James Nesbitt

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James Nesbitt, besides being one of the top actors in the UK is an accomplished after dinner speaker and a delightful and funny awards host.

The rise of the actor

Born and raised in Northern Ireland, James Nesbitt followed the advice of his school teacher and attended drama school in London.  Starting his career on stage, Nesbitt has appeared in numerous plays including  Paddywack, Translations, As You Like It, Philadelphia Here I Come, and Can't Pay, Won't Pay and most recently Shoot The Crow in the West End..

Television and Award Winner

His first major TV roles included Ballykissangel and Playing The Field but it was playing Adam in Cold Feet that brought him to the attention of a wider audience.  Based around the lives of three thirty-something couples, this critically-acclaimed drama won James a British Comedy Award in 2000 and a UK National Television Award in 2003.

His range of TV roles since then has included the title role of Tommy Murphy in Murphy’s Law.  This was specially written for James by writer Colin Bateman.  The first season aired in 2001 and the fifth series aired in 2007.

In 2002, he played the leading role, Ivan Cooper, in Bloody Sunday which won him a BAFTA nomination and Best Actor award at the British Independent Film Awards and the Stockholm Film Festival.   

In 2003 BBC Drama produced a modern re-working of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales with James playing the main lead, Nick in The Miller’s Tale – airing on BBC AMERICA, Saturday, January 29 2005.

In early 2004 he played the lead in Passer By – a drama directed by David Morrisey (State of Play) and written by Tony Marchant (Canterbury Tales, Crime & Punishment)

In 2007 he starred in the critically acclaimed BBC series Jekyll which gained him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television, and a Rose D’Or nomination for Best Actor.

Film Star

James worked on his first film, Hear My Song in the early 1990s. He then worked extensively with director Michael Winterbottom on the films Jude (1996) and Welcome To Sarajevo (1997).  He gained wider recognition in the film Waking Ned Devine (1998), playing the lovable pig farmer, Pig Finn. He starred in Danny Boyle’s movie Millions, and appeared in Woody Allen’s Match Point. 

In 2008 he played Pontius Pilate in BBC 1’s The Passion and starred in Midnight Man for ITV1.

Corporate Hosting and Speaking

James has hosted the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) for the past three years. He has hosted the Irish Film and Televison Awards twice, the Go Awards in Belfast in 2007 & 2008 and the Travel Trade Gazette Awards, the T3 Awards and Music Week Awards in 2008.

For further information or to book James Nesbitt, call us on +44 (0) 20 8365 3200 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk