Nigel Hawthorne had been acting in his native England for nearly a quarter of a century before making his American debut in a 1974 production of As You Like It. Sixteen years later, Hawthorne prompted critical acclaim for his performance in the stage version of Shadowlands. In 1994, he wowed movie audiences with his brilliant, outrageous performance as British regent George III in The Madness of King George. Nominated for an Academy Award, Nigel Hawthorne might very well have claimed the trophy had 1994 not been The Year of Forrest Gump.