Jim Sturgess

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Jim Sturgess

Sturgess at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
Born James Anthony Sturgess
16 May 1981 (1981-05-16) (age 30)
London, England
Nationality British
Occupation Actor, singer-songwriter
Years active 1994–present
Musical career
Instruments Vocals
Years active 2001–present
Associated acts Tragic Toys
Dilated Spies
Saint Faith
Website myspace.com/officialjimsturgess

James Anthony "Jim" Sturgess (born 16 May 1981)[1][2][3] is an English actor and singer-songwriter.[4] His breakthrough role was appearing as Jude in the musical romance drama film Across the Universe (2007).[5]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Sturgess was born in London, England, in 1981 and was raised in Farnham, Surrey. In 1997, when he was 19 he studied at the University of Salford's School of Media, Music and Performance.[6] He graduated in 1999 with an HND in Media and Performance.[7] He was discovered whilst performing in his one-act show (self-written and -produced) that is based on his poetry called, "Buzzin'". It was then that he was recommended to an actor's agency in London. While acting in various television programmes and independent films, he became a member of a seven-piece band, the Dilated Spies. He was also in a band, Saint Faith. Once the band broke up, he began to once again pursue a career in acting.[8]

[edit] Acting career

Sturgess at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival.

Sturgess sustained almost a decade of roles in British productions, mostly telefilms, including I'm Frank Morgan (2000), Hawk (2001) and the three installments of The Quest series.

In 2007, he made his big break in Julie Taymor's musical Across the Universe, portraying Jude Feeny, a paternally-shorn young man who travels to the US amid the raging throes of the late 1960s and falls in love with sheltered American teenager, Lucy, played by Evan Rachel Wood.

In 2008, he appeared in the historical drama The Other Boleyn Girl in the supporting role of George Boleyn opposite Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and Eric Bana. He also starred in 21 as the male lead Ben Campbell, a movie about five MIT students, who, by counting cards, take Las Vegas casinos for millions. Sturgess' co-stars in 21 include Kevin Spacey and Laurence Fishburne.

He played Gavin Kossef in Crossing Over (2009), appearing with Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta and Ashley Judd. Set in Los Angeles, the storyline revolves around immigrants from different countries and backgrounds who share a common bond in desperately trying to gain legal status. Also in 2009, he starred in Kari Skogland’s Fifty Dead Men Walking loosely based on the best-selling true story book by Martin McGartland about a young Irishman recruited by the British police to infiltrate and spy on the Irish Republican Army and who saved about 50 innocent lives in the process.

Heartless, a film directed by Philip Ridley, premiered on 31 August 2009[9] at the London FrightFest Film Festival, a popular horror film festival. Sturgess appears as Jamie Morgan, a young man whose life has always been blighted by the large, heart-shaped port wine birthmark on his face and sells his soul to the devil. Jim Sturgess won the Best Actor Award at the 2010 Fantasporto Film Festival for his role. The film also won the Best Film Award and the Best Director Award for Philip Ridley.

In 2010, Sturgess starred as a character based on Sławomir Rawicz, a young Polish officer who escaped from a Russian gulag during World War II. The film, The Way Back, is based on a true story and directed by the highly acclaimed Peter Weir.

Additionally in 2010, he provided voice-over work in director Zack Snyder's 3-D animated feature film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole based on the children's book series, Guardians of Ga'Hoole by Kathryn Lasky.

In May 2010, Sturgess officially signed on to appear in One Day (based on the novel of the same name by David Nicholls) co-starring with Anne Hathaway. The novel is based on two students who meet on 15 July 1988. The story follows them every 15 July over the following twenty years. Directed by Lone Scherfig,[10] filming was completed on 17 September 2010[11] and theatrical release in August 2011.

During 2010, he additionally filmed Upside Down. Filming was completed in May 2010 in Montreal and is currently[when?] in post-production.[12] Described as a "sci-fi romance". The film is the second full-length feature from writer and director Juan Solanas and is slated for release in 2011.[13]

A third film project in 2010 was Promised Land to be directed by Michael Winterbottom and according to Variety "will recount the lead up to the 1948 partition of Palestine and the subsequent creation of the state of Israel". Jim Sturgess will star as a British officer hunting down the extremist Jewish factions. Filming is due to begin in October.[14]

In March and April 2011, filming took place for Ashes,[15] a film directed by Mat Whitecross. The picture has been described as a contemporary film noir thriller that stars Ray Winstone and Lesley Manville along with Sturgess. Filmed in the Isle of Man, the production is being partially funded by the band Coldplay, university friends of the director.[16] In September 2011, filming began for Cloud Atlas to be released in October 2011.[dated info]

[edit] Music career
"Panic & Magic"
Sturgess has written music related to both Crossing Over and Heartless
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

In addition to his acting career, Sturgess continues to be active as a songwriter, writing and performing two songs for his role in Crossing Over. Three of his vocal performances are heard in the film Heartless (2009), two co-written by writer/director Philip Ridley and Nick Bicat. Mickey O'Brien wrote the music to Panic And Magic. He is also involved with a band, Tragic Toys, in collaboration with his longtime girlfriend, Mickey O’Brien.[17]

In January 2010, an official MySpace page featuring music written and performed by Sturgess was launched. Currently[when?] a total of six songs are featured, with several credited to either Dilated Spies or Saint Faith. Also on the site is "Make Your Mind Up", used for the film Crossing Over.[18] The genre is described as Alternative / Ambient / Electro on the site.

