Derek Jacobi studied at Cambridge and trained at the Birmingham Repertory Company until Laurence Olivier saw him perform and eventually invited him to join the newly-formed and highly exclusive, National Theatre Company.

He went on to be featured in the Olivier produced films of Othello (1965, as Cassio) and Three Sisters (1970). Interestingly, Derek Jacobi and Laurence Olivier are the only actors to have received both the Danish and British Knighthood.

In 1972, he starred in the BBC miniseries "Man of Straw", directed by Herbert Wise, who also cast him for the title role in "I, Claudius" three years later.  Other television work included the coveted roles of Richard II and Hamlet in the BBC Shakespeare plays. In 1980, Derek gave his Broadway debut in "The Suicide" and then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1982-1985 where he alternated four demanding roles in repertoire at the same time: Benedick, Prospero, Peer Gynt and Cyrano de Bergerac, an unprecedented feat.  In 1986, he made his commercial West End debut in "Breaking the Code", which was also taken to Broadway, and continued on the West End two years later when he alternated the roles of Shakespeare's Richard II and Richard III in repertoire.  

Derek professes to have always loved film, and cites his favorite movies as including Pinocchio and Alec Guinness movies. He has made his own film appearances in The Day of the Jackal (1973), The Odessa File (1974), The Medusa Touch (1978), The Human Factor (1979), Enigma (1982), Little Dorrit (1988), and the Kenneth Branagh films 'Henry V' (1989, as the Chorus) and 'Dead Again' (1991) (both films also starring Emma Thompson). Jacobi won a Tony Award for his role as Benedick in "Much Ado About Nothing," and critical acclaim for his stunning TV work in the BBC series "I, Claudius" and as Hitler in "Inside the Third Reich." Another popular Jacobi television series was The Cadfael Mysteries (1994-1998).

In 1985, he was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) and created a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1994.

FILM

• Joan of Arc: The Virgin Warrior (2004)
• Two Men Went to War (2002) .... Maj. Merton
• Night's Noontime (2002) .... Richard Dadd
• A Revenger's Tragedy (2002) .... The Duke
• Ultimate Fights from the Movies (2002) (V) (archive footage) .... Gracchus (Gladiator)
• Gosford Park (2001) .... Mr. Probert
• Revelation (2001) .... The librarian
• The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky (2001) (voice) (as Sir Derek Jacobi) .... The Voice of Nijinsky
• Body, The (2000) .... Father Lavelle
• Up at the Villa (2000) .... Lucky Leadbetter
• Gladiator (2000) .... Senator Gracchus
• Father Damien (1999) .... Father Leonor Fouesnel
• Love Is the Devil (1998) .... Francis Bacon
• Basil (1998) .... Father Frederick
• Hamlet (1996) .... Claudius
• Achilles (1996) .... Narrator
• Dead Again (1991) .... Franklyn Madson
• The Fool (1990) .... Mr. Frederick and Sir John
• Henry V (1989) .... Chorus
• Little Dorrit (1988) .... Arthur Clennam
• Enigma (1982) .... Kurt Limmer, East German
• The Secret of NIMH (1982) .... Nicodemus
• Charlotte (1980) .... Daberlohn
• HThe uman Factor (1980) .... Arthur Davis
• Der Mann, der sich in Luft auflöste (1980) .... Martin Beck
• The Medusa Touch (1978) .... Townley
• The Odessa File (1974) .... Klaus Wenzer
• Blue Blood (1973) .... Gregory
• DThe ay of the Jackal (1973) .... Caron
• Three Sisters (1970) .... Andrei
• Interlude (1968) .... Paul
• Othello (1965) .... Cassio

TELEVISION

• Dinosaur Hunters (2002) .... Narrator
• The Edwardian Country House (2002) (mini) .... Narrator
• The Gathering Storm (2002) .... Stanley Baldwin
• The Jury (2002) (mini) .... George Cording QC
• The 100 Greatest TV Characters (2001) (archive footage) .... Claudius
• Jason and the Argonauts (2000) .... Phineas
• The Wyvern Mystery (2000) .... Squire Fairfield
• Flora Britannica (1999) .... Narrator
• Animated Epics: Beowulf (1998) (voice) .... Narrator
• Breaking the Code (1996) .... Alan Turing
• Witness Against Hitler (1996) .... General
• Cadfael (1994) .... Brother Cadfael
• The Secret Garden (1994) (voice) .... Archibald Craven
• Circle of Deceit (1993) .... Randal
• The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends (1993) (voice) .... Mr. Jeremy Fisher
• The Tenth Man (1988) .... The Imposter
• The Secret Garden (1987).... Archibald Craven
• Mr Pye (1986) .... Mr. Pye
• Cyrano de Bergerac (1985) .... Cyrano de Bergerac
• Inside the Third Reich (1982) .... Adolf Hitler
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1982) .... Dom Claude Frollo
• Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1980) .... Hamlet
• King Richard the Second (1978) .... King Richard
• Philby, Burgess and Maclean (1977) .... Guy Burgess
• I, Claudius (1976) (mini) .... Claudius
• The Pallisers (1974) .... Lord Fawn
• The Strauss Family (1972) (mini) .... Lanner
• Much Ado About Nothing (1967) .... Don Pedro

THEATRE

• "The Hollow Crown" (West End)
• "Much Ado About Nothing" (Broadway)
• "Breaking the Code" (Broadway and West End)

WEBSITES

• On the record: Sir Derek Jacobi (Fan Site)
• Sir Derek Jacobi @ IMDB
• Sir Derek Jacobi @ Google Directory
• Google Search for Sir Derek Jacobi