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Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

97

Gender

Male

Birthday

1965-01-15 (60 years old)

Place of Birth

Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Also Known As

James Nesbitt

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.

Known For

Acting

Bloody Sunday

2002

Bloody Sunday

as

Ivan Cooper

Millions

2004

Millions

as

Ronnie

Cherrybomb

2009

Cherrybomb

as

Crilly

Lucky Break

2001

Lucky Break

as

James 'Jimmy' Hands

Matching Jack

2010

Matching Jack

as

Connor

Five Minutes of Heaven

2009

Five Minutes of Heaven

as

Joe Griffin

Blessed

2008

Blessed

as

Peter

The Way

2010

The Way

as

Jack

Quite Ugly One Morning

2004

Quite Ugly One Morning

as

Jack Parlabane

Coriolanus

2011

Coriolanus

as

Tribune Sicinius

Women Talking Dirty

2001

Women Talking Dirty

as

Stanley

Wall of Silence

2004

Wall of Silence

as

Stuart Robe

Occupation

2009

Occupation

as

Mike Swift

Big Dippers

2005

Big Dippers

as

Ray

Match Point

2005

Match Point

as

Detective Banner

Virtuoso

1989

Virtuoso

as

Young Man

Wild About Harry

2000

Wild About Harry

as

Walter Adair

Gold

2014

Gold

as

Frank McGunn

Jude

1996

Jude

as

Uncle Joe

Go Now

1995

Go Now

as

Tony

Waking Ned

1998

Waking Ned

as

Pig Finn

Hear My Song

1991

Hear My Song

as

Fintan O'Donnell

Outcast

2010

Outcast

as

Cathal

This Is the Sea

1997

This Is the Sea

as

Constable Hubert Porter

The Cry

1984

The Cry

as

B Special (uncredited)

The Most Fertile Man in Ireland

2000

The Most Fertile Man in Ireland

as

'Mad Dog' Billy Wilson

The James Gang

1997

The James Gang

as

Graham Armstrong

Top Gear

Top Gear

as

Self

Jekyll

Jekyll

as

Dr. Tom Jackman

Cold Feet

Cold Feet

as

Adam Williams

Soccer AM

Soccer AM

as

Self

The One Show

The One Show

as

Self - Guest

Bloodlands

Bloodlands

as

DCI Tom Brannick

Lovejoy

Lovejoy

as

Jerry Boyle

Murphy's Law

Murphy's Law

as

Thomas Murphy

Occupation

Occupation

as

Mike Swift

The Passion

The Passion

as

Pilate

Midnight Man

Midnight Man

as

Max Raban

GMTV

GMTV

as

Self

The Deep

The Deep

as

Clem Donnelly

Monroe

Monroe

as

Gabriel Monroe

The Missing

The Missing

as

Tony Hughes

Babylon

Babylon

as

Richard Miller

Stay Close

Stay Close

as

DS Michael Broome

Canterbury Tales

Canterbury Tales

as

Nick Zakian

Ballykissangel

Ballykissangel

as

Leo McGarvey

Stan Lee's Lucky Man

Stan Lee's Lucky Man

as

Harry Clayton

The Secret

The Secret

as

Colin Howell

Suspect

Suspect

as

Danny Frater

Soldier Soldier

Soldier Soldier

as

Corporal Bryan Casey

Passer By

Passer By

as

Joe Keyes

Tractor Tom

Tractor Tom

as

Matt (voice)

Parkinson

Parkinson

as

Self

Missing You

Missing You

as

Dominic Calligan

Run Away

Run Away

as

Simon

Production

Crew

Directing