Jamie Bell

Early life

Andrew James Matfin Bell was born on 14 March 1986 in Billingham, Teesside, England, where he grew up with his mother, Eileen Matfin and his elder sister Kathryn. His father, John Bell, a toolmaker, left before Jamie was born. Bell began his involvement with dancing after he accompanied his sister to her ballet lessons.

Career

2000s

In 1999, Bell was chosen from a field of over 2,000 boys for the role of Billy Elliot, an 11-year-old boy who dismays his working-class widowed father and elder brother by taking up ballet. Bell's performance received widespread acclaim, and 14-year-old Bell won London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Newcomer of the Year, British Independent Film Award for Best Newcomer, Evening Standard British Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer, and BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, becoming one of the youngest winners of the awards. His lack of an Oscar nomination was met with criticism. He also appeared in Close and True, an ITV legal drama shown in 2000, which starred Robson Green, James Bolam, Kerry Ann Christiansen and Susan Jameson.

Bell served as Honorary Jury President of the 2001 Giffoni Film Festival. In 2002, he appeared as the disabled servant Smike in an adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby and a young soldier in Deathwatch. In the following years, he portrayed 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. Also in 2005, he starred opposite Evan Rachel Wood in the Green Day video "Wake Me Up When September Ends", directed by Samuel Bayer. 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. He had roles in two 2008 films: the sci-fi film Jumper and the World War II drama Defiance. In the second film he plays Asael Bielski, the third of the Bielski Brothers, leaders of a partisan group that saved 1,200 lives during the Holocaust.

In 2009, producers announced that Bell would play the title role in the motion capture film The Adventures of Tintin, alongside Andy Serkis and Daniel Craig. The film was released in 2011.

2010s

Bell appeared in a number of films during the early 2010s, beginning with the 2011 films The Eagle as Esca and Jane Eyre as St John Rivers. In 2013, he starred alongside James McAvoy in the film Filth and appeared as Edgar in Snowpiercer.

From 2014 to 2017, Bell appeared as Abraham Woodhull in Turn: Washington's Spies. In 2015, he played the Thing in the Fantastic Four reboot. The film would go down in infamy as one of the worst comic book films ever made. In 2022, Bell would say of it, "I don't think [it deserves a second look.] Save your money, save your time."

In 2017, Bell had starring roles in 6 Days and Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool. The latter earned him a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. In 2019, he had a supporting role as Bernie Taupin in the biographical musical film based on the life of Elton John, Rocketman.

In 2023, he appeared in the critically acclaimed movie All of Us Strangers as the protagonist's father.

Personal life

Bell dated American actress Evan Rachel Wood for a year in 2005 after they had met at the Sundance Film Festival. Wood was aware of the false claims that they had first met while co-starring in the music video for Green Day's song "Wake Me Up When September Ends" and has stated they were "already dating and very much in love by that point." Five years later, in mid-2011, it was reported that Bell and Wood had rekindled their relationship. The couple married in a small ceremony in California on 30 October 2012. They have one son, born in July 2013. The couple announced that they had separated on 28 May 2014.

Starting in 2020, Wood and Bell were in dispute over the custody of their son. Bell said he was deprived of contact with him when Wood moved from Los Angeles to Nashville; Wood claimed she did this to protect the child from former fiancé Marilyn Manson. Bell argued in court that Wood's story defied credibility, and accused her of "withholding our son from me for other reasons of her own invention." In May 2023, Wood accepted terms for their son staying in Los Angeles with Bell, while seeing him "one extended weekend per month" and holidays.

In late 2015, Bell began dating his Fantastic Four co-star Kate Mara, and in January 2017 the couple became engaged. On 17 July 2017, they announced that they had married. They have a daughter, born in May 2019. On 17 November 2022, his wife announced on her Instagram account that she had given birth to a son in the previous week.

