Bruce Robinson
Bruce Robinson (born 1946) is an English filmmaker, screenwriter, novelist, and former actor best known for the cult classic Withnail and I (1987). Born in London and raised in Broadstairs, he began as an actor, appearing as Benvolio in Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968) and in Ken Russell's The Music Lovers and Truffaut's The Story of Adèle H. Years on the dole in Camden Town later fed Withnail and I, which he wrote and directed and which launched Richard E. Grant's career. He was Oscar-nominated and won a BAFTA for adapting Roland Joffé's The Killing Fields (1984). His other directing credits include How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989) and the Hollywood thriller Jennifer 8 (1992), after which he largely stepped away from directing to concentrate on writing; he later returned with the Hunter S. Thompson adaptation The Rum Diary (2011). His non-fiction includes the Jack the Ripper investigation They All Love Jack.