Jamie Bell

Jamie Bell (born 14 March 1986, Billingham, England) is a British actor.

Facts

• Started dancing when he was six. Dancers have been in his family for ages. His sister, his mother, grandmother, and aunt all danced before him.
• First decided to act when he was nine.
• First acting performance is reported to be part of the London stage production of Bugsy Malone in Christmas 1998.
• Was teased by classmates when they found out that Jamie took ballet, and called him "Ballerina Boy."
• When he won Best Actor at the 2001 British Academy Awards, not only did he beat the Best Actor Oscar winner of that year, Russell Crowe, but the other three nominees he beat out - Tom Hanks, Michael Douglas, and Geoffrey Rush -- also had won the Best Actor Oscar in past years.
• Lives in Billingham with his mother, Eileen, and older sister, Cathryn. He has no contact with his father, John, whom his mother divorced before Jamie was born.
• Was chosen out of 2000 boys to play Billy Elliot over a series of seven auditions. Criteria that the casting director was looking for were acting ability, dancing ability, and the right Northern English accent.
• Only the second actor ever to be awarded Outstanding Performance by a Young Actor from http://www.nbrmp.org (National Board of Review of Motion Pictures). The first was fellow Brit Christian Bale in 1987 (titled Outstanding Juvenile Performance then).
• Prefers tap dancing over ballet. Has been in many tap-dancing competitions and won many awards.
• Was Honorary Jury President of the 2001 Giffoni Film Festival.
• A former student at the Stagecoach Theater School.
• He became interested in baseball when he visited the United States for the first time, and he began collecting all of the teams' jerseys.
• Appeared in the video for "Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Green Day.