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.
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Follow a group of international journalists into the heart of the once cosmopolitan city of Sarajevo...
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The film is set in Northern Ireland shortly after 1994 cease-fire. Hazel is a Protestant and Malachy...
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Belfast, in 1970s. Victor Kelly is a young protestant man who hates the Catholics so much that one n...
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As a young soldier in the Belgian Army, Indy learns firsthand the savagery of warfare while particip...
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Unimpressive, 24-year-old virgin, Eamonn (Kris Marshall) lives in Belfast with his mother, during th...
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A lively, outspoken single mother develops an unlikely friendship with a shy cartoonist....
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The dramatised story of the Irish civil rights protest march on January 30 1972 which ended in a mas...
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Chris, a former tennis pro, takes a job as an instructor and befriends his wealthy young student, To...
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The story of former Ulster Volunteer Force member Alistair Little. Twenty-five years after Little ki...
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Teenagers Luke, Malachy, and Michelle embark on a wild weekend of drink, drugs, shop-lifting and ste...
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Caius Martius, aka Coriolanus, is an arrogant and fearsome general who has built a career on protect...
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Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit enjoying his quiet life, is swept into an epic quest by Gandalf the Grey and...
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The Dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf have successfully escaped the Misty Mountains, and Bilbo has gained t...
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Following Smaug's attack on Laketown, Bilbo and the dwarves try to defend Erebor's mountain of treas...
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Recent movies
| # | Name | Character | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) Oscars 2015 | Bofur | 7.4 | |
| 2 | Gold (2014) | Frank McGunn | 6 | |
| 3 | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) Top 100 by FilmGator | Bofur | 7.9 | |
| 4 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) Top 100 by FilmGator | Bofur | 8 | |
| 5 | Coriolanus (2011) | Tribune Sicinius | 5.8 | |
| 6 | The Way (2010) | Jack | 7.3 | |
| 7 | Outcast (2010) | Cathal | 6 | |
| 8 | Five Minutes of Heaven (2009) | Joe Griffin | 8 | |
| 9 | Cherrybomb (2009) | Crilly | 6 | |
| 10 | Blessed (2008) | Peter | - | - |
| 11 | Match Point (2005) Oscars 2006 | Detective Banner | 7 | |
| 12 | Millions (2005) | Ronnie | 5.8 | |
| 13 | Bloody Sunday (2002) | Ivan Cooper | 6.2 | |
| 14 | Women Talking Dirty (2001) | Stanley | - | - |
| 15 | The Most Fertile Man in Ireland (2000) | 'Mad Dog' Billy Wilson | 6 | |
| 16 | The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Trenches of Hell (1999) | Yuri | 7 | |
| 17 | Waking Ned (1998) | Pig Finn | 8 | |
| 18 | Resurrection Man (1998) | Ryan | - | - |
| 19 | Welcome to Sarajevo (1997) | Gregg | 5 | |
| 20 | This Is the Sea (1997) | Constable Hubert Porter | - | - |
| 21 | Jude (1996) | Uncle Joe | 7.3 | |
| 22 | Go Now (1995) | Tony | - | - |

