Jason Isaacs

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Biography

Recent Role:
Michael Britten on Awake
Gender:
Male
Born:
6-6-1963
Birthplace:
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK
Birth Name:
Jason Isaacs
Jason was born in his father's hometown of Liverpool on June 6, 1963. From the very beginning he had initially planned to go into law, a white-collar profession that would have fit nicely with those of his brothers, who became a doctor, lawyer, and accountant, but was swayed by acting early in the course of his law studies at Bristol University. Although he first became interested in acting in part because "it was a great way to meet girls," Jason 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… More released socially") and duly dropped out of Bristol to hone his skills at London's Central School of Speech and Drama.



Once in London, Isaacs began landing professional work almost immediately, appearing on the stage and on television. He made his big-screen debut in 1989 with a minor turn as a doctor in Mel Smith's The Tall Guy and that same year won a steady role on the TV series Capital City. Jason exhibited his versatility in several more TV series and on-stage in such productions as the Royal National Theatre's 1993 staging of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning Angels in America. He also began to find more work onscreen, receiving his first nod of Hollywood recognition in his casting in the Bruce Willis blockbuster Armageddon(1998). Initially called upon to take a fairly substantial role, Jason 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 fellow Harry Potter alumni David Thewlis.



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, Jason got his biggest international break to date when he was picked to portray "Colonel Tavington," the resident villain of Roland Emmerich's Revolutionary War epic The Patriot. Starring opposite Mel Gibson, who (naturally) played the film's hero, Jason made an unnervingly memorable impression as a man whose pastimes included infanticide, rape, and church-burning, emerging as one of summer 2000's most indelible screen presences. Although his work in the film earned him comparisons to Ralph Fiennes' portrayal of evil Nazi "Amon Goeth" in Schindler's List and talks of a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, the actor was not content to be typecast in the historical scum mold. Thus, he logically signed on to play none other than a drag queen for his next project, Sweet November (2001), a romantic comedy-drama starring Charlize Theron and Keanu Reeves.



Jason's most recent work has been with the juggernaut Harry Potter series as the sweetly vicious Lucius Malfoy.

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  •  
    10 Perfect
    empty hide show

    Jason Isaacs is my favourite british actor. His Role as Colonel Tavington in the patriot both gave me alot of respect for him and helped me dispise him. He suits the role of Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies it is just a pity the movies themselves are quite lackluster

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    talent_knower Added Aug 19, 2008 All my reviews
  •  
    10 Perfect
    empty hide show

    Jason is an absolutely amazing actor. He is so believable in everything he does, good guy or bad guy. I love his villain roles, he is just so perfect. Not only that, but he is bloody gorgeous! I just love to look at him, I'll watch a movie if he's in it no matter what it's about just so I can look at him, then I'll just skip to his parts, which are always the best.

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    valar20 Added Aug 21, 2007 All my reviews
  •  
    10 Perfect
    Absolutely gorgeous! hide show

    Jason is alot of other things as well, but he's definitely not hard on the eyes. Oh, and those eyes! He's lovely. I could watch him in any role.


    What's nice though is he's not only gorgeous, he's also a d*mned good actor. Especially as a villian, which has made him rather famous over the last decade. First as the wicked Colonel Tavington in The Patriot opposite Mel Gibson, then recently as the deliciously evil Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter series.

    I enjoy watching Jason's work, and I hope to continue seeing him in as many future films as possible. Hopefully in Harry Potter!!!

    (Since there is two guides for Jason, I am repeating my review for both.)

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    xGowronx Added Jan 24, 2006 All my reviews
 

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