| Jason Isaacs | |
|---|---|
 Jason Isaacs after a performance of The Dumb Waiter at Trafalgar Studios, London, on 3 March 2007. |
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| Born | 6 June 1963 Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK |
| Years active | 1988–present |
Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is a British actor from England. Raised in Liverpool and later in London, he fell accidentally into acting during his first year at university, and went on to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. Initially known as a TV actor in the UK, his biggest international film break was being selected to portray the villain, Colonel William Tavington, opposite Mel Gibson in the Revolutionary War epic The Patriot (2000). Other notable roles include Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter (2002 – present) series of films, Captain Hook/Mr. Darling in P. J. Hogan's adaptation of Peter Pan (2003), and Michael Caffee in the TV series Brotherhood (2006 – present). Isaacs played the leading role of Sir Mark Brydon, the British Ambassador to the USA, in the UK mini-series The State Within (2006), for which he has been nominated for the award of Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television in the 65th Golden Globe Awards. The results will be announced on 13 January 2008. Isaacs has performed on the stage in the UK on numerous occasions. He appeared in the Royal National Theatre's 1993 staging of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Angels in America as Louis Ironson, and more recently in Harold Pinter's play The Dumb Waiter in 2007 as Ben.
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Biography
Early life and education
Isaacs was born on 6 June 1963 in Liverpool, Merseyside, in England[1] and grew up in Liverpool in an "insular" and "closely-knit" Jewish community, of which his Eastern European great-grandparents were founder-members.[2] The third of four brothers,[3] Isaacs attended a Jewish school and a cheder twice a week.[4] He showed no early interest in performance at all. At the age of 11 his family moved to London. Isaacs has a theory that his entire childhood was a preparation for the relatively unpleasant characters who have come his way. "There is a streak of cruelty in me that comes from having a quite competitive background. There were four boys in the house and we were often pretty unkind to each other. Also, it wasn't a great thing to be a Jewish teenager when the National Front were passing leaflets around the school and attacking us where we gathered at the weekends."[5] He attended the Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School[6] and continually failed to get into the school play. He did, however, eventually manage to appear in a performance of God : A Comedy in One Act, a play by Woody Allen. Isaacs had initially planned on a career in law, following his more traditionally-inclined brothers who became a doctor, lawyer, and accountant. He therefore started reading law at Bristol University in 1982.[3] Feeling uneasy among peers "who all sounded like Hugh Grant", he fell rather accidentally into acting in the first year of his law studies, stumbling drunkenly into an audition for a part with "Northern accent required".[5] Cast in a play entitled Idle Hands, he ended up dancing naked, covered in chicken's blood – the first of many uncomfortable evenings in the theatre for his parents (in his second, The Glory of Love, he was castrated with a cheese-wire). Although he first became interested in acting in part because "it was a great way to meet girls", Jason soon found an addiction to and a deeper meaning in the theatre (in one interview he was quoted as saying "I could release myself into acting in a way that I was not released socially").[3] He finished his degree[7] while running Bristol's extra-curricular drama society, acting in or directing 30 or so plays, spending three summers at the Edinburgh Festival, two Easters at the National Student Drama Festival and a Christmas run at The King's Head Theatre in Islington. From 1985 he studied for a further three years at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, graduating in 1988 with an agent, a day's work on The Tall Guy (1989) and a girlfriend, Emma Hewitt, who was to become his partner.
