Andrew James Matfin Bell (born 14 March 1986) is an English actor and dancer. He rose to prominence for his debut role in Billy Elliot (2000), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He is also known for his leading roles as Tintin in The Adventures of Tintin (2011) and as Ben Grimm / Thing in Fantastic Four (2015). Other notable performances include in the films King Kong (2005), Jumper (2008), Snowpiercer (2013), and Rocketman (2019). He earned a BAFTA Award nomination for his performance in Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool (2017). In television, Bell starred as Abraham Woodhull in the AMC historical drama series Turn: Washington’s Spies (2014–2017).
Early life
Jamie Bell was born in Billingham, County Durham, England, where he grew up with his mother, Eileen Matfin, and elder sister, Kathryn. His father, John Bell, a toolmaker, left before Jamie was born. Bell began his involvement with dance after he accompanied his sister to her ballet lessons.
Career
In 1999, Bell 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.
Bell served as Honorary Jury President of the 2001 Giffoni Film Festival. In 2002, he appeared as the disabled servant Smike in an adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby and a young soldier in Deathwatch. In the following years, he portrayed a teenager on the run in Undertow, a gun-toting pacifist in Dear Wendy, a disaffected Southern California teenager in The Chumscrubber, and the young Jimmy in the 2005 film version of King Kong. Also in 2005, he starred opposite Evan Rachel Wood in the Green Day video “Wake Me Up When September Ends”, directed by Samuel Bayer. In 2007, he played the title character in Hallam Foe – for which he was nominated for the best actor award at the British Independent Film Awards – and appeared as himself in lonelygirl15 spin-off KateModern. He had roles in two 2008 films: the sci-fi film Jumper and the World War II drama Defiance. In the second film he plays Asael Bielski, the third of the Bielski Brothers, leaders of a partisan group that saved 1200 lives during the Holocaust.
In 2009, producers announced that Bell would play the title role in the motion capture film The Adventures of Tintin, alongside Andy Serkis and Daniel Craig. The film was released in 2011. He also starred in the 2011 films The Eagle as Esca and Jane Eyre as St John Rivers. In 2013, he starred alongside James McAvoy in the film Filth and appeared as Edgar in Snowpiercer.
From 2014 to 2017, Bell appeared as Abraham Woodhull in Turn: Washington’s Spies. In 2015, he played the Thing in the Fantastic Four reboot. In 2017, Bell had starring roles in 6 Days and Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool. In 2019, Bell had a supporting role as Bernie Taupin in the biographical musical film based on the life of Elton John, Rocketman.
Personal life
Bell dated American actress Evan Rachel Wood for a year in 2005 after they had met at the Sundance Film Festival. Wood was aware of the false claims that they had first met while co-starring in the music video for Green Day’s song “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and has stated they were “already dating and very much in love by that point.” Five years later, in mid-2011, it was reported that Bell and Wood had rekindled their relationship. The couple married in a small ceremony on 30 October 2012. They have one son, born in July 2013. Bell and Wood announced that they had separated on 28 May 2014.
In late 2015, Bell began dating his Fantastic Four co-star Kate Mara and in January 2017, the couple became engaged. On 17 July 2017, they announced that they had married; in May 2019, their first child together, a daughter, was born. Bell is an atheist. Bell is also a keen football fan and an avid supporter of Arsenal F.C.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Billy Elliot | Billy Elliot | |
| 2002 | Deathwatch | Pvt. Charlie Shakespeare | |
| Nicholas Nickleby | Smike | ||
| 2004 | Undertow | Chris Munn | |
| 2005 | Dear Wendy | Dick Dandelion | |
| The Chumscrubber | Dean Stifle | ||
| King Kong | Jimmy | ||
| 2006 | Flags of Our Fathers | Ralph “Iggy” Ignatowski | |
| 2007 | Hallam Foe | Hallam Foe | |
| 2008 | Jumper | Griffin O’Conner | |
| Defiance | Asael Bielski | ||
| 2011 | The Eagle | Esca | |
| Jane Eyre | St. John Rivers | ||
| Retreat | Pvt. Jack Coleman | ||
| The Adventures of Tintin | Tintin | Motion-capture | |
| 2012 | Man on a Ledge | Joey Cassidy | |
| 2013 | Snowpiercer | Edgar | |
| Filth | Ray Lennox | ||
| Nymphomaniac | K | ||
| 2015 | Fantastic Four | Ben Grimm / The Thing | Also motion-capture |
| 2017 | Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool | Peter Turner | |
| 6 Days | Rusty Firmin | ||
| 2018 | Donnybrook | Jarhead Earl | |
| Skin | Bryon Widner | ||
| 2019 | Rocketman | Bernie Taupin | |
| 2020 | Cranston Academy: Monster Zone | Danny | Voice only |
| 2021 | Without Remorse | Robert Ritter | Post-production |
| TBA | Surrounded | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Close and True | Mark Sheedy | Episode: “Town and Gown” |
| 2014–2017 | TURN: Washington’s Spies | Abraham Woodhull | 40 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | King Kong | Jimmy | |
| 2008 | Jumper: Griffin’s Story | Griffin O’Conner |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | “Wake Me Up When September Ends” | Green Day |
Awards
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Billy Elliot | BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role | Won |
| British Independent Film Award for Best Newcomer | Won | ||
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Young Performer | Won | ||
| Empire Award for Best Debut | Won | ||
| Evening Standard British Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer | Won | ||
| London Film Critics’ Circle Award for British Newcomer of the Year | Won | ||
| National Board of Review Award for Outstanding Young Actor | Won | ||
| Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor in an International Film | Won | ||
| Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor | Nominated | ||
| European Film Award for Best Actor | Nominated | ||
| Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Breakthrough Performance | Nominated | ||
| Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama | Nominated | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Nominated | ||
| Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Breakout Performance | Nominated | ||
| 2001 | MTV Movie Award for Best Dance Sequence (shared with Julie Walters) | Nominated | |
| 2002 | Nicholas Nickleby | National Board of Review Award for Best Cast | Won |
| Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor | Nominated | ||
| 2004 | Undertow | Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor | Won |
| 2005 | Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie | Spike Video Game Award for Best Cast | Won |
| 2007 | Hallam Foe | BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor | Nominated |
| British Independent Film Award for Best Actor | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | Jumper | MTV Movie Award for Best Fight (shared with Hayden Christensen) | Nominated |
| 2013 | Nymphomaniac | Bodil Award for Best Supporting Actor | Nominated |
| 2016 | Fantastic Four | Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Combo (shared with Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, and Miles Teller) | Nominated |
| 2018 | Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool | BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated |