Jim Broadbent has spoken out about his decision to turn down an OBE.
The Oscar-winning actor was offered an OBE for his services to acting 20 years ago, but declined at the time.
Asked about this during an interview with Radio Times, Jim admitted: “We [actors] get treated well all the time. Actors who get these awards have all won lots of treats along the way doing what they love doing – they don’t need more presents.”
He then shared the “main reason” for turning down the honour, explaining: “Richard Eyre, when asked why he accepted his knighthood, said, ‘Vanity’, and when I’m asked why I turned it down, I say the same. Vanity. Not a good look. Didn’t suit me.”
Back in 2012, Jim said that he liked “the idea of actors not being part of the Establishment”.
“We’re vagabonds and rogues,” he said. “And we’re not a part of the authorities and Establishment, really. If you mix the two together, things get blurry.”
He was also quoted as saying the British Empire was not something he wanted to “celebrate” in 2007.
Throughout his many decades in the public eye, Jim Broadbent has won a number of prestigious awards, including a TV Bafta, two Golden Globes and an Oscar, which he bagged for his supporting role in the film Iris.
Later this month, he’ll be seen in the long-awaited comedy drama The Duke, in which he shares the screen with Dame Helen Mirren.
Read his full interview in the latest issue of Radio Times, on sale now.
