James Nesbitt
Acting
Born: January 15, 1965 (age 61) · Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Highest Rated
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
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2012
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
2014
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
2013
Match Point
2005
The Way
2010
Coriolanus
2011
Millions
2005
Bloody Sunday
2002
Waking Ned
1998
The Missing
2014
Stay Close
2021
Five Minutes of Heaven
2009
Photos (6)
Movies (38)
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Bofur
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Bofur
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Bofur
Match Point
Detective Banner
The Way
Jack
Five Minutes of Heaven
Joe Griffin
Coriolanus
Tribune Sicinius
Bloody Sunday
Ivan Cooper
Welcome to Sarajevo
Gregg
Jude
Uncle Joe
Waking Ned
Pig Finn
Millions
Ronnie
Cherrybomb
Crilly
Lucky Break
James 'Jimmy' Hands
Hear My Song
Fintan O'Donnell
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Trenches of Hell
Yuri
Women Talking Dirty
Stanley
This Is the Sea
Constable Hubert Porter
Outcast
Cathal
The James Gang
Graham Armstrong
Matching Jack
Connor
Resurrection Man
Ryan
The Heist Before Christmas
Bank Robber
Love Lies Bleeding
Niall
Go Now
Tony
Wild About Harry
Walter Adair
Here Comes the Summer: The Undertones Story
Narrator
Gold
Frank McGunn
Occupation
Mike Swift
Virtuoso
Young Man
Blessed
Peter
The End of the World Man
Policeman
Wall of Silence
Stuart Robe
Big Dippers
Ray
The Most Fertile Man in Ireland
'Mad Dog' Billy Wilson
The Cry
B Special (uncredited)
Alex Higgins: The People's Champion
Narrator
James Nesbitt Presents Eat My Goal
Presenter
TV Shows (36)
Screen Two
Young man · 1 eps
TFI Friday
2 eps
Soldier Soldier
Corporal Bryan Casey · 1 eps
ScreenPlay
Niall · 1 eps
Between the Lines
1 eps
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
Yuri · 1 eps
Missing You
Dominic Calligan · 3 eps
Ballykissangel
4 eps
Ballykissangel
Leo McGarvey · 11 eps
Lovejoy
Jerry Boyle · 1 eps
Run Away
Simon Greene · 8 eps
Murphy's Law
DS Tommy Murphy · 23 eps
Cold Feet
Adam Williams · 61 eps
Stan Lee's Lucky Man
Harry Clayton · 28 eps
Stay Close
DS Michael Broome · 8 eps
Babylon
Commissioner Richard Miller · 5 eps
Suspect
Danny Frater · 8 eps
The Missing
Tony Hughes · 8 eps
The Secret
Colin Howell · 4 eps
Jekyll
Dr. Tom Jackman · 6 eps
Canterbury Tales
Nick Zakian · 1 eps
Bloodlands
DCI Tom Brannick · 10 eps
Soccer Aid
1 eps
The Hollywood Greats
1 eps
Playing the Field
32 eps
The Passion
Pilate · 6 eps
Tractor Tom
Matt (voice) · 52 eps
Midnight Man
Max Raban · 3 eps
Common As Muck
1 eps
The Deep
Clem Donnelly · 5 eps
Fairy Tales
Hans M. Prince · 1 eps
Monroe
Gabriel Monroe · 12 eps
Occupation
Mike Swift · 3 eps
James Nesbitt: Disasters That Changed Britain
6 eps
Stan Lee's Lucky Man: The Bracelet Chronicles
Harry Clayton · 1 eps
Passer By
Joe Keyes · 2 eps
Self / Appearances (20)
The Graham Norton Show
Self · 4 eps
Top Gear
Self · 1 eps
The One Show
Self - Guest · 1 eps
GMTV
Self · 2 eps
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Self · 1 eps
The Jonathan Ross Show
Self · 1 eps
Parkinson
Self · 2 eps
Soccer AM
Self · 1 eps
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Self · 2 eps
DNA Journey
Self · 1 eps
Michael McIntyre's Big Show
Self · 1 eps
Chris Moyles' Quiz Night
Self · 1 eps
The Late Late Show
Self · 1 eps
The John Bishop Show
Self · 1 eps
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas
Self
The Coronation Concert
Self
Lost Lives
Self (voice)
James Ellis: An Actor's Life
Himself
River Deep, Mountain High: James Nesbitt in New Zealand
Self
The Friday Night Project
Self - Host · 1 eps
