Jason Isaacs
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Jason Isaacs

At the Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After The Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on April 11, 2005
Born 6 June 1963 (1963-06-06) (age 45)
Liverpool, Lancashire, England, UK
Years active 1988–present
Domestic partner(s) Emma Hewitt (1988–present)

Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is a British actor born in Liverpool, England, best known for his performances as Death Eater Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, and as lifelong criminal Michael Caffee in the internationally-broadcast American television series Brotherhood.[1][2] Though most of his work has been in film and television, it also includes stage performances; most notably, as the ambivalent gay lawyer Louis Ironson in Declan Donnellan's 1992 and 1993 Royal National Theatre London premières of Parts One (Millennium Approaches) and Two (Perestroika) of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes,[3][4] and as Ben, one of two hitmen, playing opposite Lee Evans as Gus, in Harry Burton's 2007 critically-acclaimed 50th-anniversary revival of Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter's 1957 two-hander The Dumb Waiter at Trafalgar Studios.[5][6][7][8]

Contents

Personal background and education

Jason Isaacs was born on June 6, 1963, in Liverpool, Lancashire, in England, to Jewish parents, who later emigrated to Israel,[9] spending his earliest childhood years in an "insular" and "closely-knit" Jewish community of Liverpudlians, of which his Eastern European great-grandparents were founder-members.[10] The third of four sons,[1] Isaacs attended a Jewish school and a cheder twice a week as a young adult.[9][11] When he was 11, he moved with his family to Northwest London, attending the Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, in Elstree, Hertsmere, Hertfordshire (Herts), where he was in the same year as film reviewer Mark Kermode.[9] He describes his childhood as "preparation" for portraying the "unattractive", villainous characters whom he has most often played.[12]

Following his more traditionally-inclined brothers, who became a doctor, a lawyer, and an accountant,[1] Isaacs studied law at Bristol University (1982–1985), but he became more actively involved in the drama society, eventually performing in over 30 plays and performing each summer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, first with Bristol University and then, twice, with the National Student Drama Company. After graduating from Bristol he went immediately to train at London's Central School of Speech and Drama (1985–1988).[1][13][14]

He and his partner, BBC documentary filmmaker Emma Hewitt, whom he began dating at the Central School, have lived together since 1988 and have two daughters: Lily (born 23 March 2002) and Ruby (26 August 2005).[1][2] Although unmarried, he refers to Hewitt as his "wife".[15]

Despite Isaacs' recent screen celebrity as Lucius Malfoy, he maintains a relatively-modest, "calm, sedate and suburban" life,[15][16] which he prefers to the "hideously compromised lives" of the more rich and famous: "I imagine like most of us that I'd like obscene amounts of money but the people I met and worked with who have those obscene amounts of money and have obscene amounts of fame have awful lives. Really. I mean hideously compromised lives...."[2] Described as an "invisible star" who can still travel by the London Underground to film premières unrecognized, he has observed: "They just think, who's that t*** in black tie? As soon as I get on the red carpet they start screaming and screaming. ... It's laughable because when it's all over I go home on the Tube as well."[17] "I can go anywhere. No one knows who I am. I can go on the tube and bus and wander through the streets."[2]

Career

After completing his training as an actor, Isaacs almost immediately began appearing on the stage and on television; his film debut was in a minor role as a doctor in Mel Smith's The Tall Guy (1989).[14] He was initially known as a TV actor in the UK, with starring roles in the ITV drama Capital City (1989) and the BBC drama Civvies (1992) and guest roles in series such as Taggart and Inspector Morse in 1992.[2][14] He also played Michael Ryan in ITV1's adaptation of Martina Cole's novel Dangerous Lady, directed by Jack Woods and produced by Lavinia Warner, in 1995.[18]

On stage he portrayed the "emotionally waffling"[14] gay Jewish lawyer Louis Ironson in Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, at the Royal National Theatre, in its London première, performing the role in both parts, Part One: Millennium Approaches, in 1992, and Part Two: Perestroika, in 1993.[3][4] When auditioning for that role, he told the producers, "Look, I play all these tough guys and thugs and strong, complex characters. In real life, I am a cringing, neurotic Jewish mess. Can't I for once play that on stage?"[11]

His first Hollywood role was in the Bruce Willis blockbuster Armageddon (1998).[14][18] Initially called upon to take a fairly substantial role, Isaacs was eventually cast in a much smaller capacity as a planet-saving scientist so that he could accommodate his commitment to Divorcing Jack (1998), a comedy thriller he was making with future fellow Harry Potter cast member David Thewlis.[1]

