John Simm

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9.5 Superb
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Biography

Recent Role:
Baxter on Mad Dogs
Gender:
Male
Born:
7-10-1970
Birthplace:
Leeds, England
John Simm was born in Leeds, Yorkshire and grew up in the town of Nelson, near Burnley. His father was a local musician, who taught John to play guitar and they played together in working men's clubs before John was ten, calling themselves Us2.



At the age of 16 he went to Blackpool drama college before going to the Drama Centre in London at the age of 18 and studying the Stanislavski school of Method acting. Finding himself amongst Oxford Graduates, when he was a comprehensive-educated teenager, John educated himself by reading classic plays and novels.




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During the 90's John's band Magic Alex, in which he still plays, supported Echo and The Bunnymen on two tours. He hung out with music people and was a regular at nightclubs becoming a hero for the lad-mag generation.



In 1997 John starred in the first series of The Lakes. The second series followed in 1999 and the film Human Traffic was released. John's favourite book is Crime and Punishment and he is 'eternally grateful' that he was given the opportunity to play Raskolnikov in the BBC adaptation of the novel in 2001.



John's most famous role to date is as Sam Tyler in Life on Mars, and in 2007 recreated iconic role of The Master in long-running and revitalised UK Science Fiction show, Doctor Who.



John is married to actress Kate McGowan and they have a son, Ryan, who was born in 2001, and a daughter Molly, born in 2007.

From the Forums

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  • J.S. as The Master on Doctor Who

    I thought John was fantastic as the Master on the new Doctor Who. This is the first time I've ever seen him but what I saw was great and i wanna see more! :D I think he did a really good job playing the master and i cant think of anyone better for it. So congrates John! It was really greatMore seeing you as this really fantastic character on one of my fav shows! I really liked The Master even though he's bad because of the Actor and the Writing. He's a really likeable character i think. Or is it just me? Oh well...GO THE MASTER!! Go for giving me tingles!

    3 comments, last one Sep 17, 2007
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John Simm News

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    10 Perfect
    My new favourite actor! hide show

    John Simm is an amazing actor. So far I have only seen him in Life on Mars. He plays DI Sam Tyler, a police officer from 2006 who wakes up after being in an accident in a 1973 that he may, or may not, be imagining. I think he captures the feelings of someone sent 33 years into the past very convincingly, bringing a sense of reality to a concept that could have been ludicrous in the wrong hands. He conveys Sam's emotions extremely well with his facial expressions, especially during the 'pigs in space' moments where he had to pretend to hear disembodied voices. He is even convincing when crying over sock puppets and men talking to him out of the television. Any actor who can make eight hours of compelling television out of all that and more has to have some talent. John Simm certainly has.

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