1965-01-15 ( 60 years old ) in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
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.
Movies
The Heist Before Christmas
2023-12-24
The Coronation Concert
2023-05-07
James Nesbit: A Game of Two Halves
2020-04-09
Lost Lives
2019-10-10
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit
2015-12-01
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
2014-12-10
Gold
2014-02-20
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
2013-12-11
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2012-12-12
Here Comes the Summer: The Undertones Story
2012-09-07
Coriolanus
2011-02-14
Outcast
2010-12-10
The Way
2010-09-10
Alex Higgins: The People's Champion
2010-09-01
Matching Jack
2010-08-19
Occupation
2009-06-15
Cherrybomb
2009-02-08
Five Minutes of Heaven
2009-01-19
Blessed
2008-10-24
James Ellis: An Actor's Life
2007-07-02
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas
2007-02-03
Match Point
2005-10-26
Big Dippers
2005-02-08
James Nesbitt Presents Eat My Goal
2004-11-22
Quite Ugly One Morning
2004-09-04
Millions
2004-04-29
Wall of Silence
2004-01-12
Bloody Sunday
2002-01-16
Women Talking Dirty
2001-12-07
Lucky Break
2001-08-24
Wild About Harry
2000-12-31
The Most Fertile Man in Ireland
2000-06-08
Waking Ned
1998-09-15
Resurrection Man
1998-02-13
The James Gang
1997-11-07
This Is the Sea
1997-09-15
Welcome to Sarajevo
1997-05-09
Jude
1996-02-06
Go Now
1995-09-16
Love Lies Bleeding
1993-06-14
Hear My Song
1991-12-27
Virtuoso
1989-02-12
The End of the World Man
1986-02-01
The Cry
1984-07-31
Powered by Powerxsoft Ltd using the TMDB API