James Broadbent is an Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA-winning English theatre, film and television actor.

Broadbent was born in Lincoln to Roy Broadbent, an artist, sculptor, interior designer, and furniture maker who turned a former church into a theatre named after him, and Dee, a sculptress. Broadbent's parents were both amateur actors who co-founded the Holton Players acting troupe; the two were described by the BBC as "conscientious objectors" who "worked the land" rather than participate in World War II. He had a twin sister who died at birth. Broadbent was educated at Leighton Park School, a Quaker school in Reading, and briefly attended art college before transferring to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Broadbent is married to painter and former theatre designer, Anastasia Lewis.

Broadbent made his film debut in 1978 with a tiny role in Jerzy Skolimowski's The Shout, and made his television debut the following year. He went on to work with Stephen Frears (for television, and in The Hit (1984)) and Terry Gilliam (in Time Bandits (1981) and Brazil (1985) before establishing himself in Mike Leigh's Life Is Sweet (1990). He proved his ability as a character actor in films including The Crying Game (1992), Enchanted April (1992), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), The Borrowers (1997) and Little Voice (1998) before taking a leading role in another Mike Leigh film, Topsy-Turvy (1999). He played "The Shy Doctor" in the 1999 Comic Relief parody Doctor Who sketch, Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death. In 2001, Broadbent starred in three of the year's most successful films: Bridget Jones' Diary, Moulin Rouge!, for which he won a BAFTA and Iris, for which he won an Oscar for his portrayal of John Bayley. He is regarded as one of cinema's most reliable character actors and has a reputation of being very easy to work with.

Broadbent also appeared as DCI Roy "The Slag" Slater, an associate character in the enormously popular sitcom Only Fools and Horses. The character appeared in three episodes over an eight-year period. He had originally been offered the lead role of Del Trotter in the series, but he turned it down due to other commitments. Other comic roles include the lead role in the sitcom The Peter Principle and occasional guest appearances in Not The Nine O'Clock News and Victoria Wood As Seen On TV.

Broadbent played the title role in Channel 4 drama, Longford in October 2006, earning a 2007 Emmy nomination for his performance. He was portrayed in the The Simpsons episode "Co-Dependent's Day" playing a coal miner in a fictitious film called 'The Momentum of Things'. He appeared in the original radio production of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, playing the character Vroomfondel.

On September 17, 2007 it was announced that he will play Horace Slughorn in the sixth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.