James Nesbitt
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.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
as BofurImmediately after the events of The Desolation of Smaug, Bilbo and the dwarves try to defend...
Movie pageBilbo Baggins, a hobbit enjoying his quiet life, is swept into an epic quest by Gandalf the Grey...
Movie pageThe Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
as BofurThe Dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf have successfully escaped the Misty Mountains, and Bilbo has...
Movie pageMatch Point
as Detective BannerChris, a former tennis player, looks for work as an instructor. He meets Tom Hewett, a wealthy...
Movie pageThe Way
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Movie pageJude
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as GreggFollow a group of international journalists into the heart of the once cosmopolitan city of...
Movie pageFive Minutes of Heaven
as Joe GriffinThe story of former UVF member Alistair Little. Twenty-five years after Little killed Joe...
Movie pageMillions
as RonnieTwo boys, still grieving the death of their mother, find themselves the unwitting benefactors of...
Movie pageWaking Ned
as Pig FinnWhen a lottery winner dies of shock, his fellow townsfolk attempt to claim the money.
Movie pageBloody Sunday
as Ivan CooperThe dramatised story of the Irish civil rights protest march on January 30 1972 which ended in a...
Movie pageLucky Break
as James 'Jimmy' HandsHalf-way through his 12-year prison sentence for an incompetent armed robbery, Jimmy Hands gets...
Movie pageCherrybomb
as CrillyTeenagers Luke, Malachy, and Michelle embark on a wild weekend of drink, drugs, shop-lifting and...
Movie pageOutcast
as CathalWhen Mary and her teenage son, Fergal, move to yet another new home, it soon becomes clear they...
Movie pageHear My Song
as Fintan O'DonnellSinger Josef Locke fled to Ireland 25 years ago to escape the clutches of the tax man and police...
Movie pageThe 50 Greatest Television Dramas
as SelfBoasting an amazing selection of the most watched, most influential and most highly acclaimed...
Movie pageMatching Jack
as ConnorA woman struggles with her son's illness and her husband's infidelity, but, after a chance...
Movie pageThe Heist Before Christmas
as Bank RobberAfter a bank robber dressed as Santa Claus holds up a bank, a child disillusioned with Christmas...
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as YuriAs a young soldier in the Belgian Army, Indy learns firsthand the savagery of warfare while...
Movie pageGold
as Frank McGunnAn offbeat comedy about an estranged father who returns to his hometown after an absence of ten...
Movie pageThis Is the Sea
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as Graham ArmstrongAfter an audacious jewellery robbery the whole James family heads for home on the run with the...
Movie pageThe Most Fertile Man in Ireland
as 'Mad Dog' Billy WilsonUnimpressive, 24-year-old virgin, Eamonn (Kris Marshall) lives in Belfast with his mother,...
Movie pageRiver Deep, Mountain High: James Nesbitt in New Zealand
as SelfJames Nesbitt moved to New Zealand in 2011 when he landed the role of Bofur in Peter Jackson's...
Movie pageResurrection Man
as RyanBelfast, in 1970s. Victor Kelly is a young protestant man who hates the Catholics so much that...
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as HimselfDocumentary tracing the life of James Ellis, one of Northern Ireland’s best loved actors.
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as uncreditedThis poignant testament to the physical and emotional cost of war, centres on the Troubles in...
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as Stuart RobeThe tale of a gang killing near a south-east London council estate.
Movie pageOccupation
as Mike SwiftThree ex-servicemen return to Basra, each for a different reason.
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Movie pageAlex Higgins: The People's Champion
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Movie pageJames Nesbitt Presents Eat My Goal
as PresenterEat My Goal is the search for the ultimate moment of footballing humiliation. Join die hard...
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as SelfEach week celebrity guests join Irish comedian Graham Norton to discuss what's being going on...
TV Show pageTop Gear
as SelfThis fast-paced and stunt-filled motor show tests whether cars, both mundane and extraordinary,...
TV Show pageThe One Show
as Self - GuestA topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One.
TV Show pageThe One Show
as SelfA topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One.
TV Show pageThe Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
as YuriAt the dawn of the 20th century, Indiana Jones discovered the world. From globetrotting family...
TV Show pageSoldier Soldier
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TV Show pageNever Mind the Buzzcocks
as SelfNever Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game show with a pop and rock music theme. The show...
TV Show pageThe Jonathan Ross Show
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TV Show pageThe Missing
as Tony HughesA gripping anthological relationship thriller series exploring the emotional fallout of a...
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as Jerry BoyleThe adventures of the eponymous Lovejoy, a likeable but roguish antiques dealer based in East...