After portraying a priest opposite Julianne Moore and Ralph Fiennes in Neil Jordan's acclaimed adaptation of Graham Greene's The End of the Affair (1999), Isaacs played the "memorable" villain, Colonel William Tavington, in Roland Emmerich's Revolutionary War fictional film epic The Patriot (2000).[14] Starring opposite Mel Gibson as the film's hero, and Heath Ledger as Gibson's screen son, Isaacs portrays a sadistic British army officer who kills Ledger's character, among many other soldiers.[14][19] Although his work in the film earned him comparisons to Ralph Fiennes' portrayal of Nazi Amon Göth in Schindler's List (1993) and mention of a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, reaching beyond being typecast as an historical villain, Isaacs chose to play a drag queen in his next project, Sweet November (2001), a romantic comedy-drama starring Charlize Theron and Keanu Reeves.[1]

Isaacs has appeared in many other films, most notably as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter series of films (2002–present). Regarding the Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling, Isaacs has said: "I went off and read the books after the audition and I read all four books in one sitting – you know – didn't wash, didn't eat, drove around with them on the steering wheel like a lunatic. I suddenly understood why my friends, who I'd thought were slightly backward, had been so addicted to these children's books. They're like crack."[2] In "The Naked and the Dead", an article published in the San Francisco Chronicle, on November 26, 2006, Neva Chonin names the character Lucius Malfoy one of the 12 "Sexiest Men Who Were Never Alive" and Isaacs one of the 13 "Sexiest Men Who Are Real and Alive".[20]

Prior to the making of the film, when asked whether or not he would be in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Isaacs replied, "I hope so - you'll have to ask David [producer David Heyman. I can't bear the idea that somebody else would get to wear my Paris Hilton wig, but you never know."[21] Isaac also talked to J. K. Rowling on the inclusion of Lucius Malfoy in the then as-yet unpublished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, so that he would have a part in the seventh and final film: "The character does not appear in the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince; but ... [Isaacs joked], 'I fell to my knees and begged ... It didn't do any good. I'm sure she doesn't need plot ideas from me. But I made my point. We'll see. Like everybody else, I'm holding my breath to July to see what's in there. I just want to bust out of prison, that's all. I don't want to stay in Azkaban most of my life.' "[22] Isaacs is indeed reprising his role as Lucius Malfoy in both parts of David Yates's film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (expected release, 2010 and 2011).[23]

He has also appeared in Dragonheart (1996), Event Horizon (1997) , Black Hawk Down (2001), Jackie Chan's The Tuxedo (2002), and as George Darling and Captain Hook in P. J. Hogan's adaptation of Peter Pan (2003), and as the voice of Admiral Zhao in the animated Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005).[2][18]


Isaacs played the leading role of Sir Mark Brydon, the British Ambassador to the United States in the BBC Four miniseries The State Within (2006), for which he was nominated for the Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television for the 65th Golden Globe Awards.[24][25] On British television, he also portrayed actor Harry H. Corbett in The Curse of Steptoe, part of "a season of new one-off dramas for BBC Four revealing the stories behind some of Britain's best loved television entertainers, and their achievements," first broadcast in March 2008.[26][27] On American television, Isaacs appeared in three episodes of The West Wing in 2004, prior to developing his most notable TV serial role, as Michael Caffee in Brotherhood (2006–present).[18]

Between 2 February and 24 March 2007, Isaacs played Ben, opposite Lee Evans (Gus), in the critically-acclaimed 50th-anniversary production of Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter, at Trafalgar Studios, in London, his first theatre performance since appearing in The Force of Change (2000).[5][6][7][8][28] He posed for photographs after his performance on March 3, 2007.

Issacs plays Major Briggs, an American military officer, opposite Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear, in the upcoming film of Paul Greengrass's thriller Green Zone (2009), a fictionalized drama set in Iraq after the defeat of Saddam Hussein based on the book Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Baghdad's Green Zone (2006), by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, for which production began in Morocco, in January 2008.[18][29][30]

In 2007 he was cast in Jan de Bont's then-still-upcoming film "Stopping Power", to play its star John Cusack's "nemesis",[31][32] but, on August 31, 2007, Variety reported that the film, also planned for release in 2009, had been canceled after a financial backer pulled out.[33]

