James Nesbitt
Acting • Born 1965-01-15
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.
Filmography
96 credits
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas
Movie • 2007
Self
Bloody Sunday
Movie • 2002
Ivan Cooper
Millions
Movie • 2005
Ronnie
Cherrybomb
Movie • 2009
Crilly
Lucky Break
Movie • 2001
James 'Jimmy' Hands
Welcome to Sarajevo
Movie • 1997
Gregg
Matching Jack
Movie • 2010
Connor
Five Minutes of Heaven
Movie • 2009
Joe Griffin
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Movie • 2012
Bofur
Blessed
Movie • 2008
Peter
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Trenches of Hell
Movie • 1999
Yuri
The Coronation Concert
Movie • 2023
Self
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Movie • 2013
Bofur
The Way
Movie • 2010
Jack
Quite Ugly One Morning
Movie • 2004
Jack Parlabane
Coriolanus
Movie • 2011
Tribune Sicinius
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Movie • 2014
Bofur
Women Talking Dirty
Movie • 2001
Stanley
Resurrection Man
Movie • 1998
Ryan
Wall of Silence
Movie • 2004
Stuart Robe
Occupation
Movie • 2009
Mike Swift
Big Dippers
Movie • 2005
Ray
Match Point
Movie • 2005
Detective Banner
Virtuoso
Movie • 1989
Young Man
The Heist Before Christmas
Movie • 2023
Bank Robber
Wild About Harry
Movie • 2000
Walter Adair
Gold
Movie • 2014
Frank McGunn
Jude
Movie • 1996
Uncle Joe
Ireland's Rugby Number 10
Movie
Narrator
Go Now
Movie • 1995
Tony
Waking Ned
Movie • 1998
Pig Finn
Hear My Song
Movie • 1991
Fintan O'Donnell
Outcast
Movie • 2010
Cathal
The End of the World Man
Movie • 1986
Policeman
Love Lies Bleeding
Movie • 1993
Niall
James Nesbitt Presents Eat My Goal
Movie • 2004
Presenter
Here Comes the Summer: The Undertones Story
Movie • 2012
Narrator
James Ellis: An Actor's Life
Movie • 2007
Himself
Lost Lives
Movie • 2019
This Is the Sea
Movie • 1997
Constable Hubert Porter
James Nesbit: A Game of Two Halves
Movie • 2020
Himself
The Cry
Movie • 1984
B Special (uncredited)
River Deep, Mountain High: James Nesbitt in New Zealand
Movie • 2013
Self
The Most Fertile Man in Ireland
Movie • 2000
'Mad Dog' Billy Wilson
Alex Higgins: The People's Champion
Movie • 2010
Narrator
The James Gang
Movie • 1997
Graham Armstrong
Top Gear
TV • 2002
Self
Cold Feet
TV • 1998
Adam Williams
Soccer Aid
TV • 2006
Jekyll
TV • 2007
Dr. Tom Jackman
Soccer AM
TV • 1995
Self
The One Show
TV • 2006
Self - Guest
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
TV • 2001
Self
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
TV • 1992
Yuri
The Terry and Gaby Show
TV • 2003
Bloodlands
TV • 2021
DCI Tom Brannick
Between the Lines
TV • 1992
Ballykissangel
TV • 1996
Lovejoy
TV • 1986
Jerry Boyle
Occupation
TV • 2009
Mike Swift
The Passion
TV • 2008
Pilate
Midnight Man
TV • 2008
Max Raban
The Hollywood Greats
TV • 1977
The Jonathan Ross Show
TV • 2011
Self
Chris Moyles' Quiz Night
TV • 2009
Self
GMTV
TV • 1993
Self
The Deep
TV • 2010
Clem Donnelly
Monroe
TV • 2011
Gabriel Monroe
Playing the Field
TV • 1998
The Missing
TV • 2014
Tony Hughes
Babylon
TV • 2014
Richard Miller
Stay Close
TV • 2021
DS Michael Broome
James Nesbitt: Disasters That Changed Britain
TV • 2018
Canterbury Tales
TV • 2003
Nick Zakian
Ballykissangel
TV • 1996
Leo McGarvey
Stan Lee's Lucky Man
TV • 2016
Harry Clayton
Common As Muck
TV • 1994
The Secret
TV • 2016
Colin Howell
The John Bishop Show
TV • 2022
Self
The Graham Norton Show
TV • 2007
Self
Stan Lee's Lucky Man: The Bracelet Chronicles
TV • 2017
Harry Clayton
Suspect
TV • 2022
Danny Frater
OFI Sunday
TV • 2005
The Late Late Show
TV • 1962
Self
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
TV • 1996
Self
Michael McIntyre's Big Show
TV • 2016
Self
Soldier Soldier
TV • 1991
Corporal Bryan Casey
Passer By
TV • 2004
Joe Keyes
Tractor Tom
TV • 2002
Matt (voice)
Parkinson
TV • 1998
Self
DNA Journey
TV • 2019
Self
Missing You
TV • 2025
Dominic Calligan
Run Away
TV • 2026
Simon Greene
The Friday Night Project
TV • 2005
Self - Host
Fairy Tales
TV • 2008
Hans M. Prince
Murphy's Law
TV • 2001
DS Tommy Murphy