Jamie Bell
☼ Born on 14 December 1986, in Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK
BiographyDescribed by top film critic Mark Kermode as an "unbelievably versatile" actor, Jamie Bell was born in 1986 in Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK, to Eileen (Matfin) and John Bell, a toolmaker. He comes from a family of dancers including his grandmother, mother, aunt, and sister. It was at his sister's dance practices that he would stand outside the door and imitate the movements of the dancers inside. At age six, he was encouraged to step inside the door and, thus, his dance career began. His own story parallels that of Billy Elliot (2000) in that Jamie kept his dancing a secret from his friends at school. His mother had him when she was 16 and, unfortunately, he never knew his father.
When he met Stephen Daldry, director of Billy Elliot (2000), Jamie adopted him as his father. Once the word about his dancing got out, he was harassed, but this only made him more determined to prove that dancing wasn't just for girls. He has proven a lot by landing the title role of Billy Elliot (2000), winning the role in an audition that included more than 2,000 boys from the northeast of England. His ensuing performance certainly justified the selection since he has not only won the hearts of moviegoers all over the world, he has also been nominated for and won a number of awards, including a Best Newcomer Award and then a Best Male Performance at the BAFTA awards.
In the role of actor
Rocketman (31/05/2019)
The fantastical life and career of Elton John are told in Rocketman. As a child, Reginald Dwight (Taron Egerton) gained an interest in playing music, which was supported by his grandmother Ivy (Gemma Jones), tolerated by his apathetic mother Sheila (Bryce Dallas Howard), and all but ignored by his unloving father Stanley (Steven Mackintosh). As […]
Donnybrook (15/09/2018)
An ex-marine struggling to support his family sets off to participate bare-knuckle brawl in Donnybrook. Jarhead Earl (Jamie Bell) is a veteran desperate for money to support his family, so he sets off with his son to participate in the Donnybrook bareknuckle cage match. On Earl’s trail is Chainsaw Angus (Frank Grillo), a violent psychopath who runs […]
Snowpiercer (22/07/2014)
From South Korean director Bong Joon-ho (The Host) comes the post-apocalyptic action-thriller Snowpiercer. Following a failed experiment to cure global warming, the world is sent into a cataclysmic ice age, killing most of humanity. For nearly 18 years, the surviving population has been on board the train Snowpiercer, which was designed by the reclusive Wilford […]
Filth (30/05/2014)
Indie Spotlight is a series focusing on reviews of independent films Based on the novel by Irving Welsh (Trainspotting), Filth focuses on Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson (James McAvoy), a chauvinist Scottish police officer, who is determined to get promoted to inspector. With his young partner Ray Lennox (Jamie Bell), Bruce sets off to solve a […]
Man on a Ledge (05/02/2012)
Last week when it opened, Man on a Ledge was overshadowed by The Grey and barely registered in the top five with an opening gross of only $8M. However, after finally getting around to seeing the film today (I chose it instead of Woman in Black, which I already saw or Chronicle, which I feared would make […]
The Adventures of Tintin (28/12/2011)
Making a film version of The Adventures of Tintin was a bit of risky move for Steven Spielberg, since the popular Belgian comics are next to unknown in the United States. The opposite can be said here in Canada, where there was a popular animated series based on the books that aired in the 1990s. I have fond […]