Career
After completing his training, Isaacs almost immediately began appearing on the stage and on television. Isaacs was initially known as a TV actor in the UK, having starring roles in the ITV drama Capital City (1989) and the BBC drama Civvies (1992), and guest roles in series such as Taggart and Inspector Morse in 1992. He made his big-screen debut in 1989 with a minor turn as a doctor in Mel Smith's The Tall Guy. Jason exhibited his versatility in several more TV series – including playing Michael Ryan in ITV1's adaptation of Martina Cole's novel Dangerous Lady in 1995, directed by Jack Woods and produced by Lavinia Warner – and on-stage in such productions as the Royal National Theatre's 1993 staging of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning Angels in America.[8] He also began to find more film work, receiving his first nod of Hollywood recognition in his casting in the Bruce Willis blockbuster Armageddon (1998). Initially called upon to take a fairly substantial role, Jason was eventually cast in a much smaller capacity as a planet-saving scientist so that he could accommodate his commitment to Divorcing Jack (1998), a comedy thriller he was making with fellow Harry Potter alumnus David Thewlis. After portraying a priest opposite Julianne Moore and Ralph Fiennes in Neil Jordan's acclaimed adaptation of Graham Greene's The End of the Affair (1999), Jason got his biggest international break to date when he was picked to portray the villain, Colonel William Tavington, in Roland Emmerich's Revolutionary War epic The Patriot (2000). Starring opposite Mel Gibson, who played the film's hero, Jason made a memorable impression as a fictional sadistic British army officer. Although his work in the film earned him comparisons to Ralph Fiennes' portrayal of evil Nazi Amon Göth in Schindler's List (1993) and talks of a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, Isaacs was not content to be typecast playing historical villains. Thus, he signed on to play none other than a drag queen for his next project, Sweet November (2001), a romantic comedy-drama starring Charlize Theron and Keanu Reeves.[3]
Isaacs has appeared in many other films, including Dragonheart (1996), Event Horizon (1997) , Black Hawk Down (2001), and a small James Bond type role in Jackie Chan's The Tuxedo (2002). Notable roles include Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter (2002 – present) series of films, as well as Captain Hook/Mr. Darling in P. J. Hogan's adaptation of Peter Pan (2003). Isaacs has also appeared in three episodes of The West Wing in 2004, and stars in the Showtime series Brotherhood (2006 – present). Isaacs also played the leading role of Sir Mark Brydon, the British Ambassador to the USA, in the UK mini-series The State Within (2006) which was broadcast on BBC One and BBC America. On 13 December 2007 the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced that he had been nominated for the award of Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television in the 65th Golden Globe Awards for this performance. The results will be announced on 13 January 2008.[9] Between 2 February and 24 March 2007, Isaacs appeared on stage at Trafalgar Studios in London as Ben in Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter, his first theatre job in six years. Isaacs portrays actor Harry H. Corbett in the BBC Four TV film The Curse of Steptoe, which will be screened in spring 2008.[10] In a 26 November 2006 article published in the San Francisco Chronicle, Isaacs was voted by the author as one of the 13 "Sexiest Men Who Are Real and Alive", while Lucius Malfoy, the character he portrayed in the Harry Potter films, was named as one of the 12 "Sexiest Men Who Were Never Alive".[11] Despite his frequent appearances on the big screen, TV and stage, Isaac calls himself an "invisible star" who can still travel by the London Underground to film premières unrecognized: "They just think, who's that t*** in black tie? As soon as I get on the red carpet they start screaming and screaming. It's laughable because when it's all over I go home on the Tube as well."[5] He has also said, "I imagine like most of us that I'd like obscene amounts of money but the people I met and worked with who have those obscene amounts of money and have obscene amounts of fame have awful lives. Really. I mean hideously compromised lives. And I can go anywhere. No one knows who I am. I can go on the tube and bus and wander through the streets. So I'm quite happy not to get the girl."[1]
Selected work
Film
| Year(s) of appearance |
Film | Role | Awards and nominations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | The Tall Guy | Doctor #2 | |
| 1994 | Shopping | Market Trader | |
| 1995 | Solitaire For Two | Harry | |
| 1996 | Dragonheart | Lord Felton | |
| 1997 | Event Horizon | D.J. | |
