James Nesbitt Q&A: six key takeaways

Students were given an insight into the working practices and career of one of the UK’s leading actors James Nesbitt. 

During the hour-long Q&A James discussed how he prepares for roles and auditions, deals with setbacks and how being Northern Irish has influenced his career. 

Best known for his appearances in Cold Feet, Murphy’s Law, The Missing, Bloody Sunday and The Hobbit, James is currently working on the new Netflix/Harlan Coben thriller, Run Away, which is being filmed in Liverpool and Manchester. 

Here are six takeaways from his Q&A: 

Character first, then lines. The process has always been the same since I started; how do I connect to the story, what is the truth, and what is the journey? I make sure I understand the context and I work really hard on the character, really hard - and then I learn the lines. I’ve been blessed with a really good memory, and I can read lines two or three times and remember them. So, I like to learn them as late as possible, so it feels like I’m almost saying them for the first time. 

The most difficult part of an audition can be walking into the room. I have a certain amount of confidence, but I also have nerves, so the work you do before an audition is so important. I know I’ve talked about how I’ve got a good memory and can learn lines quickly, but you can’t blag it. You have to do the work. Then you have to find a way to present yourself in the room. Sometimes the acting you do walking into an audition is more important than the audition itself. That can be the difficult bit, acting as the person you want to present. The audition is the easy bit, you the know the piece ‘cos you’ve done the work. I find visualisation really helps, I try to picture myself going in and thinking about what I would want to see.

David Salter, Head of Acting and James Nesbitt 

It’s your spirit that will sustain you in this job. Rejection is something you have to deal with and understand. It isn't a rejection of you, it’s just that something’s not working. If your spirit is strong enough and you can say to yourself this is something I really want to do, then you can keep going. That’s the hardest thing, asking yourself, is this really what I want to do, am I prepared to make sacrifices for it, can I face the rejection? You have to look within and if you can get to that place where you know it’s what you want, then you will find a way to sustain it. My mum said to me “James, the sun rises and so must you,” and I always keep that in mind. 

Being Northern Irish has unquestionably been at the core of my career. Director Paul Greengrass said to me when we were making Bloody Sunday that at some point every Irish actor had to tackle the Troubles, it’s like our King Lear. It was 2002 when I did Bloody Sunday, so a long way into my acting career, but it was the first time I recognised where I came from and what it meant to me. Paul wanted Bloody Sunday to be “a pebble in the wall of peace”. It was the first time I thought I had a job with integrity, one that was worthwhile. 

Sometimes you just have to jump. Everyone seemed to be auditioning for Cold Feet, there was just a feeling that it was going to be good. I read the script and I thought, this is the one. So, I jumped, I took a risk.  

I wasn’t very well known then but for the only time in my life I went into the audition and said, I’m the only person who can play this part. I told them this could be the first time there’s a character in a mainstream TV show who is from Northern Ireland, and it has nothing to do with the Troubles. I said this could make a real difference and be a really cool thing to do. And they gave me the part. 

Your next job is your first job. The director Michael Winterbottom said to me, “your next job is your first job.” If there’s a mantra that keeps me going, it’s that. If I can believe my next job is my first job then I’m still learning, I’m still hungry and I’m still fulfilling my needs as an actor. 

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Images: Brian Roberts Photography