Jonathan Stephen Firth (born 6 April 1967) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in such noted British television productions as ''

Middlemarch ''Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life'' is a novel by English author George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Ann Evans. It appeared in eight installments (volumes) in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midlands town, in 1829 ...

'', '' Far from the Madding Crowd'', and '' Victoria & Albert''.

Early life

Jonathan Firth was born in Brentwood, Essex, England, to David Norman Lewis and Shirley Jean (née Rolles) Firth. His parents were both children of Methodist missionaries in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, who worked as teachers in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

after their marriage. He is the younger brother of actor

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Colin Firth, several accolades, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Aw ...

and voice coach Kate Firth. The family moved many times, from Billericay to Brentwood, Essex, and then to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

(USA) for a year when Jonathan was five. Upon returning to England the family settled in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, Hampshire, where his father became a history lecturer at King Alfred's College and his mother was a comparative religion lecturer at King Alfred's College, Winchester (now the

University of Winchester The University of Winchester is a public research university based in the city of Winchester, Hampshire, England. The university has origins tracing back to 1840 as a teacher training college, but was established in 2005. Winchester University ...

). Firth studied at

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...

and

Peter Symonds College Peter Symonds College is a sixth form college in Winchester, Hampshire, England. The college is recognised as the largest sixth form in England and is noted for the high number of its students who progress to Oxbridge. Peter Symonds College tra ...

. His flatmate at one time was actor

Rufus Sewell Rufus Frederik Sewell (; born 29 October 1967) is a British actor. In film, he has appeared in ''Carrington (film), Carrington'' (1995), ''Hamlet (1996 film), Hamlet'' (1996), ''Dangerous Beauty'' (1998), ''Dark City (1998 film), Dark City'' (1 ...

. After graduation, he toured with the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

, where he made his debut at the age of twenty-seven as Henry VI (1994).

Acting career

In addition to his roles in the theatre, Firth has acted in cinematic films and radio dramas, narrated audiobooks, and has also made notable television appearances, such as Linton Heathcliff in ''

Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights ''Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights'' is a 1992 historical film adaptation of Emily Brontë's 1847 novel ''Wuthering Heights'' directed by Peter Kosminsky. It marked Ralph Fiennes's film debut. This particular film is notable for including the ...

'' (1992); Fred Vincy in ''

'' (1994); Lord Byron in '' Highlander: The Series'' (1997)'';'' Sergeant Troy in '' Far from the Madding Crowd'', for which he received a nomination for best actor; Lord Arthur Goring in ''

An Ideal Husband ''An Ideal Husband'' is a four-act play by Oscar Wilde that revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. It was first produced at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 1895 and ran for ...

'' (2000); and

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

in '' Victoria & Albert'' (2001). He portrayed Joshua in the 2000 biblical film, ''In the Beginning''. In 2003, he acted in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's dramatised documentary '' Pompeii: The Last Day''. That same year, Firth appeared in the film '' Luther'', portraying Cardinal Aleander, the papal adviser who sought Luther's excommunication. For his performance, he received the CFT Excellence Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture. He has also guest-starred in ''

Van der Valk ''Van der Valk'' is a British television crime drama series produced for the ITV network by Thames Television. It ran from 13 September 1972 to 19 February 1992, with the first three series produced between 1972 and 1977, and two more being c ...

'' (1991), ''

Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...

'' (1992); '' Covington Cross'' (1992); ''

Cadfael Brother Cadfael is the main fictional character in a series of historical murder mysteries written between 1977 and 1994 by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter under the name Ellis Peters. The character of Cadfael himself is a Welsh Benedic ...

'' (1994); ''

Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'', or simply ''Poirot'' (), is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2020. The ITV show is based on many of Agatha Christie's famous crime fiction series, wh ...

: Hickory Dickory Dock'' (1995); ''

Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Crypt may refer to: * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s ** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...

'' (1996); ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...

'' The Killings at Badger's Drift (1997); '' Kangaroo Palace'' (1998), an Australian drama set in the 1960s; ''

The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns ''The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns'' is a 1999 fantasy television miniseries. It stars Randy Quaid, Colm Meaney, Kieran Culkin, Roger Daltrey, Caroline Carver and Whoopi Goldberg. The miniseries contains two main stories that eventually in ...

'' (1999); ''

The Inspector Lynley Mysteries ''The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'' is a British crime drama television series that aired on BBC One from 12 March 2001 to 1 June 2008, consisting of six series and 24 episodes. The protagonist, Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley, 8th Earl ...

'' (2002); ''

Sparkling Cyanide ''Sparkling Cyanide'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1945 under the title ''Remembered Death'' and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in Decemb ...

'' (2003); and ''

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

'' (2005). He appeared in '' The Prince and Me 2: The Royal Wedding'' (2006), '' The Prince and Me 3: A Royal Honeymoon'' (2008) and '' The Prince and Me 4: The Elephant Adventure'' (2010). In 2008, Firth starred as the chef in a short film, ''The Chef's Letter'', played Evan in the radio production of Dame

Daphne du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Gerald du Maurier, Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her gra ...

's ''September Tide'', and was also featured in an episode of the American television series ''

Ghost Whisperer ''Ghost Whisperer'' is an American supernatural television series, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005, to May 21, 2010. The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon ( Jennifer Love Hewitt), who has the ability to see and communicate w ...

''. In 2009, he portrayed Dr. David Fuller in the German film '. In 2016, he appeared as Rex Bishop in the BBC series ''

Father Brown Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective. He is featured in 53 short stories by English author G. K. Chesterton, published between 1910 and 1936. Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using his intuition and ...

'' episode 4.1 "The Mask of the Demon".

Personal life

Firth lives in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

Theatre

''Eden End'' (Farrant), Royal Theatre, June 2011
* ''Henry VI, Part III'' (Henry), Royal Shakespeare Company * ''The Lulu Plays'' (Schwartz), Almeida Theatre, London * Bad Company (Ian), National Theatre Studio

''Witness for the Prosecution'' (Sir Wilfred Robarts QC), County Hall, London

Audio books

* ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...

'' by

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

. Narrator, BBC Audiobooks, 1997 * ''Julius Caesa''r by William Shakespeare. Narrator, BBC Radio Collection, 1999 * ''Shadows of Glory'' by William Woodruff. Narrator, 2003 * ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. Narrator, BBC Audiobooks, 2005 *'' The Two Noble Kinsmen: Arkangel Complete Shakespeare''. Narrator, BBC Audiobooks, 2003 *'' Measure for Measure'' by William Shakespeare. Narrator, 2006 *'' Nobody True'' by

James Herbert James John Herbert, OBE (8 April 1943 – 20 March 2013) was an English horror writer. A full-time writer, he also designed his own book covers and publicity. His books have sold 54 million copies worldwide, and have been translated into 34 la ...

. Narrator, 2007 * ''Sepulchre'' by James Herbert. Narrator, 2008 * ''I'll Never Be Young Again'' by

Daphne Du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Gerald du Maurier, Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her gra ...

. Narrator * ''In Search for Lost Time'' by

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust ( ; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the novel (in French – translated in English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'' and more r ...

. Narrator, BBC Audiobooks, 2009 * ''Short Stories: The Thinking Man's Collection.'' Narrator, 2010 * ''Heathrow Nights'' by Jan Mark. Narrator, 2011

References

External links

*
YouTube clip of Kangaroo Palace Downloaded 7/29/11
{{DEFAULTSORT:Firth, Jonathan 1967 births 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from Brentwood, Essex Living people British expatriates in Nigeria English expatriate male actors in the United States