| 1998 | Armageddon | Dr. Ronald Quincy, Research | |
| 1998 | Divorcing Jack | Cow Pat Keegan | |
| 1998 | Soldier | Mekum | |
| 1998 | St. Ives | Alain de Keroual de Saint-Yves | |
| 1999 | The End of the Affair | Father Richard Smythe | |
| 2000 | The Patriot | British Colonel William Tavington |
|
| 2001 | Sweet November | Chaz Watley | |
| 2001 | Black Hawk Down | US Army Captain Mike Steele |
|
| 2002 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets[12] | Lucius Malfoy |
|
| 2002 | Passionada | Charles Beck | |
| 2002 | Resident Evil | Dr. William Birkin (uncredited) | |
| 2002 | The Tuxedo | Clark Devlin | |
| 2002 | Windtalkers | Major Mellitz | |
| 2003 | Peter Pan | Mr. Darling/Captain Hook | |
| 2004 | Nouvelle-France | Général James Wolfe | |
| 2004 | Resident Evil: Apocalypse | Dr. William Birkin | |
| 2005 | The Chumscrubber | Mr. Parker | |
| 2005 | Elektra | DeMarco (uncredited) | |
| 2005 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Lucius Malfoy | |
| 2005 | Nine Lives | Damian |
|
| 2005 | Tennis, Anyone...? | Johnny Green | |
| 2006 | Friends with Money | David | |
| 2007 | Grindhouse, in the faux trailer "Don't" | Bearded Man | |
| 2007 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix[13] | Lucius Malfoy | |
| 2007 | Resident Evil: Extinction | Dr. William Birkin | |
| 2008 | Good | Maurice | |
| 2008 | Stopping Power |
Some of the information in this table was obtained from Jason Isaacs : Filmography. Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
Television
| Year(s) of appearance |
Television programme or series | Role | Awards and nominations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | A Quiet Conspiracy | ||
| 1989 | This Is David Lander | French Doctor | |
| 1989 (2 seasons) |
Capital City | Chas Ewell | |
| 1989 | Boon | Mike Puckett | |
| 1990 | TECX | Edward Latham | |
| 1991 | Ashenden | Andrew Lehman | |
| 1991 | Eye Contact | Michael | |
| 1992 | Civvies | Frank Dillon | |
| 1992 (1 episode) |
Inspector Morse (1997 – 2000)
"Cherubim and Seraphim" |
Dr. Desmond Collier | |
| 1992 (1 episode) |
Taggart (1983 – present)
"Double Exposure" |
Barr | |
| 1993 (2 episodes) |
Highlander: The Series (1992 – 1998)
"The Lady and the Tiger" |
Immortal Zachary Blaine | |
| 1995 | A Relative Stranger | Peter Fairman | |
| 1995 | Dangerous Lady | Michael Ryan | |
| 1995 (TV movie) |
Loved Up | Des | |
| 1996 (TV movie) |
Guardians | Jim Reid | |
| 1996 (TV movie) |
Burn Your Phone | The Killer | |
| 1997 (TV movie) |
The Fix | Tony Kaye | |
| 1998 | The Last Don II | Father Luca Tonarini | |
| 2004 (3 episodes) |
The West Wing (1999 – 2006)
"Gaza" |
Colin Ayres | |
| 2006 | Scars | Chris | |
| 2006 | The State Within | Sir Mark Brydon, British Ambassador to the USA |
|
| 2006 – present | Brotherhood | Michael Caffee | |
| 2008 | The Curse of Steptoe | Harry H. Corbett |
Some of the information in this table was obtained from Jason Isaacs : Filmography. Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
Theatre
| Year(s) of appearance |
Performance | Role | Awards and nominations |
|---|---|---|---|
| [unknown] | God : A Comedy in One Act | ||
| 1992 | The Black and White Minstrels | Cyril | |
| 1993 | Angels in America | Louis Ironson | |
| 1993 | 1953 | Benito Mussolini | |
| 2000 | The Force of Change | ||
| 2007 | The Dumb Waiter | Ben |
Animated television series and video games
| Year(s) of appearance |
Animated television series or video game | Role | Awards and nominations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Beneath a Steel Sky (video game) | (Voice) | |
| 2005 | Spartan: Total Warrior (video game) |
(Voice of Sejanus) | |
| 2005 – 2006 | Avatar: The Last Airbender (animated television series) |
Admiral Zhao |
Some of the information in this table was obtained from Jason Isaacs : Filmography. Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
Personal life
Isaacs and his partner, BBC documentary filmmaker Emma Hewitt, have two daughters: Lily (born 23 March 2002) and Ruby (26 August 2005).[1] Isaacs and Hewitt are not married, but call each other husband and wife as "otherwise people get rather peculiar. It seems a bit weird to call someone your girlfriend when you have a child." Isaacs has proposed to Hewitt and she has accepted, but each time they think about arranging a wedding he gets involved in another project. Isaacs has quipped that he and Hewitt will probably get married when Lily comes back from school and says: "You two have to get married, you're really embarrassing me."[14] Isaacs is a supporter of Liverpool Football Club.[15]
Notes
- ^ a b c Biography for Jason Isaacs. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
- ^ Pfefferman, Naomi (2000-07-14), "Once a 'Wimp,' Actor Thrives on Portraying Villains", Jewish News of Greater Phoenix 52 (44), <http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/000714/wimp.shtml>.
