Jamie Bell
Jamie Bell | |
|---|---|
| Born | Andrew James Matfin Bell 14 March 1986 |
| Nationality |  English |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70m) |
| Website | jamie-bell.com |
Jamie Bell (born Andrew James Matfin Bell;[1] 14 March 1986) is an English actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the film Billy Elliot (2000), for which he won the 2001 BAFTA Award for Best Actor. Since then he has played a mix of leading roles in small independent films and supporting roles in big budget films such as Peter Jackson's version of King Kong.
Early life
Bell was born in Billingham, in the Borough of Stockton on Tees, England, where he grew up with his mother, Eileen (née Matfin), and older sister, Kathryn. His father, John Bell, a toolmaker, left before Bell was born.[2][3] Bell began his involvement with dance after he accompanied his sister to her ballet lessons.[4] He was a pupil at Northfield School, then the Stagecoach Theatre Arts school. He was a member of the National Youth Music Theatre. In 1999, he was chosen from a field of over 2000 boys for the role of Billy Elliot, an 11-year-old boy who dismays his working-class widowed father and older brother by taking up ballet.[5]
Career
Bell served as Honorary Jury President of the 2001 Giffoni Film Festival. Since his film debut in Billy Elliot, he has appeared as the crippled servant Smike in an adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby, a young soldier in Deathwatch, a teenager on the run in Undertow, a gun-toting pacifist in Dear Wendy, a disaffected Southern California teenager in The Chumscrubber, and the young Jimmy in the 2005 film version of King Kong. He also appeared in Close and True, an ITV legal drama shown in 2000, which starred Robson Green, James Bolam and Susan Jameson. In 2007, he played the title character in Hallam Foe – for which he was nominated for the best actor award at the British Independent Film Awards – and appeared as himself in lonelygirl15 spin-off KateModern.[6]
In 2005, he starred opposite Evan Rachel Wood in the 2005 Green Day video "Wake Me Up When September Ends," directed by Samuel Bayer.
He had roles in two 2008 films: the sci-fi film Jumper and the World War II drama Defiance. In the latter he plays Asael Bielski, the third of the Bielski Brothers – leaders of a partisan group that saved some 1200 lives during the Holocaust. Despite rumours to the contrary, he did not appear in Thea Sharrock's West End production of Equus.[7]
In 2009, it was announced Bell would play the title role in the motion capture film The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn alongside British double act Simon Pegg and Nick Frost,[8] which is currently pencilled in for US release on 23 December 2011.[9]
He also stars in the 2011 movies The Eagle and Jane Eyre.
Personal life
Bell is a supporter of the English Premier League football club Arsenal.[10]
Filmography
Awards
Arranged according to year of award:[12]
- 2000—BFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best Young Performer[13]
- 2000—National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, Outstanding Young Actor[13] (only the second time this has been awarded; the first recipient was Christian Bale in 1987, when the award was titled Outstanding Juvenile Performance)[14]
- 2000—British Independent Film Award, Best Newcomer (On-Screen)[15]
- 2000—Las Vegas Film Critics Society, Sierra Award for Youth in Film[16]
- 2001—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role[17] (out of 4 Oscar-winning actors)[14]
- 2001—Evening Standard British Film Award, Most Promising Newcomer[13]
- 2001—Young Artist Award, Best Young Actor in an International Film[18]
- 2001—Sony Ericsson Empire Award, Best Debut[19]
- 2001—London Film Critics Circle, ALFS Award for British Newcomer of the Year[20]
- 2001—Phoenix Film Critics Society, PFCS Award for Best Youth Performance[21]
- 2005—Young Artist Award, Best Performance in a Feature Film–Leading Young Actor[22]
SAG Award nomination for Best Actor for Billy Elliot
References
- ^
"Jamie Bell: An oscar win would have ruined my life". Belfast Telegraph. 2007-08-24. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
Real name: Andrew James Matfin Bell
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Jamie's dance to fame". BBC News. 2001-02-06. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- ^ "Jamie's next step; Jamie Bell shot to stardom at 13 as Billy Elliot. With his new film 'Nicholas Nickleby' about to be released, the Teesside teenager talks to Lydia Slater about girlfriends, hating Hollywood and those tabloid rumours". Highbeam.com. London: The Evening Standard. 2003-06-20. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
- ^ Pearce, Garth (2008-06-01). "On the move Jamie Bell". The Times. London. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- ^ Billy Elliot, DVD, production notes
- ^ “”. "I Know Hallam Foe! – KateModern". Youtube.com. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
{{cite web}}:|author=has numeric name (help) - ^ The Stage[dead link]
- ^ a b "Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures Entertainment Announce the January 26 Start of Principal Photography on the 3D Motion Capture Feature 'The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn' Directed by Steven Spielberg and Starring Jamie Bell and Daniel Craig". PR Newswire. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
- ^ Fernandez, Jay A. (2009-05-29). "Spielberg's Tintin to unspool in late 2011". Reuters. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
- ^ Agius, Lorenzo. '"Stephen Spielberg Changed My Life"'. Radio Times, 26 March 2011, page 46.
- ^ Magnus Linklater (August 3, 2009). "Kevin Macdonald will bring to film pre-Celtic clash of the cultures". The Times. London. Retrieved August 25, 2009.
- ^ For both wins and nominations, see IMDB: Awards for Jamie Bell
- ^ a b c IMDB: Awards for Jamie Bell
- ^ a b Biography for Jamie Bell: Trivia
- ^ BIFA 2000: 2000 Awards[dead link]
- ^ LVFCS Sierra Award winners: 2000
- ^ "British Academy of Film and Television Arts: Film Nominations 2000". Bafta.org. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
- ^ Twenty-Second Annual Young Artist Awards – according to the introduction page, the year of award is 2001 and the performance years are 1999–2000.
- ^ "Sony Ericsson Empire Awards: 2001 Winners". Empireonline.com. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
- ^ The Critics' Circle: Film – British Newcomer of the Year – according to IMDB: Awards for Jamie Bell, the year of award is 2001 and the year of performance is 2000.
- ^ Phoenix Film Critics Society Archive of Past Winners: "Almost Famous" wins three PFCS Awards for the Year 2000 – the year of award is 2001 and the year of performance is 2000.
- ^ "26th Young Artist Awards: Winners and Nominees". Youngartistawards.org. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
External links
- Jamie Bell at IMDb
- Jamie Bell at AllMovie
- People in Film: Jamie Bell – Focus Features