Born in Cambridge, he was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys in Leicester and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art RADA. Early in his stage career, Attenborough starred in the London West End production of Agatha Christies The Mousetrap, which went on to become one of the worlds longest running stage productions. Both he and his wife were among the original cast members of the production, which opened in 1952 and as of 2006 is still running.His film career began in 1942 as a deserting sailor in In Which We Serve, a role which would help to typecast him for many years as spivs or cowards in films like London Belongs to Me 1948, Morning Departure 1950, and his breakthrough role as a psychopathic young gangster in the film of Graham Greenes novel Brighton Rock 1947. He worked prolifically in British films for the next thirty years, and in the 1950s appeared in several successful comedies for John and Roy Boulting, including Privates Progress 1956 and Im All Right Jack 1959.In the 1960s he expanded his range of character roles in films such as Seance on a Wet Afternoon 1964 and Guns at Batasi 1964, for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the regimental Sergeant Major. In 1963 he appeared in the ensemble cast of The Great Escape, as Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett Big X, the head of the escape committee. As of September 2006, he is one of only three surviving major stars of the film, the others being James Garner and David McCallum.In 1967 and 1968, he won backtoback Golden Globe Awards in the category of Best Supporting Actor, the first time for The Sand Pebbles starring Steve McQueen, and the second time for Doctor Dolittle starring Rex Harrison. He would win another Golden Globe for Best Director, for Gandhi, in 1983. He has never been nominated for an Academy Award in an acting category.He took no acting roles following his appearance in Otto Premingers version of The Human Factor in 1979, until his appearance as the eccentric developer John Hammond in Steven Spielbergs Jurassic Park in 1993. The following year he starred in the remake of Miracle on 34th Street as Kris Kringle. Since then he has made occasional appearances in supporting roles including the 1998 historical drama Elizabeth as Sir William Cecil.n the late 1950s Attenborough formed a production company, Beaver Films, with Bryan Forbes and began to build a profile as a producer on projects including The League of Gentlemen 1959, The Angry Silence 1960 and Whistle Down the Wind 1961, also appearing in the first two of these as an actor.His feature film directorial debut was the allstar screen version of the hit musical Oh What a Lovely War 1969, and his acting appearances became more sporadic the most notable being his portrayal of serial killer John Christie in 10 Rillington Place 1971. He later directed two epic period films: Young Winston 1972, based on the early life of Winston Churchill, and A Bridge Too Far 1977, an allstar account of Operation Market Garden in World War II. He won the 1982 Academy Award for Directing for his historical epic, Gandhi, a project he had been attempting to get made for many years. As the films producer, he also won the Academy Award for Best Picture. His most recent films as director and producer include Chaplin 1992 starring Robert Downey, Jr. as Charlie Chaplin and Shadowlands 1993, based on the relationship between C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham. Both films starred Anthony Hopkins, who also appeared in three other films for Attenborough: Young Winston, A Bridge Too Far and the thriller Magic 1978.

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