- ^ a b c d Flint, Rebecca. Jason Isaacs : Biography. Moviefone. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
- ^ Pfefferman, Naomi (2000-06-30). More Than a Villain : With "The Patriot," Jason Isaacs, a British Jew, Cements His Reputation as One of Hollywood's Hottest Heavies. The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved on 2007-07-12.
- ^ a b c Rees, Jasper. "'There is a Streak of Cruelty in Me': Actor Jason Isaacs Says Life Prepared Him to Become a Specialist in Unattractive Characters", The Daily Telegraph (Review), 2007-01-27, p. 5.
- ^ In November 2006, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, film reviewer Mark Kermode revealed that he and Isaacs were in the same year at school, although they were not friends. In March 2007 Kermode clarified that while he admired Isaacs, he wasn't "cool enough" to be in the same circle. Kermode regularly greets Isaacs on his Friday afternoon radio show, after finding out he listens in.
- ^ According to one source, Isaacs dropped out of university: see Flint, Rebecca. Jason Isaacs : Biography. Moviefone. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
- ^ When auditioning for the part of Louis Ironson in Angels in America (1993), Isaac reportedly told the producers, "Look, I play all these tough guys and thugs and strong, complex characters. In real life, I am a cringing, neurotic Jewish mess. Can't I for once play that on stage?": Pfefferman, Naomi (2000-06-30). More Than a Villain : With "The Patriot," Jason Isaacs, a British Jew, Cements His Reputation as One of Hollywood's Hottest Heavies. The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved on 2007-07-12.
- ^ a b Nominations & winners 2008. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved on 2007-12-14. List of Golden Globe Awards nominations. Film.com (2007-12-13). Retrieved on 2007-12-14.
- ^ Holmwood, Leigh. "BBC4 to show Steptoe and Son biopic", The Guardian (MediaGuardian), 2007-11-27. "BBC Four unveils new drama season", bbc.co.uk, 2007-11-28.
- ^ Chonin, Neva. "The Naked and the Dead", San Francisco Chronicle, 2006-11-26. Retrieved on 2007-03-08.
- ^ Regarding the Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling, Isaacs has said: "I went off and read the books after the audition and I read all four books in one sitting – you know – didn't wash, didn't eat, drove around with them on the steering wheel like a lunatic. I suddenly understood why my friends, who I'd thought were slightly backward, had been so addicted to these children's books. They're like crack.": Biography for Jason Isaacs. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
- ^ When asked whether or not he would be in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Isaac replied: "[Y]ou'll have to ask David [producer David Heyman], I hope so, I can't bear the idea that somebody else would get to wear my Paris Hilton wig, but you never know": Empire Interview : Jason Isaacs at the 2006 Sony Ericsson Empire Awards. Empire (2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-25. Isaac has also talked to J. K. Rowling on the inclusion of Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows so that he would have a part in the seventh film: "I fell to my knees and begged. It didn't do any good. I'm sure she doesn't need plot ideas from me. But I made my point. We'll see. Like everybody else, I'm holding my breath to July [2007] to see what's in there. I just want to bust out of prison, that's all. I don't want to stay in Azkaban most of my life": White, Cindy (2007-01-11). Potter V Has More Isaacs. Sci Fi Wire. Retrieved on 2007-01-12.
- ^ Rothstein, Simon. "We're Hooked on Potter Baddie", The Sun, ?2006. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
- ^ Jason Isaacs : The Biography. Jason Isaacs Online. Retrieved on 2007-06-08..
References
- Biography for Jason Isaacs. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
- Flint, Rebecca. Jason Isaacs : Biography. Moviefone. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
- Rees, Jasper. "'There is a Streak of Cruelty in Me': Actor Jason Isaacs Says Life Prepared Him to Become a Specialist in Unattractive Characters", The Daily Telegraph (Review), 2007-01-27, p. 5.
Further reading
- Jason Isaacs Video Interview. The London Paper. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
External links
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Isaacs, Jason |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | British actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 6 June 1963 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Liverpool, Merseyside, England, United Kingdom |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
