Jacobi is famous for his role in number of films, including Othello (1965), The Day of the Jackal (1973), Henry V (1989), Dead Again (1991), Hamlet (1996) and others.
He was knighted in 1983 for his services to the theatre and was honoured as a Knight First Class of the Order of the Danneborg (Danish Knighthood) in 1989.
The English actor Sir Derek Jacobi, has also performed in Anton Chekov’s Uncle Vanya and Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac.
Jacobi, an only child, was born on 22 October 1938 in Leytonstone, Essex, England, the son of Daisy Gertrude (née Masters; 1910–1980), a secretary who worked in a drapery store in Leyton High Road, and Alfred George Jacobi (1910–1993), who ran a sweet shop and was a tobacconist in Chingford.
Jacobi’s talent was recognized by Laurence Olivier, who invited the young actor back to London to become one of the founding members of the new National Theatre, even though at the time Jacobi was relatively unknown.
He played Laertes in the National Theatre’s inaugural production of Hamlet opposite Peter O’Toole in 1963.
Jacobi was increasingly busy with stage and screen acting, but his big breakthrough came in 1976 when he played the title role in the BBC’s series I, Claudius.
He cemented his reputation with his performance as the stammering, twitching Emperor Claudius, winning much praise.
In 2003, he was involved with Scream of the Shalka, a webcast based on the science fiction series Doctor Who. He played the voice of the Doctor’s nemesis the Master alongside Richard E. Grant as the Doctor.
Jacobi starred in Michael Grandage’s production of King Lear (London, 2010), giving what The New Yorker called “one of the finest performances of his distinguished career”. In May 2011, he reprised this role at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
In 2019 he reprised the role of the emperor Claudius in Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans.