew
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
(2004)
Peter Pettigrew
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
(2007)
Peter Pettigrew (uncredited)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
(2011)
Peter Pettigrew
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
(2010)
Peter Pettigrew
Alice in Wonderland
(2010)
The Bloodhound (voice)
Alice Through the Looking Glass
(2016)
Bayard (voice)
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
(2004)
Mr. Poe
Enchanted
(2007)
Nathaniel
The Last Samurai
(2003)
Simon Graham
Wicked Little Letters
(2024)
Edward Swan
Chicken Run
(2000)
Nick (voice)
The King's Speech
(2010)
Winston Churchill
Early Man
(2018)
Chief Bobnar (voice)
Vanilla Sky
(2001)
Thomas Tipp
Full Filmography
Acting
The Vanishing Army
(1978)
Wainwright
The Brylcreem Boys
(1979)
Shorty
Quadrophenia
(1979)
Projectionist
S.O.S. Titanic
(1980)
Jim (uncredited)
The Three Sisters
(1981)
Andrei
The Cherry Orchard
(1981)
Epikhodov
Say No to Strangers
(1981)
Remembrance
(1982)
Douglas
The Missionary
(1982)
Parswell
Home Sweet Home
(1982)
Gordon
A Cotswold Death
(1982)
Detective Sergeant Baxter
Oliver Twist
(1982)
1st Constable
The Bride
(1985)
Paulus
Dutch Girls
(1985)
Lyndon Baines Jellicoe
Gothic
(1986)
Dr. Polidori
Body Contact
(1987)
Paul
Crusoe
(1988)
Reverend Milne
Dream Demon
(1988)
Peck
To Kill a Priest
(1988)
Igor
Journey's End
(1988)
Lt. Trotter
David Macaulay: Pyramid
(1989)
Kawab / Tomb Robber (voice)
The Sheltering Sky
(1990)
Eric Lyle
White Hunter, Black Heart
(1990)
Hodkins
1871
(1990)
Ramborde
The Tale of Little Pig Robinson
(1990)
Pig Robinson
Life Is Sweet
(1990)
Aubrey
Not Mozart: WAM! Limited
(1991)
Wolfgang and Amadeus Mozart
Nona
(1991)
Chico
Broke
(1991)
Francis Meeks
Dread Poets' Society
(1992)
Derek
Roots
(1992)
Jimmy Beales
Secrets & Lies
(1996)
Maurice Purley
Hamlet
(1996)
Rosencrantz
The Wisdom of Crocodiles
(1998)
Inspector Healey
Still Crazy
(1998)
David "Beano" Baggot
Neville's Island
(1998)
Gordon
Topsy-Turvy
(1999)
Richard Temple (The Mikado)
The Clandestine Marriage
(1999)
Sterling
Rough for Theatre II
(2000)
B
Chicken Run
(2000)
Nick (voice)
Vatel
(2000)
Gourville
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Espionage Escapades
(2000)
Cunningham
Love's Labour's Lost
(2000)
Armado
The Old Man Who Read Love Stories
(2001)
Ivor the Invisible
(2001)
Dad (voice)
Lucky Break
(2001)
Cliff
Vanilla Sky
(2001)
Thomas Tipp
Intimacy
(2001)
Andy, Claire's husband
Rock Star
(2001)
Mats, Steel Dragon Road Manager
Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise
(2001)
Tommy Rag
Nicholas Nickleby
(2002)
Charles Cheeryble
All or Nothing
(2002)
Phil
Christopher Plummer: A Man For All Stages
(2002)
Self
Bodily Harm
(2002)
Mitchel Greenfield
My House in Umbria
(2003)
Quinty
Gettin' Square
(2003)
Darren Barrington
The Last Samurai
(2003)
Simon Graham
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
(2004)
Mr. Poe
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
(2004)
Peter Pettigrew
Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman
(2005)
Albert Pierrepoint
Cherished
(2005)
Terry Cannings
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
(2005)
Peter Pettigrew
Mr Harvey Lights a Candle
(2005)
Mysterious Creatures
(2006)
Bill Ainscow
Teenage Tourettes Camp
(2006)
Narrator
A Room with a View
(2007)
Mr Emerson
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
(2007)
Peter Pettigrew (uncredited)
Death Defying Acts
(2007)
Sugarman
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
(2007)
Beadle
Enchanted
(2007)
Nathaniel
Appaloosa
(2008)
Phil Olson
Gunrush
(2009)
Doug Becket
Heartless
(2009)
George Morgan
Desert Flower
(2009)
Terry Donaldson
The Fattest Man in Britain
(2009)
Georgie Godwin
The Damned United
(2009)
Peter Taylor
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
(2009)
Peter Pettigrew
Jackboots on Whitehall
(2010)
Churchill (voice)
The King's Speech
(2010)
Winston Churchill
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
(2010)
Peter Pettigrew
Alice in Wonderland
(2010)
The Bloodhound (voice)
From Time to Time
(2010)
Boggis
My Angel
(2011)
Mr. Lambert
Reuniting the Rubins
(2011)
Lennie Rubin
Wake Wood
(2011)
Arthur
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
(2011)
Peter Pettigrew
Boy
(2012)
Assassin's Bullet
(2012)
Dr. Kahn
Room on the Broom
(2012)
Dragon (voice)
Comes a Bright Day
(2012)
Charlie
Ginger & Rosa
(2012)
Mark
Love Bite
(2012)
Sid
The Rise
(2012)
D I West
Upside Down
(2012)
Bob Boruchowitz
Back With The Boys Again
(2013)
Himself
Mr. Turner
(2014)
JMW Turner
The Love Punch
(2014)
Jerry
9 Kisses
(2014)
Arm Wrestling Man #2
The One and Only Mike Leigh
(2014)
Himself
Sucker
(2015)
The Professor
Fungus The Bogeyman
(2015)
Fungus
A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman
(2015)
Self / Nick
Cider with Rosie
(2015)
Laurie Lee (voice)
Stanley, a Man of Variety
(2016)
Stanley/Stanley's Father/Stanley's Mother/Tony Hancock/Peter Sellers aka Dr Boob/George Formby/James Finlayson/Max Wall/Alistair Sim/Margaret Rutherford/Frank Randle/Max Miller/Noel Coward/Igor
Denial
(2016)
David Irving
Alice Through the Looking Glass
(2016)
Bayard (voice)
Away
(2016)
Joseph
Finding Your Feet
(2017)
Charlie Glover
The Changeover
(2017)
Carmody Braque
The Journey
(2017)
Ian Paisley
The Party
(2017)
Bill
Early Man
(2018)
Chief Bobnar (voice)
Mrs Lowry & Son
(2019)
L.S. Lowry
This Time Away
(2019)
Nigel
The Corrupted
(2019)
Clifford Cullen
It Snows in Benidorm
(2020)
Peter Riordan
Grizzly II: Revenge
(2020)
Rob (uncredited)
The Grand Duke Of Corsica
(2021)
Alfred Rott
The Last Bus
(2021)
Tom
Spencer
(2021)
Major Alistair Gregorys
The Pale Blue Eye
(2022)
Superintendent Thayer
This Is Christmas
(2022)
Ray
Bolan's Shoes
(2023)
Jimmy
The Heist Before Christmas
(2023)
Santa
Northern Comfort
(2023)
Edward
Wicked Little Letters
(2024)
Edward Swan
Production