Ian Hart

IAN HART

Date of Birth: October 8, 1964

Born in Liverpool, England, Hart was one of three children born to Catholic parents. His experience as an altar-boy gave him a rebellious attitude towards authority and priests. "When you get to 15 and most of your teachers are priests, there's bound to be a conflict," he says. Hart finished his difficult times at grammar school, only to find more problems in college.

At 18 he won a place at a drama school in London and moved there to find work. He worked at a variety of jobs - from theater to kitchen, farm and factory work. He also made corporate videos for a time. From regional theater and performing in plays like Dog Day Afternoon, Pinocchio Boy, and My Beautiful Launderette, Hart went on to land roles on BBC television programs such as the popular series Eastenders. Hart's first feature film role, while still a teenager, was in No Surrender (1985), in a part billed in the end credits as an uncertain mugger.

But viewers didn't really sit up and notice Hart until he was cast as a young John Lennon in the features The Hours and Times (1991) and Backbeat (1993). Although he was playing the same man, the roles were each distinct and complex. Following a starring role as a shell-shocked young Welshman in The Englishman Who Went up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain (1995), Hart embarked on a series of projects that read like a who's who list of gritty, socially conscious British films. In 1999 he landed a role which displayed his talent to the fullest. As the private detective Parkis in The End of the Affair (1999), he played a man hired to, in essence, investigate the man who has hired him. As one of many character roles listed on his resumé, Hart has become used to the expectation. "I've predominately become, for whatever reason, a character actor. When I get the call. I try different things, but I try to do them all from the same basic standpoint of being real."

Although being a character actor is a great compliment to one's ability to act, Hart over the years has become one of the screen's most consistently solid performers and least recognized personalities.

Filmography:

Funny Farm (2006)
Breakfast on Pluto (2005)
Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2006)
Rag Tale (2005)
Ripley Under Ground (2005)
Finding Neverland (2004)
Strings (2004) (voice)
Every Seven Years (2004)
Cheeky (2003)
Blind Flight (2003)
Den of Lions (2003)
Killing Me Softly (2002)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
Bring Me Your Love (2000)
Strictly Sinatra (2000)
Born Romantic (2000)
Liam (2000)
Aberdeen (2000)
Best (2000)
The Closer You Get (2000)
Spring Forward (1999)
The End of the Affair (1999)
Wonderland (1999)
This Year's Love (1999)
Enemy of the State (1998)
B. Monkey (1998)
Frogs for Snakes (1998)
Snitch (1998)
Mojo (1997)
The Butcher Boy (1997)
Gold in the Streets (1996)
Robinson Crusoe (1996)
Still Waters Burn (1996)
Hollow Reed (1996)
Michael Collins (1996)
Nothing Personal (1995)
Clockwork Mice (1995)
The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (1995)
Land and Freedom (1995)
Backbeat (1993)
The Hours and Times (1991)
No Surrender (1985)