Jonathan Lee Miller (born 15 November 1972) is an English actor. He achieved early success for his portrayal of Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson in the dark comedy-drama film Trainspotting (1996) and as Dade Murphy in Hackers (1995), then earning further critical recognition for his performances in Afterglow (1997), Mansfield Park (1999), Mindhunters (2004), The Flying Scotsman (2006), Endgame (2009), and T2 Trainspotting (2017). For The Flying Scotsman he received a London Film Critics' Circle nomination for Actor of the Year. He was also part of the principal cast in the films Melinda and Melinda (2004), Dark Shadows (2012), and Byzantium (2013). He has appeared in several theatrical productions, most notably After Miss Julie and Frankenstein, the latter of which earned him an Olivier Award for Best Actor.
Miller starred as the title character in the ABC comedy drama Eli Stone, for which he received a Satellite Award nomination for Best Actor. This was followed by another starring role in the BBC costume drama Emma and a supporting role as Jordan Chase in the fifth season of the Showtime drama Dexter. From 2012 to 2019, he starred as a modern-day version of Sherlock Holmes in the CBS crime drama Elementary, which earned him his second Satellite Award nomination for Best Actor. In 2022, he played British prime minister John Major in the fifth season of the Netflix historical drama The Crown.
Early life
Miller was born on 15 November 1972, in Kingston-upon-Thames, Greater London and was raised in south-west London. The son of Ann () and Alan Miller, he was inspired by his parents to go into acting. Both were theatre actors. His maternal grandfather was actor Bernard Lee, who played M in the first eleven James Bond films. He then appeared in various television shows throughout the 1990s. These included Keeping Up Appearances in 1990, followed by Inspector Morse and Minder in 1991. He appeared in two separate guest roles in the ITV police drama The Bill, one in 1991 and another in 1993, as well as single-episode roles in the BBC drama Between the Lines and the medical drama Casualty, both of which were broadcast in 1992.
In 1993's third installment of Prime Suspect, Miller played a young man who had been victimised as a child by a paedophile. His first notable acting role that year was in the soap opera EastEnders, wherein he played Jonathan Hewitt. Miller later revealed he had been offered a contract to remain on the show but declined: "It was five weeks' work and I made more money there than I ever had in my life. Then they offered me a year's contract. I said no, thank God. I thought I should get out of there while I still could." In 2011, Miller auditioned for the role of Sherlock Holmes in the CBS adaptation based on the works of Arthur Conan Doyle. He originally turned down the part, as he feared it would be too similar to the BBC version Sherlock. However, after reviewing the script he accepted the part, and it was officially announced he would star in Elementary, alongside Lucy Liu. This earned him his second Satellite Award nomination for Best Actor.
Film
He first starred in the film Hackers (1995), with Angelina Jolie, whom he married in 1996. The accent he used in the film was regarded as convincing, leading some people to incorrectly believe that he was Scottish. He was not able to attend the race because of filming commitments, after Eli Stone was extended for a second season.
In 1997, he was involved with the creation and operation of the production company Natural Nylon with friend Jude Law. He also appeared on Broadway in a production of After Miss Julie, with his performance receiving very positive reviews. In March 2004, he played Christian in Festen by David Eldridge at The Almeida Theatre in London.
Awards and honours
- Laurence Olivier Award (2012)
- Satellite Award (2008, 2012)
- IQ Award (2014) Miller was nominated for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, and he ultimately won the award.
Personal life
Miller married Hackers co-star Angelina Jolie on 28 March 1996. Jude Law served as the best man. They separated in September 1997 and divorced in 1999. He began dating Michele Hicks in 2006. They married in July 2008 in Malibu, California. The couple has one son, Buster Timothy Miller, born in December 2008.
Miller is a marathon runner, often supporting the charity Mencap. He was signed up to run the 2006 Marathon des Sables but dropped out due to filming commitments. He ran the 2008 London Marathon in 3:01:40. Miller is an advocate for finding treatment and cure for Sanfilippo syndrome. In 2014, he addressed the Congressional caucus in Washington, D.C., on behalf of rare disease organisations, in the hope of securing funding for treatment research.
In November 2014, he became an American citizen. He is qualified as a volunteer firefighter in New York.
Muay Thai
Miller has trained in both Muay Thai and Brazilian jiu-jitsu at Evolution Muay Thai in New York City. In May 2018, he took part in an exhibition Muay Thai bout held at Chok Sabai Gym in New York City, which followed a five-week training camp leading up to the event.
On 1 February 2019, Miller made his Muay Thai debut at Broad Street Ballroom in New York City. He won the fight by knockout in the final round.
