Jeremy Irvine

Jeremy William Fredric Smith (born 18 June 1990), known professionally as Jeremy Irvine, is an English actor. He made his film debut when Steven Spielberg chose him to star in the epic war film '' War Horse'' (2011) and has since starred in films such as ''Great Expectations'' (2012), '' The Railway Man'' (2013), and ''Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again'' (2018), as well as the television series '' Treadstone'' (2019). He is set to portray James Sunderland in the upcoming horror film '' Return to Silent Hill''.

Irvine has earned a reputation as a method actor. For ''War Horse'', he began lifting weights and gained of muscle, underwent two months of intensive horseback training, and spent so much time recreating the Battle of Somme scene in the film that he got trench foot; for ''The Railway Man'', he lost around by starving himself for two months and performed his own torture scenes.

Early life

Irvine was born Jeremy William Fredric Smith in Gamlingay on 18 June 1990, the son of Liberal Democrat councillor Bridget Smith and engineer Chris Smith. He has two younger brothers, one of whom portrayed a younger version of his character in ''Great Expectations'' (2012). His great-grandfather was Ralph Lilley Turner.

Irvine took his stage surname from his grandfather's first name. He started acting at age 16 after his drama teacher inspired him: "I never fitted in, which led me to acting. I was looking for something different." He played Romeo and other main roles in plays at Bedford Modern School, followed by a run with the National Youth Theatre.

After completing a one-year foundation course at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), Irvine spent two years posting his CV through letterboxes to get acting work, during which time he worked in his local supermarket and did web design. He almost gave up acting for good just before he got his big break in ''War Horse''. In an interview with CBS News while promoting ''Great Expectations'', he described this as the lowest point of his life and revealed that he considered taking a different career path: "I'd kind of hit rock bottom and really did think this was stupid and I just wasted three or four years of my life. My dad wanted me to get a job being a welder. At the company he was at, he was an engineer. I was very very close to doing that."

Career

Irvine played Luke in the television series ''Life Bites'' and appeared in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2010 production of '' Dunsinane''. He was quoted in ''Interview Magazine'', saying: "My friends all took the mick out of me for ''Dunsinane'' saying, 'You're gonna be the tree'. Indeed, in my first scene, I was waving two branches."

In June 2010, he was cast in the lead role of the 2011 Steven Spielberg film '' War Horse''. The film was an adaption of Michael Morpurgo's novel, also entitled '' War Horse''. Spielberg revealed that he had been looking for an unknown actor for ''War Horse'', stating: "I looked at hundreds of actors and newcomers for Albertmainly newcomersand nobody had the heart, the spirit or the communication skills that Jeremy had." Irvine was asked to read a section of the ''War Horse'' script on camera to check his West Country accent. In an attempt to prepare himself for the role of Albert, Irvine took up weight training and gained approximately of muscle. He also underwent two months of intensive horse riding. He spent so much time recreating the Battle of Somme scene in the film that he ended up contracting trench foot. For his work, he was nominated for the London Film Critics' Choice Award for Young British Performer Of The Year and the Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer.

In April 2011, ''Variety'' reported that Irvine had been cast as Pip in a 2012 film adaptation of ''Great Expectations'' by Charles Dickens. In October 2011, ''The Hollywood Reporter'' announced that he was set to play the young Eric Lomax in the film production of '' The Railway Man''. He earned a reputation as a method actor after he went for two months without food, losing around , and performed his torture scene stunts in ''The Railway Man''. He then starred in the independent film ''Now Is Good''. In February 2013, ''Variety'' stated that he had been cast in a film based on the novel '' The World Made Straight''. Also in 2013, he was cast as Daniel Grigori in the film '' Fallen'', based on the young adult series by Lauren Kate.

On 12 August 2014, '' Deadline'' reported that Irvine had been cast as Percy Bysshe Shelley in '' Mary Shelley's Monster''. In November 2015, he starred in Don Broco's music video for the song "Nerve". He attended the same school, Bedford Modern, as the band's members. The following month, he joined the cast of '' Billionaire Boys Club''. In July 2017, he confirmed that he had joined the cast of '' The Last Full Measure''. In 2018, he portrayed the younger version of Sam Carmichael in ''Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again''. In 2019, he starred as John Randolph Bentley in the USA Network television series '' Treadstone''. In May 2021, he was cast as Alan Scott in the HBO Max live-action television series '' Lanterns'', based on various Green Lantern characters. In February 2024, it was announced that he had been cast as Henry Beauchamp in the '' Outlander'' prequel series ''Outlander: Blood of My Blood''. He is also set to portray James Sunderland in the upcoming horror film '' Return to Silent Hill'', based on the ''Silent Hill'' video games.

Personal life

Irvine has had diabetes mellitus type 1 since he was six years old, revealing he was "on four injections a day", which he administered himself; his two brothers are also diabetic. He has been involved in trials with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to test an artificial pancreas, a form of automatic glucose meter attached to a portable insulin pump. The tests took place at Addenbrooke's Hospital with the University of Cambridge during 2005 and 2007. During a visit to the Cambridge Welcome Trust Clinical Research Facility on 7 February 2012, he discussed his experiences with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. He was again present with Camilla on 31 January 2013 at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's inpatient adolescent ward, after she became president of the JDRF in 2012.

Irvine married Jodie Spencer in 2024. They reside in the West Hampstead area of London. He is known for his private nature and told the ''Coventry Telegraph'' in 2012, "I realised very quickly that I didn't want to be famous, so I don't go to Mahiki, I just go down the pub with all my mates." He also told Yahoo Movies, "When '' War Horse'' came out, I had maybe a month of people stopping me in the street, then it died down. I try to ignore all that and pretend none of it exists. We're only acting. The work my mum does, a lot of it is rehousing homeless people, that's a real job."

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Music videos

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Irvine, Jeremy
1990 births
21st-century English male actors
Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
English male film actors
English male stage actors
English male television actors
Living people
Male actors from Cambridgeshire
National Youth Theatre members
People educated at Bedford Modern School
Actors from South Cambridgeshire District
People with type 1 diabetes
Royal Shakespeare Company members
Chopard Trophy for Male Revelation winners