Biography
James Nesbitt (born 15 January 1965) is a Northern Irish actor. Born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, Nesbitt grew up in the nearby village of Broughshane, before moving to Coleraine, County Londonderry. He wanted to become a teacher, like his father, so began a degree in French at the University of Ulster. He dropped out after a year when he decided to become an actor, and transferred to the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. After graduating in 1987, he spent seven years performing in plays that varied from the musical Up on the Roof (1987, 1989) to the political drama Paddywack (1994). He made his feature film debut playing talent agent Fintan O'Donnell in Hear My Song (1991).
Nesbitt got his breakthrough television role playing Adam Williams in the romantic comedy-drama Cold Feet (1998–2003), which won him a British Comedy Award, a Television and Radio Industries Club Award, and a National Television Award. His first significant film role came when he appeared as pig farmer "Pig" Finn in Waking Ned (1998). With the rest of the starring cast, Nesbitt was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. In Lucky Break (2001), he made his debut as a film lead playing prisoner Jimmy Hands. The next year, he played Ivan Cooper in the television film Bloody Sunday, about the 1972 shootings in Derry. A departure from his previous "cheeky chappie" roles, the film was a turning point in his career. He won a British Independent Film Award and was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor.
Nesbitt has also starred in Murphy's Law (2001–2007) as undercover detective Tommy Murphy—a role that was created for him by writer Colin Bateman. The role twice gained Nesbitt Best Actor nominations at the Irish Film & Television Awards (IFTA). In 2007, he starred in the dual role of Tom Jackman and Mr Hyde in Steven Moffat's Jekyll, which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination in 2008. Nesbitt has since appeared in several more dramatic roles; he starred alongside Liam Neeson in Five Minutes of Heaven (2009), and was one of three lead actors in the television miniseries Occupation (2009) and The Deep (2010). He also starred in the movies Outcast (2010) and Emilio Estevez's The Way (2011), and has been cast in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit (2012/13).
Nesbitt is married to former actress Sonia Forbes-Adam, with whom he has two daughters. He is a patron of numerous charities and in 2010 accepted the ceremonial position of Chancellor of the University of Ulster.
Filmography
all 93
TV Shows 47
Movies 46
self 18
Narrator 3
The Heist Before Christmas (2023)
The Coronation Concert (2023)
Suspect (2022)
The John Bishop Show (2022)
Stay Close (2021)
Bloodlands (2021)
James Nesbit: A Game of Two Halves (2020)
Lost Lives (2019)
James Nesbitt: Disasters That Changed Britain (2018)
Stan Lee's Lucky Man: The Bracelet Chronicles (2017)
The Secret (2016)
Michael McIntyre's Big Show (2016)
Stan Lee's Lucky Man (2016)
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
Babylon (2014)
The Missing (2014)
Gold (2014)
River Deep, Mountain High: James Nesbitt in New Zealand (2013)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
Car S.O.S. (2013)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Here Comes the Summer: The Undertones Story (2012)
The Jonathan Ross Show (2011)
Monroe (2011)
Coriolanus (2011)
Outcast (2010)
The Way (2010)
Alex Higgins: The People's Champion (2010)
Matching Jack (2010)
The Deep (2010)
Occupation (2009)
Occupation (2009)
Chris Moyles' Quiz Night (2009)
Cherrybomb (2009)
Northern Ireland's Greatest Haunts (2009)
Five Minutes of Heaven (2009)
Blessed (2008)
Midnight Man (2008)
The Passion (2008)
Fairy Tales (2008)
James Ellis: An Actor's Life (2007)
Jekyll (2007)
The Graham Norton Show (2007)
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas (2007)
The One Show (2006)
Soccer Aid (2006)
OFI Sunday (2005)
Match Point (2005)
Big Dippers (2005)
James Nesbitt Presents Eat My Goal (2004)
Quite Ugly One Morning (2004)
Millions (2004)
Passer By (2004)
Wall of Silence (2004)
Canterbury Tales (2003)
The Terry and Gaby Show (2003)
Top Gear (2002)
Oblivious (2002)
Tractor Tom (2002)
Bloody Sunday (2002)
Women Talking Dirty (2001)
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (2001)
Murphy's Law (2001)
Lucky Break (2001)
Wild About Harry (2000)
The Most Fertile Man in Ireland (2000)
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Trenches of Hell (1999)
Cold Feet (1998)
Waking Ned (1998)
Playing the Field (1998)
Resurrection Man (1998)
The James Gang (1997)
This Is the Sea (1997)
Welcome to Sarajevo (1997)
Never Mind the Buzzcocks (1996)
Ballykissangel (1996)
Jude (1996)
Go Now (1995)
The National Television Awards (1995)
Soccer AM (1995)
Common As Muck (1994)
Love Lies Bleeding (1993)
GMTV (1993)
Between the Lines (1992)
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992)
Hear My Song (1991)
Virtuoso (1989)
The End of the World Man (1986)
Lovejoy (1986)
The Cry (1984)
The Hollywood Greats (1977)
The Late Late Show (1962)
Ireland's Rugby Number 10
Ratings
Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1965-01-15 (59 years old)
Birth PlaceBallymena, United Kingdom
CitizenshipsUnited Kingdom
AwardsOfficer of the Order of the British Empire, British Independent Film Awards
This article uses material from Wikipedia.
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