James Nesbitt (born 15 January 1965) is a Northern Irish actor. Born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, Nesbitt grew up in the nearby village of Broughshane, before moving to Coleraine, County Londonderry. He wanted to become a teacher like his father, so he began studying French at the University of Ulster. He dropped out after a year when he decided to become an actor, and transferred to the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. After graduating in 1987, he spent seven years performing in plays that ranged from the musical "On the Roof" (1987, 1989) to the political drama "Paddywack" (1994). He made his feature film debut playing talent agent Fintan O'Donnell in "Hear My Song" (1991).

Nesbitt got his breakthrough television role playing Adam Williams in the romantic comedy-drama "Cold Feet" (1998–2003), which won him a British Comedy Award, a Television and Radio Industries Club Award, and a National Television Award. His first significant film role came when he appeared as pig farmer "Pig" Finn in "Waking Ned" (1998). Along with the rest of the star-studded cast, Nesbitt was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. In the film "Lucky Break" (2001), he made his debut as the film's lead, playing prisoner Jimmy Hands. The following year he played Ivan Cooper in the television film "Bloody Sunday", about the events of 1972 in Derry. A departure from his previous "cheeky chappie" roles, the film was a turning point in his career. He won a British Independent Film Award and was nominated for a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor.

Nesbitt also starred in the series "Murphy's Law" (2001–2007) as undercover detective Tommy Murphy—a role that was created for him by writer Colin Bateman. The role twice earned Nesbitt nominations for Best Actor at the Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTA). In 2007 he starred in a dual role as Tom Jackman and Mr. Hyde in Steven Moffat's series "Jekyll", which earned him a Golden Globe nomination in 2008. Since then Nesbitt has appeared in several more dramatic roles; he starred alongside Liam Neeson in "Five Minutes of Heaven" (2009) and was one of three lead actors in the television miniseries "Occupation" (2009) and "The Deep" (2010). He also appeared in the films "Outcast" (2010) and Emilio Estevez's "The Way" (2011), and was cast in Peter Jackson's film "The Hobbit" (2012/13).

Nesbitt is married to former actress Sonia Forbes-Adam, with whom he has two daughters. He is a patron of numerous charities and in 2010 took on the ceremonial position of Chancellor of the University of Ulster.