Martin Freeman

Martin John Christopher Freeman

8 September 1971

An English actor. Freeman joined a youth theatre group at 15, but it was not until he was 17 that his confidence in his acting led to the decision to pursue it as a career. He went on to attend the Central School of Speech and Drama. Freeman has appeared in at least 18 TV shows, 14 theatre productions, and several radio productions. He is notable for his role as Tim Canterbury in "The Office". He also appeared in several films, including "Ali G Indahouse" (2002) and "Love Actually" (2003).

He began to move into more serious dramatic roles on television with his appearance as Lord Shaftesbury in the 2003 BBC historical drama "Charles II: The Power and The Passion". He can also be seen making a brief appearance in the first episode of the second series of "This Life". 

He currently plays Dr. John Watson in "Sherlock", the BBC contemporary adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes detective stories. He stars alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, who also went on to perform in "The Hobbit" films with Freeman. For his performance in the role of John Watson he won the BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actor, 2011 and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.

As actor

• The Bill (1997)
• This Life (1997)
• Casualty (1998)
• Picking up the Pieces (1998)
• I Just Want to Kiss You (1998)
• Exhaust (1999)
• Bruiser (2000)
• The Low Down (2000)
• Lock, Stock... (2000)
• Black Books (2000)
• Round About Five (2001)
• World of Pub (2001)
• Men Only (2001)
• Fancy Dress (2001)
• The Office (2001-2003)
• Ali G Indahouse (2002)
• Linda Green (2002)
• Helen West (2002)
• Love Actually (2003)
• The Debt (2003)
• Charles II: The Power and The Passion (2003)
• Margery and Gladys (2003)
• Hardware (2003-2004)
• Blake's Junction 7 (2004)
• Call Register (2004)
• Pride (2004)
• Shaun of the Dead (2004)
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
• The Robinsons (2005)
• Confetti (2006)
• Breaking and Entering (2006)
• Dedication (2007)
• The Good Night (2007)
• Comedy Showcase (2007)
• Hot Fuzz (2007)
• Lonely Hearts (2007)
• The All Together (2007)
• Rubbish (2007)
• Nightwatching (2007)
• The Old Curiosity Shop (2007)
• When Were We Funniest? (2008)
• Rembrandt's J'Accuse (2008)
• Nativity! (2009)
• Micro Men (2009)
• Boy Meets Girl (2009)
• Swinging with the Finkels (2009)
• Wild Target (2010)
• The Girl is Mime (2010)
• Sherlock (2010-...)
• What's Your Number? (2011)
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012)
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
• The World's End (2013)
• Svengali (2013)
• Saving Santa (2013)
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
• The Voorman Problem (2013)
• The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
• Fargo (2014)
• The Eichmann Show (2015)
• Toast of London (2015)
• Stick Man (2015)
• Midnight of My Life (2015)
• Tubby Hayes: A Man in a Hurry (2015)
• Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016)
• Captain America: Civil War (2016)
• Cargo (2017)
• Black Panther (2018)

Quotations

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I'm a big believer that life changes as much as you want it to.

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I love the smaller scenes. I love the smaller, slightly more theatrical scenes.

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I only really watch my own films, I don't watch any other films and I don't particularly like any other actors.

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I think the hardest part about anything you do for 18 months is just keeping yourself together for 18 months.

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I'm always interested with other actors in what their process is, and are they still interested in acting, as opposed to being a star.

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My job as an actor is for you, so why should my private life be for you, too? That's not fair.

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My main priority in any job is when is the soonest I can get back to the three people I love most in the world.

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'Sherlock' is one of the biggest things I will do, ever - we could never have predicted that level of insanity around the series.

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The best of American television is thought-provoking, original, brilliant, exciting - from 'The Sopranos' on, whether it's 'The Wire' or 'Breaking Bad' or 'House of Cards,' they're fantastic pieces of art.

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There are lots of things that keep me awake at night, but work isn't one of them. I mean, no-one's going to die if someone doesn't like what I do. So I don't feel a great pressure.

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There was very little drama and performance at my school, so I've never forgotten the people who did encourage me and I've thought whether it would be a good idea to even get in touch with them and just say thanks, because they really opened a door for me mentally and emotionally - that's really important.

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There's a difference between the parts that I play and who I am and who people think I am. There's quite a big discrepancy sometimes between those things.

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To be honest, if people thought my performance in 'The Office' was the same as my performance in 'The Hobbit,' it would tell me everything I needed to know about what they know about acting.

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Whenever someone says to my mum: 'How's your son doing?' she says: 'Which one?' If you're a parent, you're not going to go: 'Oh I'll concentrate on the famous one.'

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You have to, in a way, just get your head down and do the work and not expect every day to bring riches and not expect every minute to bring wild excitement, 'cause it just doesn't. It doesn't on films, anyway.

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