Selected work

Film

Year Film Role Awards and nominations
1989 The Tall Guy Doctor #2
1994 Shopping Market Trader
1995 Solitaire For Two Harry
1996 Dragonheart Lord Felton
1997 Event Horizon D.J.
1998 Armageddon Dr. Ronald Quincy, Research
Divorcing Jack Cow Pat Keegan
Soldier Mekum
St. Ives Alain de Keroual de Saint-Yves
1999 The End of the Affair Father Richard Smythe
2000 The Patriot British Colonel William Tavington
  • Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Villain (Internet Only) (nominated) (2001).
  • British Supporting Actor of the Year, Awards for the London Film Critics Circle (ALFS) (nominated) (2001).
2001 Sweet November Chaz Watley
Black Hawk Down US Army Captain Mike Steele
2002 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets[2] Lucius Malfoy
Passionada Charles Beck
Resident Evil Dr. William Birkin (uncredited)
The Tuxedo Clark Devlin
Windtalkers Major Mellitz
2003 Peter Pan George Darling and Captain Hook
2004 Nouvelle-France Général James Wolfe
Resident Evil: Apocalypse Dr. William Birkin
2005 The Chumscrubber Mr. Parker
Elektra DeMarco (uncredited)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Lucius Malfoy
Nine Lives Damian
Tennis, Anyone...? Johnny Green
2006 Friends with Money David
2007 Grindhouse, in the faux trailer "Don't" Bearded Man
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix[22] Lucius Malfoy
2008 Good Maurice
La Conjura de El Escorial Antonio Pérez
2009 "Green Zone"[29] Major Briggs
2010 "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I"[23] Lucius Malfoy
2011 "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II"[23] Lucius Malfoy

Some of the information in this table was obtained from "Jason Isaacs: Filmography". Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Retrieved on 2007-11-28.

Television

Year(s)
of appearance		 Programme or series Role Awards and nominations
1989 A Quiet Conspiracy
1989 This Is David Lander French Doctor
1989
(2 seasons)		 Capital City Chas Ewell
1989 Boon Mike Puckett
1990 TECX Edward Latham
1991 Ashenden Andrew Lehman
1991 Eye Contact Michael
1992 Civvies Frank Dillon
1992
(1 episode)		 Inspector Morse (1997 – 2000)

"Cherubim and Seraphim"

 Dr. Desmond Collier
1992
(1 episode)		 Taggart (1983–present)

"Double Exposure"

 Barr
1993
(1 episode)		 Highlander: The Series (1992 – 1998)

"The Lady and the Tiger"

 Immortal Zachary Blaine
1995 A Relative Stranger Peter Fairman
1995 Dangerous Lady Michael Ryan
1995
(TV movie)		 Loved Up Des
1996
(TV movie)		 Guardians Jim Reid
1996
(TV movie)		 Burn Your Phone The Killer
1997
(TV movie)		 The Fix Tony Kaye
1998 The Last Don II Father Luca Tonarini
2004
(3 episodes)		 The West Wing (1999 – 2006)

"Gaza"
"Memorial Day"
"N.S.F. Thurmont"

 Colin Ayres
2006 Scars Chris
2006 The State Within Sir Mark Brydon, British Ambassador to the USA
2006–present Brotherhood Michael Caffee
2008 The Curse of Steptoe Harry H. Corbett

Some of the information in this table was obtained from "Jason Isaacs: Filmography". Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Retrieved on 2007-11-28.

Theatre

Year(s)
of appearance		 Play Role Awards and nominations
Unknown God: A Comedy in One Actcitations needed
1992 The Black and White Minstrels

The King's Head Theatre, London

 Cyril
1992 and 1993 Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes[4]

Royal National Theatre, London

 Louis Ironson
1993 1953

Almeida Theatre, London

 Benito Mussolini
2000 The Force of Change

Royal Court Theatre, London
2007 The Dumb Waiter[28]

Trafalgar Studios, London

 Ben

Animated television series and video games

Year(s)
of appearance		 Animated television series or video game Role Awards and nominations
1994 Beneath a Steel Sky (video game) (Voice)
2005 Spartan: Total Warrior
(video game)		 (Voice of Sejanus)
2005–2006 Avatar: The Last Airbender
(animated television series)		 Admiral Zhao