Kickboxing record
{| class="wikitable collapsible" style="font-size:80%; width:100%; text-align:center;"
! colspan=9 style="background:#fff" | Kickboxing record
|-
| colspan=9 |1 Win, 0 Losses, 0 Draw, 1 KO, 1 NC
|- style="text-align:center; background:#fff;"
| Date || Result || Opponent || Event || Location || Method || Round || Time
|- style="background:#cfc;"
| 2019-02-01|| Win||align=left| Robert Bermudez || Friday Night Fights || Broad Street Ballroom, New York City, NY || KO (Punches) || 3 ||
|}
Legend:
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1995
| Hackers
| Dade Murphy [aka "Zero Cool" / "Crash Override"]
|
|-
| rowspan=2| 1996
| Trainspotting
| Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson
|
|-
| Dead Man's Walk
| Woodrow F. Call
|
|-
| rowspan=2| 1997
| Afterglow
| Jeffrey Byron
|
|-
| Regeneration
| 2nd Lt. Billy Prior
|
|-
| rowspan=2| 1999
| Plunkett & Macleane
| Macleane
|
|-
| Mansfield Park
| Edmund Bertram
|
|-
| rowspan=3| 2000
| Love, Honour and Obey
| Jonny
|
|-
| Complicity
| Cameron Colley
|
|-
| Dracula 2000
| Simon Sheppard
|
|-
| 2002
| The Escapist
| Denis Hopkins
|
|-
| rowspan=2| 2004
| Mindhunters
| Lucas Harper
|
|-
| Melinda and Melinda
| Lee
|
|-
| 2005
| Æon Flux
| Oren Goodchild
|
|-
| 2006
| The Flying Scotsman
| Graeme Obree
|
|-
| 2009
| Endgame
| Michael Young
|
|-
| rowspan=2| 2012
| Dark Shadows
| Roger Collins
|
|-
| Byzantium
| The Captain
|
|-
| 2017
| T2 Trainspotting
| Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson
|
|-
| 2020
| Funny Face
| Developer
|
|-
| 2021
| Settlers
| Reza
|
|-
| 2022
| Alice
| Paul Bennet
|
|-
| 2023
| The Covenant
| Colonel Vokes
|
|-
| 2026
|
|
| Post-production
|-
| TBA
|
|
| Post-production
|}
Television
{| class = "wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1982
| Doctor Who
| Kinda child <small>(uncredited)</small>
| Episode: "Kinda: Part One"
|-
| rowspan=2| 1983
| Jemima Shore Investigates
| Boy with dog
| Episode: "A Little Bit of Wildlife"
|-
| Mansfield Park
| Charles Price
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1990
| Keeping Up Appearances
| The Youth
| Episode: "Daisy's Toyboy"
|-
| rowspan=4| 1991
| 4 Play
| Dennis Turnbull
| Episode: "Itch"
|-
| The Bill
| Simon Cooper
| Episode: "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"
|-
| Inspector Morse
| Student
| Episode: "Greeks Bearing Gifts"
|-
| Minder
| Auctioneer's assistant
| Episode: "Three Cons Make a Mountain"
|-
| rowspan=5| 1992
| EastEnders
| Jonathan Hewitt
| 6 episodes
|-
| Between the Lines
| David Ringwood
| Episode: "The Only Good Copper"
|-
| Casualty
| Matt
| Episode: "Tender Loving Care"
|-
| Second Thoughts
| Chas
| Episode: "Short Change"
|-
| Goodbye Cruel World
| Mark
| Miniseries
|-
| rowspan=2| 1993
| Prime Suspect 3
| Anthony Field
| Episode: "Part II"
|-
| The Bill
| Lee Gibson
| Episode: "Mighty Atoms"
|-
| 1994
| Cadfael
| Edwin Gurney
| Episode: "Monk's Hood"
|-
| 1996
| Dead Man's Walk
| Woodrow Call
| 3 episodes
|-
| 1999
| Operation Good Guys
| Himself
| Episode: "Stardust"
|-
| rowspan=2| 2003
| The Canterbury Tales
| Arty
| Episode: "The Pardoner's Tale"
|-
| Byron
| Lord Byron
| 2 episodes
|-
|2006–2007
|Smith
|Tom
|7 episodes
|-
| 2008–2009
| Eli Stone
| Eli Stone
| 26 episodes
|-
| 2009
| Emma
| Mr. Knightley
| 4 episodes
|-
| 2010
| Dexter
| Jordan Chase
| 6 episodes
|-
| 2012–2019
| Elementary
| Sherlock Holmes
| Main role, 154 episodes, also director of 3 episodes
|-
|2022
| The Crown
| John Major
| Main role (season 5)
|}
Stage
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1993
| Beautiful Thing
| Ste
| Bush Theatre
|-
| 1999
| Four Knights in Knaresborough
| Brito
| Tricycle Theatre
|-
| 2004
| Festen
| Christian
| Almeida Theatre
|-
| 2005
| Someone Who'll Watch Over Me
| Adam
| Ambassadors Theatre
|-
| 2009
| After Miss Julie
| John
| American Airlines Theatre
|-
| 2011
| Frankenstein
| Victor Frankenstein<br />Frankenstein's monster
| Royal National Theatre
|-
| 2019
| Ink
| Larry Lamb
| Manhattan Theatre Club
|-
| 2023
| A Mirror
| Čelik
| Almeida Theatre
|-
| 2024
| A Mirror
| Čelik
| Trafalgar Theatre
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Nominated work
! Result
|-
| rowspan=2| 2007
| BAFTA Award
| Best Actor in a Scottish Film
| rowspan=2 style="text-align: center" | The Flying Scotsman
|
|-
| London Film Critics Circle Award
| Best British Actor of the Year
|
|-
| 2008
| Satellite Award
| Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy
| style="text-align: center" | Eli Stone
|
|-
| 2010
| Screen Actors Guild Award
| Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
| style="text-align: center" | Dexter
|
|-
| rowspan=3| 2012
| Olivier Award
| Best Actor in a Play
| style="text-align: center" | Frankenstein
|
|-
| Satellite Award
| Best Actor – Television Series Drama
| rowspan=2 style="text-align: center" | Elementary
|
|-
| Teen Choice Award
| Choice TV Actor – Action
|
|}
See also
- List of actors who have played Sherlock Holmes
- List of British actors
- List of people from Kingston upon Thames