Jonathan "Jonny" Lee Miller is an English film, television and theatre actor.
He achieved early success for his portrayal of Simon Williamson in the black comedy drama
film Trainspotting, before earning further critical recognition for his performances
in Afterglow, Mansfield Park, The Flying Scotsman and Endgame; 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, Dark Shadows
and Byzantium.
He has appeared in several theatrical productions on Broadway, most notably After Miss Julie
and Frankenstein, the later of which earned him an Olivier Award for Best Actor.
Miller starred as the titular 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.
He currently stars as Sherlock Holmes in the CBS crime drama Elementary which earned him
his second Satellite Award nomination for Best Actor.
Early life Miller was born on 15 November 1972 at Kingston
upon Thames, Greater London.
He was born the son of Anna Lee and Alan Miller and raised in the south west of London.
He attended Tiffin School as a child and was influenced by his parents to start acting;
they were both theatre actors and were involved in stage productions at the BBC.
He appeared in several school plays such as The Ragged Child and performed as part of
the Tiffin Swing Band.
He then joined the National Youth Music Theatre where he met fellow actor Jude Law.
He left school at the age of sixteen after taking his GCSEs to pursue a career in acting.
His grandfather was actor Bernard Lee, who played M in the first eleven James Bond films,
but Miller has admitted he remembers little of him as he was still young when he died.
Career Television
Miller made his television debut with an uncredited appearance in the BBC series Doctor Who at
the age of eleven in the 1982 episode Kinda.
The following year he appeared in Jemima Shore and had a role as Charles Price in the serial
drama Mansfield Park.
He then appeared in various televisions shows throughout the 1990s.
These included two separate guest roles in the ITV procedural The Bill as well as single
episode roles in the BBC drama Between the Lines and the medical drama Casualty.
He also featured in Keeping Up Appearances, Inspector Morse and Minder.
His first notable acting role came in the soap opera EastEnders where he played Jonathan
Hewitt.
Miller later revealed he had been offered a contract to remain on the show but declined:
"It was five week's 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 2003, Miller appeared in the BBC modernisation of The Canterbury Tales in the episode The
Pardoner's Tale, and had a starring role as Lord Byron in the television film Byron.
He then starred alongside Ray Liotta in the CBS drama Smith.
However, the show was cancelled after only seven episodes.
Miller was then cast as the titular character in the legal comedy-drama Eli Stone.
The show ran for two season on ABC and he received a Satellite Award nomination for
Best Actor.
He then starred in the BBC costume drama Emma as George Knightley.
He then had a guest role as Jordan Chase in the fifth season of the Showtime drama Dexter
for which he received a nomination for Screen Actors Guild Award for being part of the main
cast in the category of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
In early 2010, it was reported he was set to portray Rick Grimes in the television adaptation
of the comic The Walking Dead.
It was later revealed Andrew Lincoln had been cast.
In 2011, Miller auditioned for the role of Sherlock Holmes for an upcoming CBS adaption
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 receiving 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, with
Angelina Jolie, whom he married in 1996.
Shortly after Hackers, Miller was cast as Sick Boy in Trainspotting.
He was suggested for the role by Ewan McGregor.
The accent he used in the film was so convincing that it led many people to incorrectly believe
that he was Scottish.
Miller has stated: "I had to do a lot of work.
I read and re-read the book and I pretended to be Scottish all the time I was in Glasgow,
hanging around with Scots, picking up bits and pieces on the street and in bars.
Everyone's been very encouraging and Danny thinks that I've got it about right.
Of course, the others are from all over Scotland and have different accents themselves, so
I've tried to just pick up a general, composite accent."
In 1997, he played Billy Prior in the film adaptation of Pat Barker's World War I novel
Regeneration.
In 2000, he played the Cameron Colley in Complicity, based on the book by Iain Banks.
He costarred in the film Love, Honour and Obey as Johnny, a London street kid getting
mixed up with a notorious British gangster.
Also in 2000, he appeared as Simon Sheppard in Wes Craven's Dracula 2000.
In 2005, he was considered for the role of James Bond, replacing Pierce Brosnan.
The role eventually went to Daniel Craig.
The following year, Miller portrayed cyclist Graeme Obree in The Flying Scotsman.
He was considered as the third teammate to join Ben Fogle and James Cracknell in Team
QinetiQ for the Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole Race in January 2009.
He participated in training for the event in Norway, which was televised for a BBC2
documentary series On Thin Ice.
He was not able to attend the race due to filming commitments of Eli Stone being extended
for a second season.
In 1997, he was involved with the creation and operation of Natural Nylon with friends
Jude Law, Sadie Frost, Ewan McGregor, and Sean Pertwee.
Natural Nylon folded in 2003.
Theatre In March 2011, at the Royal National Theatre,
he played both Victor Frankenstein and Frankenstein's Monster on alternate nights, opposite Benedict
Cumberbatch, in a stage adaptation of Frankenstein.
Directed by Danny Boyle, the play was broadcast to cinemas worldwide as part of National Theatre
Live on 17 March 2011 and additional dates throughout March and April.
He appeared in Tim Burton's 2012 film Dark Shadows.
He also appeared on Broadway in a production of "After Miss Julie", with his performance
receiving very positive reviews.
Personal life Miller married actress Angelina Jolie on 28
March 1996.
They separated 18 months later, and were divorced on 9 February 1999.
He began dating actress and model Michele Hicks in 2006.
They married in July 2008 in Malibu, California.
The couple have one son, Buster Timothy Miller, born in December 2008.
Miller is a supporter of Chelsea Football Club.
He is a marathon runner, often supporting the charity Mencap.
Miller was signed up to run their 2006 Marathon des Sables, but had to drop out due to shooting
the film Marathon.
He ran the 2008 London Marathon in 3:01:40.
He ran the 2010 New York City Marathon with his Dexter co-star Jennifer Carpenter.
In 2014, Miller became an advocate to finding treatment for the disease Sanfilippo syndrome,
following a case with five-year-old Jonah Weishaar.
He is set to address the Congressional caucus in Washington on behalf of rare disease organizations,
in the hopes of securing financing to fund treatment research.
Filmography Film
Television Stage
See also
List of actors who have played Sherlock Holmes List of British actors and actresses
List of people from Kingston upon Thames
References
External links Johnny Lee Miller at the Internet Broadway
Database Jonny Lee Miller at the Internet Movie Database