Bell is an atheist. He is also a keen football fan and an avid supporter of Arsenal F.C.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

Accolades

References

References

1. "Jamie Bell". [[TV Guide]].
2. (6 February 2001). "Jamie's dance to fame". [[BBC News]].
3. (20 June 2003). "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". [[Evening Standard]].
4. Pearce, Garth. (1 June 2008). "On the move Jamie Bell". [[The Times]].
5. ''Billy Elliot'', DVD, production notes
6. "Two Indies, 'King Kong,' Green Day Clip: Jamie Bell's A Long Way From 'Billy Elliot'".
7. (23 August 2007). "I Know Hallam Foe! – KateModern". YouTube.
8. Child, Ben. (27 January 2009). "Spielberg casts Jamie Bell as Tintin". [[The Guardian]].
9. Fernandez, Jay A.. (29 May 2009). "Spielberg's Tintin to unspool in late 2011". Reuters.
10. (2 July 2014). "'Snowpiercer': Chris Evans and Jamie Bell fight to control a future-shock train (review)".
11. Nilles, Billy. (20 February 2014). "'Fantastic Four' reboot cast: Kate Mara and Jamie Bell revealed to be amongst four leads". [[Zap2it]].
12. Kroll, Justin. (19 February 2014). "'Fantastic Four' Cast Revealed". [[Variety (magazine).
13. Klein, Brennan. (April 29, 2022). "Jamie Bell Reflects On Disastrous Fantastic Four 2015 Reboot".
14. (17 June 2019). "Jamie Bell Plays Elton John's Best Friend in 'Rocketman'".
15. Johnson, Zach. (9 January 2012). "Evan Rachel Wood Engaged to Jamie Bell – See Her Ring!".
16. (1 July 2011). "Wood, Bell rekindle romance". [[Toronto Sun]].
17. Wong, Zara. (1 November 2012). "Evan Rachel Wood's under-the-radar wedding". Vogue.
18. Jordan, Julie. (31 October 2012). "Evan Rachel Wood and Jamie Bell Get Married".
19. Eggenberger, Nicole. (29 July 2013). "Evan Rachel Wood Welcomes Baby Boy With Jamie Bell!".
20. Blumm, K.C.. (28 May 2014). "Evan Rachel Wood and Jamie Bell Separate".
21. Tenreyro, Tatiana. (December 8, 2021). "Evan Rachel Wood details the alleged threats Marilyn Manson made against her son Jack".
22. Blanchet, Brenton. (December 7, 2021). "Evan Rachel Wood Reportedly Increased Security After Marilyn Manson Threatened to 'F*ck' Her Young Son". [[Complex (magazine).
23. Alter, Rebecca. (December 7, 2021). "Evan Rachel Wood Claimed Marilyn Manson Threatened to Assault Her Son". [[New York (magazine).
24. (2023-05-25). "Evan Rachel Wood Gives Up Custody Of Son After Alleged Marilyn Manson Threats".
25. (3 March 2016). "Jamie Bell Says He's Not Engaged to Girlfriend Kate Mara Despite Her Ring on That Finger". [[E! News]].
26. Woo, Kelly. (13 January 2017). "'Fantastic Four' Co-Stars Kate Mara and Jamie Bell Get Engaged". [[Moviefone]].
27. Miller, Mike. (17 July 2017). "Kate Mara and Jamie Bell Tie the Knot in Surprise Ceremony".
28. Mizoguchi, Karen. (27 May 2019). "Fantastic News! Kate Mara and Jamie Bell Welcome a Daughter".
29. "Kate Mara and Husband Jamie Bell Welcome Second Baby Together, a Son — See the Photo!".
30. (8 November 2020). "Contact with Jamie Bell". Blank Check with Griffin and David.
31. (15 December 2011). "The Last Word: Jamie Bell".
32. "BBC announce cast joining Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell in Half Man".
33. "British Academy of Film and Television Arts: Film Nominations 2000".
34. (24 October 2000). "Winners Nominations".
35. "Sony Ericsson Empire Awards: 2001 Winners". Empire.
36. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070803175146/http://www.criticscircle.org.uk/film/award.asp?CAT=bn&title=British+Newcomer+of+the+Year The Critics' Circle: Film – British Newcomer of the Year (archive from 3 August 2007)]
37. [http://www.youngartistawards.org/noms22A.htm Twenty-Second Annual Young Artist Awards] {{webarchive. link. (28 September 2014  – according to the [http://www.youngartistawards.org/intronoms22.htm introduction page] {{webarchive). link. (3 April 2011 , the year of award is 2001 and the performance years are 1999–2000.)
38. "26th Young Artist Awards: Winners and Nominees". Youngartistawards.org.
39. (24 August 2007). "Jamie Bell: An Oscar win would have ruined my life". [[Belfast Telegraph]].
40. "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". Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures.