Jeremy Irvine
English actor (born 1990) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jeremy William Fredric Smith (born 18 June 1990), known professionally as Jeremy Irvine, is an English actor. He made his film debut when Steven Spielberg chose him to star in the epic war film War Horse (2011) and has since starred in films such as Great Expectations (2012), The Railway Man (2013), and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018), as well as the television series Treadstone (2019). He is set to portray James Sunderland in the upcoming horror film Return to Silent Hill.
Jeremy Irvine | |
|---|---|
Irvine in 2011 | |
| Born | Jeremy William Fredric Smith 18 June 1990 Gamlingay, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse |
Jodie Spencer (m. 2024) |
| Relatives | Ralph Lilley Turner (great-grandfather) |
Irvine has earned a reputation as a method actor. For War Horse, he began lifting weights and gained 6.4 kilograms (14 lb) of muscle, underwent two months of intensive horseback training, and spent so much time recreating the Battle of Somme scene in the film that he got trench foot; for The Railway Man, he lost around 6.4 kilograms (14 lb) by starving himself for two months and performed his own torture scenes.
Early life
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Irvine was born Jeremy William Fredric Smith[1][2] in Gamlingay on 18 June 1990,[3][4] the son of Liberal Democrat councillor Bridget Smith and engineer Chris Smith.[5][better source needed] He has two younger brothers, one of whom would portray a younger version of his character in Great Expectations (2012).[6] His great-grandfather was Ralph Lilley Turner.[7]
Irvine took his stage surname from his grandfather's first name.[7] He started acting at age 16 after his drama teacher inspired him: "I never fitted in, which led me to acting. I was looking for something different."[8] He played Romeo and other main roles in plays at Bedford Modern School,[2][9][10][11] followed by a run with the National Youth Theatre.[12]
After completing a one-year foundation course at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA),[13][14] Irvine spent two years posting his CV through letterboxes to get acting work, during which time he worked in his local supermarket and did web design.[15] He almost gave up acting for good just before he got his big break in War Horse. In an interview with CBS News while promoting Great Expectations, he described this as the lowest point of his life and revealed that he considered taking a different career path: "I'd kind of hit rock bottom and really did think this was stupid and I just wasted three or four years of my life. My dad wanted me to get a job being a welder. At the company he was at, he was an engineer. I was very very close to doing that."[16]
Career
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Irvine played Luke in the television series Life Bites[10][17] and appeared in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2010 production of Dunsinane.[18][19] He was quoted in Interview Magazine, saying: "My friends all took the mick out of me for Dunsinane saying, 'You're gonna be the tree'. Indeed, in my first scene, I was waving two branches."[20]
In June 2010, he was cast in the lead role of the 2011 Steven Spielberg film War Horse.[21] The film was an adaption of Michael Morpurgo's novel, also entitled War Horse.[22] Spielberg revealed that he had been looking for an unknown actor for War Horse, stating: "I looked at hundreds of actors and newcomers for Albert – mainly newcomers – and nobody had the heart, the spirit or the communication skills that Jeremy had."[23] Irvine was asked to read a section of the War Horse script on camera to check his West Country accent.[24] In an attempt to prepare himself for the role of Albert, Irvine took up weight training and gained approximately 6.4 kilograms (14 lb) of muscle. He also underwent two months of intensive horse riding.[25] He spent so much time recreating the Battle of Somme scene in the film that he ended up contracting trench foot.[26] For his work, he was nominated for the London Film Critics' Choice Award for Young British Performer Of The Year and the Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer.[27]
In April 2011, Variety reported that Irvine had been cast as Pip in a 2012 film adaptation of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.[28][29] In October 2011, The Hollywood Reporter announced that he was set to play the young Eric Lomax in the film production of The Railway Man.[30] He earned a reputation as a method actor after he went for two months without food, losing around 13 kilograms (2 st), and performed his torture scene stunts in The Railway Man.[31] He then starred in the independent film Now Is Good.[3][32] In February 2013, Variety stated that he had been cast in a film based on the novel The World Made Straight. Also in 2013, he was cast as Daniel Grigori in the film Fallen, based on the young adult series by Lauren Kate.[33]
On 12 August 2014, Deadline reported that Irvine had been cast as Percy Bysshe Shelley in Mary Shelley's Monster.[34] In November 2015, he starred in Don Broco's music video for the song "Nerve". He attended the same school, Bedford Modern, as the band's members.[35] The following month, he joined the cast of Billionaire Boys Club.[36] In July 2017, he confirmed that he had joined the cast of The Last Full Measure.[37] In 2018, he portrayed the younger version of Sam Carmichael in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.[38] In 2019, he starred as John Randolph Bentley in the USA Network television series Treadstone.[39] In May 2021, he was cast as Alan Scott in the HBO Max live-action television series based on Green Lantern.[40] In February 2024, it was announced that he had been cast as Henry Beauchamp in the Outlander prequel series Outlander: Blood of My Blood.[41] He is also set to portray James Sunderland in the upcoming horror film Return to Silent Hill, based on the Silent Hill video games.[42]
Personal life
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Irvine has had diabetes mellitus type 1 since he was six years old, revealing he was "on four injections a day", which he administered himself; his two brothers are also diabetic.[43] He has been involved in trials with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to test an artificial pancreas,[18][44] a form of automatic glucose meter attached to a portable insulin pump.[43] The tests took place at Addenbrooke's Hospital with the University of Cambridge during 2005 and 2007.[45][46] During a visit to the Cambridge Welcome Trust Clinical Research Facility on 7 February 2012, he discussed his experiences with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.[47] He was again present with Camilla on 31 January 2013 at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's inpatient adolescent ward, after she became president of the JDRF in 2012.[48]
Irvine married Jodie Spencer in 2024.[49][50] They reside in the West Hampstead area of London.[51] He is known for his private nature and told the Coventry Telegraph in 2012, "I realised very quickly that I didn't want to be famous, so I don't go to Mahiki, I just go down the pub with all my mates."[52] He also told Yahoo Movies, "When War Horse came out, I had maybe a month of people stopping me in the street, then it died down. I try to ignore all that and pretend none of it exists. We're only acting. The work my mum does, a lot of it is rehousing homeless people, that's a real job."[53]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | War Horse | Albert Narracott | Nominated – London Film Critics' Choice Award for Young British Performer of the Year Nominated – Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer |
| 2012 | Now Is Good | Adam | |
| Great Expectations | Philip "Pip" Pirrip | ||
| 2013 | The Railway Man | Young Eric Lomax | |
| 2014 | A Night in Old Mexico | Gally | |
| Beyond the Reach | Ben | ||
| 2015 | The Woman in Black: Angel of Death | Harry Burnstow | |
| The World Made Straight | Travis Shelton | ||
| The Bad Education Movie | Atticus Hoye | ||
| Stonewall | Danny Winters | ||
| 2016 | This Beautiful Fantastic | Billy | |
| Fallen | Daniel Grigori | Direct-to-video | |
| 2018 | Billionaire Boys Club | Kyle Biltmore | |
| Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again | Young Sam Carmichael | ||
| 2019 | Paradise Hills | Markus | |
| The Professor and the Madman | Charles Hall | ||
| The Last Full Measure | William Pitsenbarger | ||
| 2020 | Cognition | Abner | Winner - Long Key Awards 2022 |
| 2021 | Benediction | Ivor Novello | |
| 2022 | This Is Christmas | Simon | |
| 2023 | Baghead | Neil | |
| TBA | Return to Silent Hill | James Sunderland | Post-production[54] |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Life Bites | Luke | Main cast (season 2) |
| 2019 | Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins | Himself | 5 episodes |
| Treadstone | J. Randolph Bentley | Main cast | |
| 2021 | Dalgliesh | Charles Masterson | 4 episodes |
| TBA | Outlander: Blood of My Blood | Henry Beauchamp | Main role |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Dunsinane | The Royal Shakespeare Company | ||
| 2016–2017 | Buried Child | Vince | Trafalgar Studios | [55] |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Don Broco | Nerve | |
| 2018 | Friendly Fires | Heaven Let Me In |
References
External links
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