Julian Fellowes

Julian Fellowes
Born	Julian Alexander Fellowes
Spouse	Emma Joy Kitchener (1990-present)

Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, DL (born 17 August 1949), known as Julian Fellowes, is an English actor, novelist and screenwriter.

Personal life

Fellowes was born in Cairo, Egypt, the youngest son of Olwen (née Stuart-Jones) and Peregrine Edward Launcelot Fellowes, a diplomat and Arabist who campaigned to have Haile Selassie restored to his throne during World War II. Julian inherited the title of Lord of the Manor of Tattershall from his father, making him the fourth Fellowes to hold it. Fellowes was educated at Ampleforth College, Magdalene College, Cambridge and the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.

On 28 April 1990, he married Emma Joy Kitchener, LVO (a Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Michael of Kent, and great-great-niece of the 1st Earl Kitchener) and assumed the name Kitchener-Fellowes by deed enrolled with the College of Arms in 1998. They have a son, Peregrine, who was educated at Winchester College. Their home is in Dorset and in 2009 Fellowes was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of the county.

Career

Television

Fellowes played the part of Kilwillie in the television series Monarch of the Glen. Other notable acting roles included the part of Claud Seabrook in the acclaimed 1996 BBC drama serial Our Friends in the North. He has twice notably portrayed George IV as the Prince Regent in the 1982 television version of The Scarlet Pimpernel and the 1996 adaptation of Bernard Cornwell's novel Sharpe's Regiment. He launched a new series on BBC One in 2004, Julian Fellowes Investigates: A Most Mysterious Murder, which he wrote and also introduced on screen. He is the presenter of Never Mind the Full Stops, a panel-based gameshow transmitted on BBC Four from mid-2006. He also played a minor role in a 1984 Swallows and Amazons television adaptation.

Film

He wrote the screenplay for Gosford Park, directed by Robert Altman and won the Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen in 2002. He was also featured in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, playing the Minister of Defense. In late 2005, Fellowes made his directorial debut with the film Separate Lies. 2009 saw the release of Young Victoria, starring Emily Blunt, for which he wrote the original script. Other screenwriting credits include Vanity Fair.

Novels

His novel Snobs was published in 2004. It focused on the social nuances of the upper class and concerned the marriage of an upper-middle class girl, Edith Lavery - the daughter of an accountant and socially aspiring mother - to Charles, Earl Broughton - the son of the Marquess of Uckfield. Fellowes has described himself as coming from the "rock bottom end of the top", and drew on his knowledge of Society to paint a detailed portrait of the behaviour and snobbery of the upper class. Snobs was a Sunday Times Best Seller and has now been published in many countries. In the 1970s he also wrote romantic novels, using the names Rebecca Greville and Alexander Morant. In 2009 he published the novel, Past Imperfect, also a Sunday Times Best Seller. It deals with the Debutante Season of 1968, comparing the world then to the world of 2008. Despite its familiar territory, Fellowes insists it is not about class but about time, and what time does to lives. It was chosen as a Richard & Judy Summer Read.

Theatre

He also penned the script to the current West End musical Mary Poppins, produced by Cameron Mackintosh and Disney, which opened on Broadway in December 2006.

Community Involvment and Charity Work

Fellowes and his wife are heavily involved in several charitable causes, as well as organisations to promote young people's access to the Arts. He is the Chairman of The Talking Books Appeal for the RNIB, and also a Vice President of The Weldmar Trust Hospice, Dorchester, near their home in Dorset. He is an Ambassador for The Breast Cancer Haven, Patron of The Rainbow Trust for Child Bereavement and Patron of Help the Aged, South West Region. He has been a Mentor for the Guiding Lights Scheme to help young talent into film, and he is a Patron of both The Cheltenham Screenwriters' Festival and The Woodstock Literary Festival. Again, in Dorset, he is a Patron of Lewiston School and the President of the Hardy Society. In addition to these, he is an active supporter of many charities, including Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, Changing Faces (for those suffering severe facial disfigurement), The Living Paintings Trust, MacMillan Cancer Support, The Stroke Association and The Lord Kitchener National Memorial Fund, of which his wife is President. In 2008, Fellowes received the Rotary Club Paul Harris Fellowship Medal, for Services to Charity.

He has written speeches for members of the Conservative Party.

External links

• Interview with Bella Stander, Bookreporter.com
• Author Interview Podcast with Paula Shackleton, BookBuffet.com
• The Case of Charles Bravo film-page