Jason Isaacs facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jason Isaacs
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Isaacs in 2024
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| Born | 6 June 1963 Liverpool, England
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| Education | University of Bristol (BA) Central School of Speech and Drama (GrDip) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1988–present |
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Works
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Full list |
| Spouse(s) |
Emma Hewitt
(m. 2001) |
| Children | 2 |
Jason Isaacs (born on 6 June 1963) is a famous English actor. He is well-known for playing many different characters. You might know him best as the sneaky Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies. He also played Captain Hook in the 2003 Peter Pan film.
Jason Isaacs has also lent his voice to popular animated shows. He was the voice of Admiral Zhao in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Later, he voiced The Grand Inquisitor in Star Wars Rebels. His other notable roles include Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot and Captain Gabriel Lorca in Star Trek: Discovery.
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Early Life and Education
Jason Isaacs was born in Liverpool, England, on 6 June 1963. He was the third of four sons in his family. His father worked as a jeweller. Jason spent his early years in a close-knit Jewish community in Liverpool. He has said that his Jewish background was a big part of his childhood. He went to youth clubs at the local synagogue.
When Jason was 11, his family moved to London. He attended The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School. He mentioned that seeing bullying and unfairness as a child helped him prepare for playing "bad guys" in movies. His parents later moved to Israel.
Jason first studied law at University of Bristol from 1982 to 1985. However, he became very involved in the drama club there. He acted in over 30 plays. He also performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe each summer. After Bristol, he went on to train as an actor. He studied at London's Central School of Speech and Drama from 1985 to 1988.
Acting Career Highlights
After finishing his acting training, Jason Isaacs quickly started working. He appeared on stage and in television shows. His first small film role was in The Tall Guy in 1989. In the UK, he became known for TV shows like Capital City and Civvies. He also had guest roles in popular series like Inspector Morse.
Early Film and TV Roles
Jason Isaacs got his first big Hollywood movie role in the horror film Event Horizon (1997). He then appeared in the huge movie Armageddon (1998). This film helped launch his career in Hollywood. He also played a priest in The End of the Affair (1999).
Becoming a Memorable Villain
In the early 2000s, Jason Isaacs became famous for playing villains. He played Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot. In this film, he acted opposite Mel Gibson. His performance as the cruel British officer was very powerful. Even though he was great at playing bad guys, he chose to play a different kind of role next. He played a drag queen in the romantic comedy Sweet November.
Harry Potter and Other Major Roles
One of Jason Isaacs' most famous roles is Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series. He played the character from 2002 to 2011. Jason read the Harry Potter books after his audition. He said he read the first four books non-stop because he found them so exciting. He even joked about begging J.K. Rowling to include Lucius Malfoy in the final book so he could be in the last film! He did appear in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and the two Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows films.
He also appeared in Black Hawk Down (2001) and The Tuxedo (2002) with Jackie Chan. In 2003, he played both George Darling and Captain Hook in the movie Peter Pan. From 2005, he voiced Admiral Zhao in the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender.
On British TV, he starred in the miniseries The State Within (2006). For this role, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. He also played actor Harry H. Corbett in The Curse of Steptoe (2008). In American TV, he was in The West Wing and had a main role in Brotherhood (2006–08).
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Voice Acting and Recent Work
Jason Isaacs has done a lot of voice acting. He voiced Ra's al Ghul in Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010). He was also Sinestro in Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011). In 2011, he starred as detective Jackson Brodie in the BBC series Case Histories. He won an award for this role.
In 2012, he starred in the NBC show Awake. He played a detective who lives in two different realities after a car crash. In one reality, his wife died, and in the other, his son died.
In 2015, he played an FBI agent in the series Dig, set in Jerusalem. In 2016, he appeared in the Netflix series The OA as Dr. Hunter Aloysius "Hap" Percy.
In 2017, Jason Isaacs joined the cast of Star Trek: Discovery. He played Captain Gabriel Lorca. This role was very popular with fans. He also voiced the character for the video game Star Trek Online: Rise of Discovery.
In September 2017, he played Field Marshal Georgy Zhukov in the film The Death of Stalin. This film was a political comedy. He acted alongside other famous actors like Steve Buscemi.
He continued his voice work in 2018 and 2019. He voiced characters in Robot Chicken, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and Dick Dastardly in the Scooby-Doo film Scoob! (2020).
More recently, in 2021, he played Admiral John Henry Godfrey in the film Operation Mincemeat. He also had a small role in the British comedy-drama Sex Education. He voiced a villain in the video game Baldur's Gate 3 (2023). Jason Isaacs is also set to appear in the third season of the award-winning show The White Lotus.
Personal Life
Jason Isaacs lives with his wife, Emma Hewitt, a documentary filmmaker. They met while studying acting and got married in 2001. They have two daughters together.
Jason Isaacs describes himself as "profoundly Jewish but not in a religious way." He is involved with several charities. He supports Bravehound, a Scottish charity for veterans.
In politics, Jason Isaacs has supported the Labour Party in the UK. He has spoken about his views on fairness and education. He has also commented on political events in the UK and the US.
Awards and Nominations
Jason Isaacs has been nominated for and won several awards for his acting.
- He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for The State Within (2006).
- He was nominated for a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for The Curse of Steptoe (2008).
- He won a Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for Case Histories (2011–2013).
- He was also nominated for an International Emmy Award for Best Actor.
See also
In Spanish: Jason Isaacs para niños
