TIM ROTH IS TELLING NO LIES
By Alex Simon
Editor's Note: This article appears in the March issue of Venice Magazine.
One of the film world’s great chameleons, Tim Roth was born in London May 14, 1961, the son of a journalist and a school teacher. After dropping out of art school, Roth was discovered by maverick British director Alan Clarke, and cast in his incendiary 1982 study of the skinhead movement in the UK, Made in Britain. Tim Roth hasn’t stopped working since, with over 70 feature and TV roles to his credit including such iconic titles as The Hit, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, Vincent and Theo, Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Woody Allen’s Everyone Says I Love You, and most recently, the lead in Francis Coppola’s first feature in ten years, Youth Without Youth.
Roth stepped behind the camera in 1999 to direct the critically-lauded family drama The War Zone and was nominated for a 1995 Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his scene-stealing work in the period drama Rob Roy, as one of the great villains in film history.
Tim Roth takes the lead in a television series for the first time in Lie to Me, which premiered January 21. Roth plays Dr. Cal Lightman, an interrogation expert who relies on his unique system of lie detecting based on the subject’s body language. Co-starring a fine cast that includes Kelli Williams, Monica Raymund and Brendan Hines, the show runs Wednesday nights on Fox.
Tim Roth sat down with us recently over coffee and croissants to discuss film, television, and the brutal brilliance of Lawrence Tierney. Here’s what transpired:
Your character’s talent in Lie to Me is very specific. Is there a consultant you’ve been working with to prepare for it?
By Alex Simon
Editor's Note: This article appears in the March issue of Venice Magazine.
One of the film world’s great chameleons, Tim Roth was born in London May 14, 1961, the son of a journalist and a school teacher. After dropping out of art school, Roth was discovered by maverick British director Alan Clarke, and cast in his incendiary 1982 study of the skinhead movement in the UK, Made in Britain. Tim Roth hasn’t stopped working since, with over 70 feature and TV roles to his credit including such iconic titles as The Hit, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, Vincent and Theo, Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Woody Allen’s Everyone Says I Love You, and most recently, the lead in Francis Coppola’s first feature in ten years, Youth Without Youth.
Roth stepped behind the camera in 1999 to direct the critically-lauded family drama The War Zone and was nominated for a 1995 Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his scene-stealing work in the period drama Rob Roy, as one of the great villains in film history.
Tim Roth takes the lead in a television series for the first time in Lie to Me, which premiered January 21. Roth plays Dr. Cal Lightman, an interrogation expert who relies on his unique system of lie detecting based on the subject’s body language. Co-starring a fine cast that includes Kelli Williams, Monica Raymund and Brendan Hines, the show runs Wednesday nights on Fox.
Tim Roth sat down with us recently over coffee and croissants to discuss film, television, and the brutal brilliance of Lawrence Tierney. Here’s what transpired:
Your character’s talent in Lie to Me is very specific. Is there a consultant you’ve been working with to prepare for it?