Paul Freeman was born January 18th 1943 in Hertfordshire, England. He began his career in advertising and teaching and like many British actors he landed small roles in the theater appearing in productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Hamlet. He then went on to play starring roles in the National Theater and the Royal Shakespeare Company and later co-founded his own theater group, the Joint Stock Theater Company , in 1974 together with director Max Stafford-Clark .

In 1978 he made his British television debut in the acclaimed mini-series Life of Shakespeare (1978) and (1981). In 1980 he began his movie career when he appeared in The Long Good Friday alongside Bob Hoskins and The Dogs of War (1981) in which he met Maggie Scott who went on to become his wife.

In the same year, 1981, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas chose Freeman to play the main villain, Rene Belloq, in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first of three movies depicting the exploits of archeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones. The movie was a smash hit and Freeman was expected to play in the sequel as well, however Spielberg decided to alter the story and thus Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom would be produced without Freeman.

The movie was a springboard for Freemen in Hollywood and he continued playing villains both in Hollywood and in his native Britain using his uncanny talent for foreign dialects. In 1988 he played Professor Moriarty in Without a Clue starring Michael Caine as an untalented Sherlock Holmes and in 1995 played Ivan Ooze in Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie.

Freeman continues working for television as well as in movies. He guest starred in hit shows such as ER, Falcon Crest and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. He also played in several mini-series such as (1989) and The Final Cut (1995).