Some of the information in this table was obtained from "Jason Isaacs: Filmography". Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Retrieved on 2007-11-28.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Rebecca Flint Marx. "Jason Isaacs: Biography", All Movie Guide, Moviefone. Retrieved on 2008-06-29. "Although he first became interested in acting in part because 'it was a great way to meet girls,' Isaacs soon found deeper meaning in the theater (in one interview he was quoted as saying 'I could release myself into acting in a way that I was not released socially') and duly dropped out of Bristol to hone his skills at London's Central School of Speech and Drama." 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Biography for Jason Isaacs". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-06-25. [Includes unsourced "Personal Quotes".]
  3. ^ a b "Jason Isaacs: Other Works". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-06-25.
  4. ^ a b c "NT: Archive: Stage by Stage: 1992–1995". Royal National Theatre. nationaltheatre.org.uk. Retrieved on 2008-06-25.
  5. ^ a b Sonia Friedman Productions (2007-01-03). "Dumb Waiter Limited Run", Sonia Friedman Productions press release. Retrieved on 2008-06-23. "Strictly limited run: Lee Evans and Jason Isaacs to star in major revival of Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter directed by Harry Burton ... To coincide with the play's 50th anniversary...." 
  6. ^ a b Jasper Rees (2007-01-27). "'There is a streak of cruelty in me': Actor Jason Isaacs Says Life Prepared Him to Become a Specialist in Unattractive Characters", The Daily Telegraph, Review. Retrieved on 2008-06-27. "The more cheery and pliant of the two [Gus] is played by Lee Evans, the more menacing [Ben] by Isaacs. Characteristically. 'Far from what you would think,' [Isaacs] says, 'Lee is the one who went to art school and is familiar with Beckett and Pinter. I wasn't going to do this until I read it. It is crackingly funny. I realised how much of a debt Tarantino owes. The Pinter scholars can go off and discuss whatever they like in dusty rooms, but Lee and I and Harry Burton, the director, are trying to come up with something really engaging and exciting. It's never been more relevant. The whole play exists on this undercurrent of fear and paranoia. It's a very scary time to live in the world, and these two guys are in a room scared and working out what to do about it.' " 
  7. ^ a b Caroline Ansdell (2007-02-09). "Review Round-up: Critics Find Waiter Not So Dumb", WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-26. "Overnight critics delighted in the menace and suspense built up by the play and the strong performances of the actors – particularly Evans – who, they said, bought out plenty of comedy in Burton’s slick production. However some felt that despite the production’s positives, at just over an hour it did not constitute value for money, and several critics said it should have been paired with another piece, or some of Pinter’s sketches to give a full evening’s entertainment."  [Includes excerpts from several reviews, including some cited below and in The Dumb Waiter#Recent productions.]
  8. ^ a b Associated Press (2007-02-09). "Revival of 'The Dumb Waiter' Shows Harold Pinter's Comic Side", International Herald Tribune. Retrieved on 2008-06-23. 
  9. ^ a b c Paul Lester (2008-02-01). "JC Interview: Jason Isaacs", The Jewish Chronicle, thejc.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-28. "Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School ... [produced] quite a vintage crop in [Isaacs'] time: fellow pupils included Sacha Baron Cohen, David Baddiel and Matt Lucas. 'I've seen Baddiel a few times,' Isaacs says, and he sees the others occasionally at awards ceremonies. ... Not all the Habs stars of the time were Jewish, though, and Isaacs has a lot of time for another alumnus, the BBC's film critic, Mark Kermode: 'He is always incredibly lovely and says hello on his Radio 5 podcasts, which I've listened to in Auschwitz and many other strange places. He's said I was too cool [at school], but he was at the epicentre of the in-crowd.' " 
  10. ^ Naomi Pfefferman (2000-07-14). "Once a 'wimp,' Actor Thrives On Portraying Villains", Jewish News of Greater Phoenix, jewishaz.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-29.  Rpt. from Jewish Journal of Los Angeles, July 14, 2000.
  11. ^ a b Naomi Pfefferman (2000-06-30). "More Than a Villain: With "The Patriot," Jason Isaacs, a British Jew, Cements His Reputation as One of Hollywood's Hottest Heavies", The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, jewishjournal.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-29. 
  12. ^ Jasper Rees (2007-01-27). "'There is a streak of cruelty in me': Actor Jason Isaacs Says Life Prepared Him to Become a Specialist in Unattractive Characters", The Daily Telegraph, Review. Retrieved on 2008-06-26. "There is a streak of cruelty in me that comes from having a quite competitive background. There were four boys in the house and we were often pretty unkind to each other. Also, it wasn't a great thing to be a Jewish teenager when the National Front were passing leaflets around the school and attacking us where we gathered at the weekends." 