TV Show pageGMTV
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TV Show pageBetween the Lines
as uncreditedDetective Superintendent Tony Clark is an ambitious member of the Complaints Investigation...
TV Show pageStan Lee's Lucky Man
as Harry ClaytonLondon cop and compulsive gambler Harry Clayton is on the verge of losing everything. On the...
TV Show pageCold Feet
as Adam WilliamsFollow the lives and loves of a group of thirtysomethings in a heart-warming comic drama as they...
TV Show pageMurphy's Law
as Thomas MurphyDetective Sergeant Tommy Murphy is a maverick cop with a dark past. After failing a psychiatric...
TV Show pageFriday Night with Jonathan Ross
as SelfJonathan Ross's take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews and live music from...
TV Show pageBallykissangel
as uncreditedBallykissangel is a BBC television drama set in Ireland, produced in-house by BBC Northern...
TV Show pageBallykissangel
as Leo McGarveyBallykissangel is a BBC television drama set in Ireland, produced in-house by BBC Northern...
TV Show pageParkinson
as SelfMichael Parkinson returns for a second run of his iconic talk show.
TV Show pageStay Close
as DS Michael BroomeWhen Carlton Flynn vanishes 17 years to the night after Stewart Green did, it sets off a chain...
TV Show pageThe Deep
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TV Show pageMichael McIntyre's Big Show
as SelfMichael McIntyre's Big Show is a British variety and stand-up comedy television series,...
TV Show pageSoccer AM
as SelfSoccer AM is a British Saturday-morning football-based comedy/talk show, predominantly based...
TV Show pageJekyll
as Dr. Tom JackmanTom Jackman is learning to cope with his alter ego, the dark and mysterious Hyde, who threatens...
TV Show pageSuspect
as Danny FraterA Veteran detective is called to a hospital mortuary to identify a corpse only to find it is his...
TV Show pageThe Late Late Show
as SelfChat show that looks at current affairs in Ireland
TV Show pageBloodlands
as DCI Tom BrannickNorthern Irish police officer DCI Tom Brannick connects a suicide note with an infamous cold...
TV Show pageChris Moyles' Quiz Night
as SelfChris Moyles' Quiz Night is a British television comedy panel game show, presented by Chris...
TV Show pageBabylon
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TV Show pageCommon As Muck
as uncreditedCommon As Muck is a gritty BBC comedy drama serial focusing on the lives of a crew of bin men...
TV Show pageDNA Journey
as SelfCelebrities are given a unique insight into their lives using innovative DNA science and...
TV Show pagePlaying the Field
as uncreditedThe on-the-field trials and tribulations and the off-the-field lives, loves and infidelities of...
TV Show pageThe Passion
as PilateThe Passion is a television drama serial that tells the story of the last week in the life of Jesus.
TV Show pageThe Hollywood Greats
as uncreditedHollywood Greats was a BBC Television series, which began in 1977. The film critic Barry Norman...
TV Show pageThe Secret
as Colin HowellThe true story of a Sunday school teacher and respectable dentist and pillar of the community,...
TV Show pageFairy Tales
as uncreditedFour contemporary adaptations of classic fairy tales, Rapunzel, Cinderella, The Emperor's New...
TV Show pageStan Lee's Lucky Man: The Bracelet Chronicles
as Harry ClaytonThe history of DI Harry Clayton's lucky bracelet is explored , as his brother Rich investigates...
TV Show pageCanterbury Tales
as Nick ZakianThe Canterbury Tales is a series of six single dramas that originally aired on BBC One in 2003....
TV Show pageTractor Tom
as Matt (voice)Tractor Tom has adventures on Fi's farm with his friends, Dusty, Matt, Buzz, Wheezy and others.
TV Show pageMidnight Man
as Max RabanDisgraced journalist Max Raban is reduced to raking though bins for celebrity stories, a...
TV Show pageOccupation
as Mike SwiftA powerful, affecting drama that spans the five years following the invasion of Iraq in 2003....
TV Show pageThe John Bishop Show
as SelfEvery week John Bishop will be doing his trademark everyman stand-up and shooting the breeze...
TV Show pageSoccer Aid
as uncreditedSoccer Aid is a biennial British charity event that has raised £6.5 million in aid of UNICEF UK...
TV Show pageJames Nesbitt: Disasters That Changed Britain
as uncreditedThis six-part series unpicks the events that led to the most devastating disasters of the past...
TV Show pagePasser By
as Joe KeyesJoe Keyes ignores a woman in distress in his rush to get home to his family. His decision to...
TV Show pageMonroe
as Gabriel MonroeMonroe is a brilliant and unusual neurosurgeon. A flawed genius who never lets anyone forget his...
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