Murphy's Law James Nesbitt

nesbitt @ 2009 bafta television awards

in 2004, nesbitt appeared in wall of silence, fact-based drama aftermath of murder of schoolboy jamie robe. nesbitt played stuart robe, boy s father, tries break down wall of silence in local community discover happened son. had completed bloody sunday when offered part , unsure whether wanted take on such demanding role after playing ivan cooper. decided accept part because found interesting. prepare role, nesbitt met robe , spent weeks talking him in south london flat, learning jamie, , of robe s fight justice. nesbitt spoke natural accent instead of affecting robe s south london speech, did not want audience distracted drama. single-drama filmed on 4 weeks , broadcast in january 2004. role gained nesbitt ifta nomination best actor in tv drama later year.

in march 2004, appeared in tony marchant s passer by, playing joe keyes, man witnesses woman being accosted men on train , chooses not help. keyes later discovers woman raped cannot bring himself admit in court did nothing her. nesbitt described keyes better man me: father , husband. but, once has made wrong decision, can t control in life, thinks weak. loses respect of wife, son , @ work, , has reach lowest possible point before finding redemption. result of these serious roles, named sixth powerful figure in tv drama in listing compiled industry experts radio times. in september 2004, starred jack parlabane in itv adaptation of christopher brookmyre s quite ugly 1 morning. producers wanted scottish actor douglas henshall play glaswegian parlabane itv executives overruled them , cast nesbitt. given coaching perfect accent discarded on advice of both director , co-star daniela nardini. in 2004, filmed roles of ronnie cunningham in millions (danny boyle, 2004), , detective banner in match point (woody allen, 2005). considering taking time off acting , did not want role in match point. sent in audition tape , accepted part. nesbitt s character appears @ end of film , read part of script, did not know full circumstances of crime banner investigates. despite initial reluctance, nesbitt enjoyed working allen, , complimented him on directing style.

nesbitt returned theatre acting in june 2005 when appeared in david nicholls after sun, ten-minute-play performed part of old vic s 24-hour play season. nesbitt , catherine tate starred married couple meet pair of newlyweds returning honeymoon. later year, appeared in first full-length play in 11 years, in owen mccafferty s shoot crow. enjoyed stimulation of learning lines , rehearsing cast , director. play opened @ trafalgar studios in september 2005 , role socrates gained mixed reviews. in independent, michael coveney suggested role did not fit actor: nesbitt cool. never felt inside role of chap called socrates [...] grinned , shrugged through evening steadily became less grouting on tiles , more grating on nerves. in daily telegraph, charles spencer described nesbitt s acting outstanding .