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James Nesbitt

James Nesbitt

Known For Acting
Birthday Jan 15, 1965 (60)
Birthplace Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Popularity 2 (history)
Updated Sep 11, 2025
Entry Date Apr 13, 2024
Links TMDb IMDb
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

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Filmography

The Heist Before Christmas

The Heist Before Christmas

2023

as Bank Robber

Gold

Gold

2014

as Frank McGunn

Coriolanus

Coriolanus

2011

as Tribune Sicinius

Outcast

Outcast

2010

as Cathal

Matching Jack

Matching Jack

2010

as Connor

The Way

The Way

2010

as Jack

Occupation

Occupation

2009

as Mike Swift

Five Minutes of Heaven

Five Minutes of Heaven

2009

as Joe Griffin

Cherrybomb

Cherrybomb

2009

as Crilly

Blessed

Blessed

2008

as Peter

Big Dippers

Big Dippers

2005

as Ray

Match Point

Match Point

2005

as Detective Banner

Wall of Silence

Wall of Silence

2004

as Stuart Robe

Quite Ugly One Morning

Quite Ugly One Morning

2004

as Jack Parlabane

Millions

Millions

2004

as Ronnie

Bloody Sunday

Bloody Sunday

2002

as Ivan Cooper

Lucky Break

Lucky Break

2001

as James 'Jimmy' Hands

Women Talking Dirty

Women Talking Dirty

2001

as Stanley

Wild About Harry

Wild About Harry

2000

as Walter Adair

The Most Fertile Man in Ireland

The Most Fertile Man in Ireland

2000

as 'Mad Dog' Billy Wilson

Resurrection Man

Resurrection Man

1998

as Ryan

Waking Ned

Waking Ned

1998

as Pig Finn

Welcome to Sarajevo

Welcome to Sarajevo

1997

as Gregg

The James Gang

The James Gang

1997

as Graham Armstrong

This Is the Sea

This Is the Sea

1997

as Constable Hubert Porter

Jude

Jude

1996

as Uncle Joe

Go Now

Go Now

1995

as Tony

Love Lies Bleeding

Love Lies Bleeding

1993

as Niall

Hear My Song

Hear My Song

1991

as Fintan O'Donnell

Virtuoso

Virtuoso

1989

as Young Man

The End of the World Man

The End of the World Man

1986

as Policeman

The Cry

The Cry

1984

as B Special (uncredited)

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Organization Category Movie
Television Credits

Cold Feet

as Adam Williams

Episodes: 61

First Aired: Nov 15, 1998

Tractor Tom

as Matt (voice)

Episodes: 54

First Aired: Feb 09, 2002

Stan Lee's Lucky Man

as Harry Clayton

Episodes: 28

First Aired: Jan 22, 2016

Murphy's Law

as Thomas Murphy

Episodes: 23

First Aired: Sep 24, 2001

The Missing

as Tony Hughes

Episodes: 16

First Aired: Oct 28, 2014

Monroe

as Gabriel Monroe

Episodes: 12

First Aired: Mar 10, 2011

Ballykissangel

as Leo McGarvey

Episodes: 11

First Aired: Feb 11, 1996

Bloodlands

as DCI Tom Brannick

Episodes: 10

First Aired: Feb 21, 2021

Stay Close

as DS Michael Broome

Episodes: 8

First Aired: Dec 31, 2021

Suspect

as Danny Frater

Episodes: 8

First Aired: Jun 19, 2022

Jekyll

as Dr. Tom Jackman

Episodes: 6

First Aired: Jun 16, 2007

The Passion

as Pilate

Episodes: 6

First Aired: Mar 16, 2008

Babylon

as Richard Miller

Episodes: 6

First Aired: Nov 13, 2014

The Deep

as Clem Donnelly

Episodes: 5

First Aired: Aug 03, 2010

The Secret

as Colin Howell

Episodes: 4

First Aired: Apr 29, 2016

Occupation

as Mike Swift

Episodes: 3

First Aired: Jun 16, 2009

Midnight Man

as Max Raban

Episodes: 3

First Aired: May 08, 2008

Missing You

as Dominic Calligan

Episodes: 3

First Aired: Jan 01, 2025

Passer By

as Joe Keyes

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Mar 28, 2004

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles

as Yuri

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Mar 04, 1992

Lovejoy

as Jerry Boyle

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 10, 1986

Canterbury Tales

as Nick Zakian

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 11, 2003

Stan Lee's Lucky Man: The Bracelet Chronicles

as Harry Clayton

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Feb 15, 2017

Soldier Soldier

as Corporal Bryan Casey

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jun 10, 1991

Run Away

as Simon

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Unknown

Playing the Field

Episodes: 32

First Aired: Mar 08, 1998

James Nesbitt: Disasters That Changed Britain

Episodes: 6

First Aired: Mar 19, 2018

Ballykissangel

Episodes: 4

First Aired: Feb 11, 1996

The Graham Norton Show

as Self

Episodes: 4

First Aired: Feb 22, 2007

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross

as Self

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Nov 02, 2001

GMTV

as Self

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Jan 01, 1993

Parkinson

as Self

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Jan 09, 1998

Top Gear

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 20, 2002

Soccer Aid

Episodes: 1

First Aired: May 22, 2006

Soccer AM

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Aug 12, 1995

The One Show

as Self - Guest

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Aug 14, 2006

The Terry and Gaby Show

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jun 02, 2003

Between the Lines

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 04, 1992

Fairy Tales

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 10, 2008

The Hollywood Greats

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Aug 04, 1977

The Jonathan Ross Show

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 03, 2011

Chris Moyles' Quiz Night

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Mar 22, 2009

Common As Muck

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 07, 1994

The One Show

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Aug 14, 2006

The John Bishop Show

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 08, 2022

OFI Sunday

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Nov 20, 2005

The Late Late Show

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jul 06, 1962

Never Mind the Buzzcocks

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Nov 12, 1996

Michael McIntyre's Big Show

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Apr 16, 2016

DNA Journey

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Nov 10, 2019

Popularity Metrics

Popularity History


Year Month Avg Max Min
2024 6 12 21 7
2024 7 19 29 12
2024 8 16 28 8
2024 9 11 22 5
2024 10 9 20 5
2024 11 6 15 3
2024 12 8 12 4
2025 1 16 34 8
2025 2 6 11 1
2025 3 5 8 1
2025 5 2 3 1
2025 6 1 2 1
2025 7 0 1 0
2025 8 3 11 0
2025 9 0 1 0
2025 10 1 2 1

Trending Rank


Year Month Avg Rank Max Rank
2025 1 603 473
2025 9 795 715

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