Actor, director, screenwriter and writer, born in London. He was awarded C.B.E. (Commander of the British Empire) in 1999.

Openly gay, Simon Callow will be forever remembered as the religious figure gallantly and joyously jumping naked into a lake with two younger Adonisi in Room With A View. More recently, Callow has written an op-ed piece for the London Times describing his torture and torment as director and star of the London production of Larry Kramer's The Destiny Of Me.

Callow first gained notoriety for his recitals of Shakespeare's love sonnets as they were originally written: from one man to another. He has also written an excellent biography of Charles Laughton.

Films: A Chance in a Million A Room With a View (1986) Maurice (1987) The Good Father (1987) Postcards from the Edge (1990) Sherlock Holmes - The Crucifer of Blood (1991) The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (1991) Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) Street Fighter (1995) Jefferson in Paris (1995) A Night of Love (1995) James and the Giant Peach (1996) Bedrooms and Hallways (1998) Shakespeare in Love (1998)

TV: Inspector Morse (episode: The Wolvercote Tongue) Books: Orson Welles: The Road to Xanadu (1996) Love is Where it Falls: An Account of a Passionate Frienship Theatre: The mystery of Charles Dickens (2000-2001)