Pete Postlethwaite was born on February 7, 1945. Hailing from Lancashire, England, he was first a teacher before enrolling in drama school at the age of 24. He built the foundation of his acting career, as many actors do, in theatre. By the time he became well-known in the U.S., he was already a veteran of the English theater. His early work includes performances in repertory at the Manchester Royal Exchange, the Bristol Old Vic, and the Liverpool Everyman. He was also a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company until 1987. According to an e-mail from a "Rachel Wood", her parents were classmates of Pete at St. Mary's College at Strawbery Hill. She also claimed that her mother played Pete's "leading lady" a few times.

He then made the transition to TV and film. His first agent insisted that he change his name. Instead, he changed his agent. His big break came in 1988 when he received acclaim for his role as the abusive father in "Distant Voices, Still Lives". After this, became much more sought after in Hollywood, and in 1992 his performance in "In the Name of the Father" earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. It was one of two movies in which he co-starred with longtime friend Daniel-Day Lewis.

As the filmography below shows, 1996 and 1997 were busy years for Pete, with several roles in big budget Hollywood films, including two Steven Spielberg films, "Lost World: Jurassic Park" and "Amistad". Even while "Lost World" was raking in money, Pete was also a hit in the smaller foreign-film theatres with his role in "Brassed Off", a fact which truly demonstrates his impressive range and flexibility as an actor.

According to Quinlan's, published in 1996, Pete had a long relationship with actress Julie Walters which eventually ended. At the time of printing, he lived "half way up the mountain" with a former BBC drama assistant and their then five-year-old son.

According to a July 1997 interview done here in Houston for Public News magazine, Pete lives in Shropshire, England, near Wales.