  13. ^ Jasper Rees (2007-01-27). "'There is a streak of cruelty in me': Actor Jason Isaacs Says Life Prepared Him to Become a Specialist in Unattractive Characters", The Daily Telegraph, Review. Retrieved on 2008-06-27. "The way he tells it, Isaacs's career is a big mistake. He grew up in Liverpool, then London, went to Bristol University to read law and felt uneasy among peers 'who all sounded like Hugh Grant'. He signed up for the drama society when he saw an audition for a part with 'Northern accent required'. ... He applied to drama schools with no intention of going. But the rather stern admissions tutor who offered him a place at Central School of Speech and Drama in London took umbrage at his vacillation. 'She said, "This is a vocation. If you're not interested, tell me now." I was so English and too embarrassed to tell her the truth.' " 
  14. ^ a b c d e f g ""Jason Isaacs Biography"". Yahoo! Movies UK & Ireland. uk.movies.yahoo.com (Copyright © Baseline 2006). Retrieved on 2008-06-24.
  15. ^ a b Paul Lester (2008-02-01). "JC Interview: Jason Isaacs", The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved on 2008-06-23. "Luckily, Isaacs gets to relax at home in North-West London with Emma Hewitt, his partner of 20 years (to whom he invariably refers as 'my wife'), and his two young daughters, Lilly and Ruby. There, his life is 'calm, sedate and suburban'. ... Isaacs admits his attachment to his roots has loosened over the years. 'Because I've been lucky enough to play so many parts and live in so many countries, I feel rootless. The club I belong to is me, my wife and kids, and whatever part I'm playing. I've stripped almost all of my tribal identity out… I am what I am and proud of where I come from. But I don’t feel rooted.' " 
  16. ^ "Jason Isaacs Video Interview". The London Paper. thelondonpaper.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-27.
  17. ^ Jasper Rees (2007-01-27). "'There is a streak of cruelty in me': Actor Jason Isaacs Says Life Prepared Him to Become a Specialist in Unattractive Characters", The Daily Telegraph, Review. Retrieved on 2008-06-27. 
  18. ^ a b c d e Jason Isaacs: Filmography at the Internet Movie Database.
  19. ^ Matt Webb Mitovich (2006-07-21). "Interviews & Features: Jason Isaacs: More Than a Bad Brother", TV Guide, TVGuide.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. 
  20. ^ Neva Chonin (2006-11-26). "The Naked and the Dead", San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved on 2008-06-29. 
  21. ^ "Exclusive: Order of the Phoenix News: The Cast Talk Harry Potter 5", Empire Online, empireonline.com (2006-03-15). Retrieved on 2008-06-23. 
  22. ^ a b Cindy White (2007-01-11). "Potter V Has More Isaacs", Sci Fi Wire, scifi.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. "[...]Order of the Phoenix open[ed] July 13, [2007]." 
  23. ^ a b c Scott Huver (2008-06-25). "Isaacs Conjures Lucius Malfoy's Return to Harry Potter", CraveOnline:Film & TV, ComingSoon.net. Retrieved on 2008-07-04. 
  24. ^ a b "Nominations & Winners 2008". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved on 2007-12-14.
  25. ^ Catherine Elsworth (2008-01-14). "Britons Triumph at Minimalist Golden Globes", The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. 
  26. ^ Leigh Holmwood (2007-11-27). "BBC4 to Show Steptoe and Son Biopic", The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-06-26. 
  27. ^ "BBC Four Unveils New Drama Season", bbc.co.uk (2007-11-28). Retrieved on 2008-06-26. 
  28. ^ a b Michael Billington (2007-02-09). "The Dumb Waiter, Trafalgar Studios, London", The Guardian, guardian.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-06-23. 
  29. ^ a b Adam Dawtrey (2008-03-03). "Jason Isaacs Joins Greengrass Thriller: Working Title/Universal project Filming in Spain", Variety. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. 
  30. ^ Ali Jaafar (2007-11-21). "Morocco Strong, But Not the Same", Variety. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. 
  31. ^ Jeremy Wheeler. "Stopping Power", All Movie Guide, Moviefone. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. 
  32. ^ Matt Webb Mitovich (2007-08-23). "Today's News: Our Take: At the Movies: Justin Timberlake Hits the Ice, Ice, Baby", TV Guide, tvguide.com (Blog). Retrieved on 2008-07-04. 
  33. ^ Ed Meza (2007-08-31). "De Bont's John Cusack Starrer Killed: Internationalmedia Unplugs 'Stopping Power' ", Variety. Retrieved on 2008-07-04. 

References

Biographies

Interviews

Other articles

Persondata
NAME Isaacs, Jason
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION British actor
DATE OF BIRTH 6 June 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH Liverpool, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
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