James Nesbitt (born 15 January 1965) is a Northern Irish actor. Nesbitt began his career in the 1980s after leaving the Central School of Speech and Drama. His first appearances on stage and screen were critically praised and he came to wider attention in the mid-1990s after appearing in Cold Feet and Waking Ned. He took the lead role in Peter Cattaneo's Lucky Break in 2001 and in the same year was cast as the title character in Murphy's Law, the role being created for him by Colin Bateman. In 2002 he played Ivan Cooper in Bloody Sunday, a dramatisation of the events of 1972, for which he won the British Independent Film Award for Best Actor.

Bloody Sunday established him as a competent dramatic actor and since 2002 he has appeared in the fact-based drama Wall of Silence, the adaptation of Quite Ugly One Morning, and Steven Moffat's Jekyll (the latter he was nominated for a Golden Globe award). Comedic roles are still offered to him; he appeared alongside Dennis Waterman and Billie Piper in the light-hearted BBC series The Canterbury Tales and has filmed an adaptation of Cinderella, which was broadcast as part of the BBC's Fairy Tales anthology in 2008.

Additional film roles include appearances in Woody Allen's Match Point, and Danny Boyle's Millions. Theatrical roles include a leading role in Owen McCafferty's Shoot the Crow in 2005, his first time on stage in 11 years. He is a patron of numerous charities, including UNICEF, Action Cancer, and Art Wave. It is often noted that he has a characteristic "arched eyebrow", which he has joked that he has "worked on" since his school days.

Educated at Coleraine Academical Institution (also school of Brian Campbell (II) & Brian McAlister), James had no interest in acting, concentrating on his French studies. It was not until teacher Robert Simpson encouraged him to take an apprenticeship at the local Riverside Theatre that his interest began, eventually leading him to a drama school in London.

James Nesbitt was born and raised in the Coleraine area of Northern Ireland, UK. Attending a local grammar school (Coleraine Academical Insitution), he originally planned to be French teacher. However, after a few forays into school productions and local theatre work, he eventually saw acting as his way forward. Moving to England, he commenced to forge what has become a highly successful acting career. James is also a lover of football.