[edit] Personal life

As of February 2011, Mickey O'Brien, a keyboardist for the band La Roux, has been Sturgess's girlfriend for seven years.[19][20]

[edit] Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1994 Browning Version, TheThe Browning Version Bryant
2005 Mouth to Mouth Red
2007 Across the Universe Jude Feeny
2008 Other Boleyn Girl, TheThe Other Boleyn Girl George Boleyn
2008 21 Ben Campbell
2008 Fifty Dead Men Walking Martin McGartland
2009 Crossing Over Gavin Kossef
2009 Heartless Jamie Morgan
2010 Way Back, TheThe Way Back Janusz Wieszczek
2010 Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole Soren Voice role
2011 One Day Dexter Mayhew
2012 Upside Down Adam (Post-production)[21]
2011 Promised Land, TheThe Promised Land Thomas Wilkin (In production)[22]
2012 Ashes James (Post-production)[23]
2012 Cloud Atlas Role Unknown (Filming)
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1999 Scarlet Pimpernel, TheThe Scarlet Pimpernel Erik Two episodes: "Valentine Gautier" and "The King's Ransom"
2000 Thursday the 12th Martin Bannister television film
2000 Other People's Children Barry Episode 1.2
2001 Residents, TheThe Residents Banjo
2001 Heartbeat Robert Episode "The Long Weekend"
2001 Hawk Shop Assistant BBC miniseries
2002 Quest, TheThe Quest Young Charlie ITV television film
2002 Judge John Deed Gary Patterson Episode: "Abuse of Power"
2003 Touch of Frost, AA Touch of Frost Laurence Burrell Episode: "Close Encounters"
2003 Rehab Daryll
2004 Second Quest, TheThe Second Quest Young Charlie ITV television film
2004 Final Quest, TheThe Final Quest Young Charlie ITV television film
2005 Last Detective, TheThe Last Detective Ryan Episode: "Friends Reunited"

[edit] Discography

[edit] Soundtrack

Year Song Credits / Notes Film/Soundtrack
2007 "Girl" Across the Universe
"All My Loving"
"With A Little Help From My Friends" (with Joe Anderson)
"I've Just Seen A Face"
"Dear Prudence" (with Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs &
Evan Rachel Wood)
"Because" (with Joe Anderson, T. V. Carpio,
Dana Fuchs, Martin Luther McCoy
& Evan Rachel Wood)
"Something"
"Strawberry Fields Forever" (with Joe Anderson)
"Revolution"
"Across the Universe"
"All You Need Is Love" (with T. V. Carpio, Dana Fuchs
& Martin Luther McCoy)
2008 "Lost Everything"[4] 21
2009 "Mistake The Enemy" (Writer and performer)[24] Crossing Over
"Make Your Mind Up" (Writer and performer)
"Hine ma tov" (Traditional)
"Heartless" Heartless
"The Other Me"
"Panic and Magic" (O'Brien/Stoney/Sturgess)[25]
[Inspired by the film Heartless]

[edit] Awards and nominations

  • 2008: Won, "Best Ensemble" – 21 (shared w/co-stars) at the ShoWest Convention, USA
  • 2008: Nominated, "Choice Movie Breakout Male" – 21 at the Teen Choice Awards
  • 2008: Nominated, "Choice Movie Breakout Male" – Across the Universe at the Teen Choice Awards
  • 2008: Nominated, "Best Performance By An Actor In A Canadian Film" – Fifty Dead Men Walking at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards
  • 2009: First Runner Up, "Best Actor Golden Space Needle Award" – Fifty Dead Men Walking[26] at the Seattle International Film Festival
  • 2009: Nominated, "Best Newcomer"[27] at the Jameson Empire Awards (UK)
  • 2010: Won, "Best Actor" – Heartless[28] at the Fantasporto awards.

[edit] Notes

1.^ From the soundtrack 21 – Original Motion Picture Score, not to be confused with the film's other soundtrack Music From The Motion Picture 21.

