Martin Freeman
| Martin Freeman | |
|---|---|
 Martin Freeman during filming of Sherlock in 2010 |
|
| Born | Martin John C. Freeman 8 September 1971 Aldershot, Hampshire, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1997 – present |
Martin John C. Freeman (born 8 September 1971[1]) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Tim Canterbury in the BBC's Golden Globe-winning comedy The Office, John in Love Actually, Arthur Dent in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Dr. Watson in Sherlock and Paul Maddens in Nativity!. He has been cast in the lead role of Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's two-part adaptation of The Hobbit.[2]
Contents |
Early life
Martin Freeman was born in Aldershot, Hampshire, the youngest of five children. His father, Geoffrey, a naval officer, and his mother, Philomena separated when Freeman was a child, and when Freeman was ten, Geoffrey died of a heart attack. Freeman was raised Roman Catholic. As a child, Freeman was asthmatic, and had to undergo a hip operation due to a "dodgy" leg. He was schooled at a Catholic comprehensive before attending London's Central School of Speech and Drama.[3][4]
In an edition of Who Do You Think You Are? aired on 19 August 2009, he discovered that his grandfather, Leonard Freeman, was a member of the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War II.[5] Private L W Freeman, a Territorial Army volunteer in the 150(N) Field Ambulance Regiment, was killed in Northern France on 24 May 1940 in a Stuka dawn attack. His unit was evacuated from Dunkirk two days later.
Career
Freeman joined a youth theatre group at 15, but it was not until he was 17 that his confidence in his acting had led to the decision to pursue it as a career.[3]
Freeman has appeared in at least 18 TV shows, 14 theatre productions, and several radio productions. He is notable for his role as Tim Canterbury in The Office. He also appeared in the sitcom Hardware. Additionally Freeman has appeared in several films, including Sacha Baron Cohen's Ali G Indahouse (2002) and Richard Curtis' Love Actually (2003). As well as his various comic roles, Freeman has also appeared in serious dramatic parts. He began to move into more serious dramatic roles on television with his appearance as Lord Shaftesbury in the 2003 BBC historical drama Charles II: The Power and The Passion. He can also be seen making a brief appearance in the first episode of the second series of This Life. Freeman also starred in the BBC's television series The Robinsons and had a cameo performance in episode 1 of Black Books.
He had a cameo in Hot Fuzz (2007), a film written by Shaun of the Dead writers Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, and had a brief non-speaking role in Shaun of the Dead as Yvonne's boyfriend, Declan. He is in the 2007 film The All Together written & directed by Gavin Claxton. He also appeared alongside Roger Lloyd Pack, Jamie Hogarth and Christopher Mellows in the 2007 Bill Kenwright theatre production of The Last Laugh.
He also features in the video for Faith No More's cover of "I Started a Joke". He has recently covered a few shows on BBC 6 Music. In May 2009 he starred in a comedy, called Boy Meets Girl – a four part drama that charts the progress of characters Veronica and Danny after an accident which causes them to swap bodies.[6]
He has starred in a 48 hour film project entitled 'The Girl Is Mime'.
Freeman plays Dr. John Watson in Sherlock, the BBC contemporary adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes detective stories. The first episode, "A Study in Pink", was broadcast on 25 July 2010 to critical acclaim. For his performance in the role he won the BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actor, 2011.
Freeman will play Bilbo Baggins, the main character in the two-part Peter Jackson film series The Hobbit.[7][8]
Personal life
Freeman resides in Hertfordshire with his partner,[9] actress Amanda Abbington, whom he met on the set of Channel 4’s Men Only in 2000. The couple have a son and daughter,[3][4] and have since appeared in other productions together, including Picking Up The Pieces, The Debt, The Robinsons and the feature film comedy The All Together.
Freeman is a lifelong fan of Motown music and interviewed Smokey Robinson in an edition of The Culture Show aired in October 2009.[10]
Filmography
Films
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | I Just Want to Kiss You | Frank | Short film |
| 2000 | The Low Down | Solomon | |
| 2001 | Round About Five | The Man | |
| Fancy Dress | Pirate | ||
| 2002 | Ali G Indahouse | Ricky C | |
| 2003 | Love Actually | John | Nominated – Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Acting |
| 2004 | Blake's Junction 7 | Vila | Short film |
| Call Register | Kevin | ||
| Shaun of the Dead | Declan | Cameo | |
| 2005 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Arthur Dent | |
| 2006 | Confetti | Matt | |
| Breaking and Entering | Sandy | ||
| 2007 | Dedication | Jeremy | |
| The Good Night | Gary Shaller | ||
| Hot Fuzz | Met. Sergeant | ||
| Lonely Hearts | The pig | Short film | |
| The All Together | Chris Ashworth | ||
| Rubbish | Kevin | Short film | |
| Nightwatching | Rembrandt | ||
| 2008 | Rembrandt's J'Accuse | Rembrandt | Documentary (related to the previous year's Nightwatching) |
| 2009 | Nativity! | Paul Maddens | |
| HIV: The Musical | James McKenzie | Awaiting release | |
| Swinging with the Finkels | Alvin Finkel | ||
| 2010 | Wild Target | Dixon | |
| 2011 | What's Your Number? | Simon | |
| 2012 | The Pirates! Band of Misfits | The Pirate with a Scarf | Voice |
| The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Bilbo Baggins | Filming[11][12] | |
| 2013 | The Hobbit: There and Back Again |
Television
| Year | Series | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | The Bill | Craig Parnell | Episode 13.3: "Mantrap" |
| This Life | Stuart | Episode 2.1: "Last Tango in Southwark" | |
| 1998 | Casualty | Ricky Beck | Episode 13.8: "She Loved the Rain" |
| Picking up the Pieces | Brendan | Episode 1.7 | |
| 2000 | Bruiser | Various characters | Appeared in all six episodes |
| Lock, Stock... | Jaap | Appeared in two episodes | |
| Black Books | Doctor | Episode 1.1: "Cooking the Books" | |
| 2001 | Men Only | Jamie | TV film |
| World of Pub | Various characters | Appeared in five episodes | |
| 2001–2003 | The Office | Tim Canterbury | Appeared in all 14 episodes
Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Comedy Performance, 2004 for "The Office Christmas Special" |
| 2002 | Helen West | Unknown | Episode 1.2: "Shadow Play" |
| Linda Green | Matt | Episode 2.8: "Easy Come, Easy Go" | |
| 2003 | The Debt | Terry Ross | TV film |
| Margery and Gladys | D.S. Stringer | TV film | |
| Charles II: The Power and The Passion | Lord Shaftesbury | TV mini-series | |
| 2003–2004 | Hardware | Mike | |
| 2004 | Pride | Fleck | TV film |
| 2005 | The Robinsons | Ed Robinson | Appeared in all six episodes |
| 2007 | Comedy Showcase | Greg Wilson | Special 1.1: Other People |
| The Old Curiosity Shop | Mr. Codlin | TV film | |
| 2008 | When Were We Funniest? | Himself | Appeared in four episodes |
| 2009 | Boy Meets Girl | Danny Reed | TV mini-series |
| Micro Men | Chris Curry | TV film | |
| 2010–present | Sherlock | Dr. John Watson | 6 episodes BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor 2011 |
| 2010 | The Girl is Mime[13] | Clive Buckle; lead actor | Short film, part of the 48 Hour Film Project in London |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Nominated For | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Office | British Comedy Awards | Best Comedy Actor | Nominated | |
| 2004 | The Office | BAFTAs | Best Comedy Performance | Nominated | |
| 2004 | Love Actually | Phoenix Film Critics Society | Best Ensemble Acting | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Sherlock | BAFTAs | Best Supporting Actor | Won |
References
- ^ Larman, Alexander. "Freeman, Martin (1971-)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ^ Braun, J.W. (2010). The Lord of the Films. ECW Press.
- ^ a b c Hardy, Rebecca (20 November 2009). "'People care more about X Factor than homelessness:' The Office star Martin Freeman on the things that tick him off". Daily Mail (UK). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1228637/People-care-X-Factor-homelessness-The-Office-star-Martin-Freeman-things-tick-off.html. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
- ^ a b Paton, Maureen (17 July 2010). "In a taxi with...Martin Freeman". Daily Mail (London). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1294381/In-taxi--Martin-Freeman.html.
- ^ Martin Freeman. http://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/episode/martin-freeman.
- ^ Boy Meets Girl Interview: Martin Freeman – Sky TV. Tv.sky.com (30 April 2009). Retrieved on 27 August 2011.
- ^ "Martin Freeman to play Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit". BBC News. 22 October 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11604193. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
- ^ Child, Ben (22 October 2010). "Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, a match made in Hobbit heaven". Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/oct/22/hobbit-martin-freeman-bilbo-baggins. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
- ^ Power, Vicki. "How Tim from The Office found real love: Amanda Abbington on life with Martin Freeman". Daily Mail. 17 July 2011
- ^ Two Programmes – The Culture Show, 2008/2009, Martin Freeman Goes to Motown. BBC (6 January 2009). Retrieved on 27 August 2011.
- ^ Freeman to Star as Bilbo is "The Hobbit", Big Pond News, 22 October 2010
- ^ Peter Jackson's Hobbit Diary Online | Movie News | Empire. Empireonline.com. Retrieved on 27 August 2011.
- ^ "The 48 Hour Film Project: Behind the Scenes". Pixiq. February 2011. http://www.pixiq.com/article/48-hour-film-project-behind-the-scenes. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Martin Freeman |
- Martin Freeman at the Internet Movie Database
- Martin Freeman at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
- Martin Freeman Massive, online fan community
- Martin Freeman BBC Radio Gloucestershire interview (feb 2007)
- Boy Meets Girl Interview
|
|||||
