On television Jacobi has also earned praise for his roles in a number of productions. In 1989, he won an Emmy for his performance in the 1988 adaptation of Graham Greene's 'The Tenth Man'. Undoubtedly one of his most memorable performances will be that of one of the few good Roman emperors, Claudius the TV series of the same name. His character was famous for playing the stamerring clown which enabled him to survive when all others were assassinated around him. Few will forget his classic performance which was undoubtedly honed by comprhensive his stage expereinces.  In 2004, Jacobi starred in an acclaimed production of Friedrich Schiller's Don Carlos at the Crucible Theatre which then ran in the Gielgud Theatre in London.

More recently he has been in some major feature films inlcuding the multi-award winning Gosford Park (2001) and the excellent made for TV movie 'The Gathering Storm' (2002). He demonstarted his abillity to fit into a variety of roles playing (the father of vampires and werewolves) Alexander Corvinus in the enjoyable romp Underworld: Evolution (2006)

He is a incredible television and cinema actor, but it is his performance on the British theatre boards that really distinguishes him, and other british actors, from their american counterparts. This is not to say that there are not great american actors; it is the discipline of the theatre that puts actors like Jacobi apart from many of his peers across the globe.

After 27 years together, he registered his civil partnership with long-term partner Richard Clifford in March 2006.

Quotes

'Curiously, they did market research on accents and found the two accents that turned most people off on English television were Birmingham and Wales'

'I hope Sir Larry will be proud of what's happened. I certainly learned a huge amount from him. He was always very generous to the young actors'

'You have to get through the Hamlet hoop as a young actor. Your classical qualifications are based on the quality of your Hamlet. And then, as an older actor, you have to get through the Lear hoop. And I'm approaching the Lear hoop'

Autobiographies:

Suggested films to see:

Underworld Evolution (2006)
Dead Calm (1991)
I Claudius(1977) TV
The Tenth Man (1988) TV