[edit] See also

Portal icon Biography portal
Portal icon Film portal
Portal icon Music portal
Portal icon Television portal

[edit] References

 This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (August 2011)
  1. ^ Jim Sturgess on Jimmy Kimmel Live PART 2 (video). YouTube. 2011. Event occurs at 1:30 minutes (Jim Sturgess talks about his 30th birthday). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u23o2Fui4po&feature=relmfu. 
  2. ^ "Jim Sturgess Across the Universe". The New York Times. 9 September 2007. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05EEDB153BF93AA3575AC0A9619C8B63. 
  3. ^ Nepales, Ruben V. (23 May 2008). "Jim Sturgess: From Across the Universe to Las Vegas". inquirer.net. Archived from the original on 26 May 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080526093937/http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view/20080523-138409/Jim-Sturgess-From-across-the-universe-to-Las-Vegas. "Jim, who clarified once and for all the confusion about his birth year (1981, not 1979...)" 
  4. ^ Scott, Mike (28 March 2008). "Actor Jim Sturgess' Career Is Poised for takeoff". http://blog.nola.com/mikescott/2008/03/actor_jim_sturgess_career_is_p.html. "I think Julie definitely was into the fact that I was a musician." 
  5. ^ "Rotten Tomatoes Reviews of Across the Universe". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/across_the_universe/. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
  6. ^ "salford.ac.uk". University of Salford. 9 April 2009. http://www.salford.ac.uk/news/details/856. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
  7. ^ "News: University of Salford Graduates Star in New Blockbuster". University of Salford. 9 April 2009. http://www.salford.ac.uk/news/details/856. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
  8. ^ "Biography Jim Sturgess Online: An Interactive Multimedia Site for Jim Sturgess Fans". Jimsturgessonline.com. 16 May 1981. http://jimsturgessonline.com/?page_id=46. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
  9. ^ "film25". London FrightFest Film Festival. 31 August 2009. http://www.frightfest.co.uk/09films/film25.html. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
  10. ^ Goodridge, Mike (12 May 2010). "Hathaway, Sturgess Sign to Scherfig's One Day for Focus". Screen International. http://www.screendaily.com/news/production/hathaway-sturgess-sign-to-scherfigs-one-day-for-focus/5013651.article. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
  11. ^ "Jim Sturgess (Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole) Interview". Tribute. http://www.tribute.ca/interviews/jim+sturgess/star/43101. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
  12. ^ [1]. Internet Movie Database.
  13. ^ "'Upside Down' Teaser Poster". Jimsturgessonline.com. 26 May 2010. http://jimsturgessonline.com/?p=4159. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
  14. ^ "The Killer Inside Me – Michael Winterbottom Interview  –Your London Reviews". IndieLondon. 4 June 2010. http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/the-killer-inside-me-michael-winterbottom-interview. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
  15. ^ [2]. Screen International.
  16. ^ "Ray Winstone, Jim Sturgess & Lesley Manville Team For Noir 'Ashes'; Film Co-Financed By Coldplay". The Playlist (blog of indieWire). http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/ray_winstone_jim_sturgess_lesley_manville_team_for_noir_ashes_film/. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
  17. ^ UK. "Tragic Toys | Gratis muziek, tourneedata, foto's, video's". myspace.com. http://www.myspace.com/tragictoysnoise. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
  18. ^ UK (9 January 2010). "Jim Sturgess". myspace.com. http://www.myspace.com/officialjimsturgess. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
  19. ^ "It's Been a Bon voyage". Khaleej Times. 4 February 2011. http://www.khaleejtimes.com/weekend/inside.asp?xfile=/data/weekend/2011/February/weekend_February14.xml. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
  20. ^ "Jim Sturgess' Double Life". Women's Wear Daily. http://www.wwd.com/eyescoop/jim-sturgess-double-life-2246120/. Retrieved 7 June 20117. 
  21. ^ "Upside Down". Internet Movie Database. undated. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1374992/. Retrieved 25 May 2010. 
  22. ^ Jaafar, Ali (21 January 2010). "'Promised Land' Finds Director". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118014129.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. 
  23. ^ "Ray Winstone, Jim Sturgess & Lesley Manville Team for Noir 'Ashes'; Film Co-Financed by Coldplay". The Playlist (blog of indieWire). http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/ray_winstone_jim_sturgess_lesley_manville_team_for_noir_ashes_film/. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
  24. ^ [3]. Internet Movie Database.
  25. ^ "***Exclusive track for Heartless *** Panic and Magic van Ladyburden op Myspace". Blog on myspace.com. 21 April 2011. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=127222995&blogId=533966123. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
  26. ^ "25 Days Later, 'Dynamite' and 'Cove' Tops with Seattle Audiences". indieWIRE. 15 June 2009. http://www.indiewire.com/article/25_days_later_dynamite_and_cove_tops_with_seattle_audiences/P1/. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
  27. ^ "The Jameson Empire Awards 2009". Empire. http://www.empireonline.com/awards2009/winners/. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
  28. ^ "Fantasporto". Fantasporto. http://www.fantasporto.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=192:fantasporto-2010-awards&catid=38:news&Itemid=100. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 

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