The Passion stirs James - Feb 29 2008
James Nesbitt has apparently revealed that his role in new drama The Passion has given his acting a new lease of life.

The 43-year-old Irish actor plays Pontius Pilate in the BBC's retelling of the final days of Jesus Christ - and the man who ultimately sends Jesus to his death.

James, who filmed his scenes on location in Morocco, said: "You can get a bit world-weary in this job and The Passion reminded me of what a fantastic job acting is and how lucky I am to be doing it."

But the Murphy's Law star revealed he almost overlooked the part, when he skim read Frank Deasy's script.

"I was in the middle of shooting something else and my agent asked me to have a look at the script. If I'm honest I only skimmed it and didn't take it in. I was looking forward to a break," he said.

"My agent told me to have another look and I'm glad I did. Reading it properly Frank's writing jumped out at me. I come from a country that is steeped in religion so this was a story familiar to me. But he has re-told that beautiful and complicated story in a new and exciting way that people will be able to relate to."

James stars alongside Joseph Mawle as Jesus and Paul Nicholls as Judas in the four-part drama, which will be shown from March 16.

Nesbitt in plea on IRA victims - Oct 4 2007
Actor James Nesbitt has urged those who know where the bodies of IRA murder victims are secretly buried to bring an end to their relatives’ torment.

The Ulster-born star made an appeal on behalf of the so-called Families of the Disappeared in an attempt to yield a breakthrough denied to many of them for decades.

As he met with representatives of the victims who were kidnapped and shot dead by the IRA throughout the 1970s, James insisted it was a humanitarian rather than political issue.

He said: "The families here are still in the most torturous state of limbo.

"It is almost impossible to appreciate the suffering they have had to live with.

"To anyone who can help end their suffering I would simply say please come forward."

The actor met with relatives at the Belfast headquarters of Wave, a cross-community organisation supporting people traumatised or bereaved by the violence in Northern Ireland, which he has been patron of since 2002.

Despite extensive searches on both sides of the Irish border, the bodies of several of the disappeared have still to be located.

Nearly all of them were accused at the time of their killing of working as informers for the security forces - charges vehemently denied by the families.

With forensic experts brought in to help assist the search for the missing remains, Nesbitt insisted there would be absolutely no recriminations or comeback for anyone who gives information in complete confidence.



James plays Jekyll and Hyde - Feb 15 2007
Former Cold Feet and Murphy’s Law star James Nesbitt takes the lead role in the new TV series Jekyll.

He plays Tom Jackman in this modern twist on the classic Jekyll and Hyde story.

The six-part BBC1 series, which is due to be broadcast in June, follows the new Dr Jekyll in 2006 who has struck a deal to share the body of Tom with Hyde. The twist? Hyde doesn’t know Jekyll is married.

There’s a wife, played by Coupling’s Gina Bellman, and two children Jekyll’ll do anything to protect from his dark side.

But what neither Jekyll or Hyde knows is there is an ancient organisation, with limitless wealth and power, which is monitoring their every move, and a plan over a century in the making is coming to its goal.