Jamie Bell | |
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Bell at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con International promoting Fantastic Four
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Born |
Andrew James Matfin Bell 14 March 1986 Billingham, , County Durham, England |
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Actor, dancer |
Years active | 2000–present |
Spouse(s) | Evan Rachel Wood (m. 2012; separated 2014) |
Children | 1 |
Andrew James Matfin "Jamie" Bell (born 14 March 1986) is an English actor and dancer who rose to prominence for his debut role in Billy Elliot (2000) for which he won the BAFTA for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He is also known for his roles in the films King Kong (2005), Jumper (2008), The Adventures of Tintin (2011), and Snowpiercer (2013), as well as starring as Abraham Woodhull in the TV series, Turn: Washington's Spies (2014). He portrayed the Thing in the 2015 film Fantastic Four.
Bell was born in Billingham, , England, where he grew up with his mother, Eileen (née Matfin), and elder sister, Kathryn. His father, John Bell, a toolmaker, left before Bell was born. Bell began his involvement with dance after he accompanied his sister to her ballet lessons. He was a pupil at Northfield School and took performing arts classes at the local franchise of Stagecoach Theatre Arts. He was a member of the National Youth Music Theatre.
In 1999, he 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. He also appeared in Close and True, an ITV legal drama shown in 2000, which starred Robson Green, James Bolam, and Susan Jameson.