Jason Isaacs (born June 6, 1963) is an English actor.

Early life

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Isaacs was born in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, of Eastern European Jewish descent; his parents now live in Israel. He had initially planned to go into law -- a white-collar profession that would have fit nicely with those of his brothers, who became a doctor, lawyer, and accountant -- but was swayed by acting early in the course of his law studies at Bristol University. Although he first became interested in acting in part because "it was a great way to meet girls," Jason soon found deeper meaning in the theatre (in one interview he was quoted as saying "I could release myself into acting in a way that I was not released socially") and duly dropped out of Bristol, where he had directed and/or appeared in over 20 productions, to hone his skills at London's Central School of Speech and Drama.

Career

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Once in London, Isaacs began landing professional work almost immediately, appearing on the stage and on television. Isaacs was initially known as a TV actor in the U.K., having a starring role in the ITV drama Capital City and guest roles in series such as Taggart and Inspector Morse. He made his big-screen debut in 1989 with a minor turn as a doctor in Mel Smith's The Tall Guy. Jason exhibited his versatility in several more TV series and on-stage in such productions as the Royal National Theatre's 1993 staging of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning Angels in America. He also began to find more work onscreen, receiving his first nod of Hollywood recognition in his casting in the Bruce Willis blockbuster Armageddon (1998). Initially called upon to take a fairly substantial role, Jason was eventually cast in a much smaller capacity as a planet-saving scientist so that he could accommodate his commitment to Divorcing Jack (1998), a comedy thriller he was making with fellow Harry Potter alumni David Thewlis. After portraying a priest opposite Julianne Moore and Ralph Fiennes in Neil Jordan's acclaimed adaptation of Graham Greene's The End of the Affair, Jason got his biggest international break to date when he was picked to portray the villain, Colonel William Tavington, in Roland Emmerich's Revolutionary War epic The Patriot (2000). Starring opposite Mel Gibson, who played the film's hero, Jason made an unnervingly memorable impression as a fictional sadistic British army officer, emerging as one of summer 2000's most indelible screen presences. Although his work in the film earned him comparisons to Ralph Fiennes' portrayal of evil Nazi "Amon Goeth" in Schindler's List and talks of a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, the actor was not content to be typecast in the historical scum mold. Thus, he logically signed on to play none other than a drag queen for his next project, Sweet November , a romantic comedy-drama starring Charlize Theron and Keanu Reeves. Isaacs has appeared in many films such as Black Hawk Down, Divorcing Jack, Dragonheart, Event Horizon, The End of the Affair but most notably in the Harry Potter series playing Lucius Malfoy, as well as Captain Hook/Mr. Darling in P. J. Hogan's adaptation of Peter Pan. Isaacs has also appeared in episodes of The West Wing and stars in the Showtime series Brotherhood.

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Isaacs, Jason - Twitter Search

@simonmayo is (hello) Jason isaacs dropping in?
faceofboe (Gill) Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:05:53 -0000
@simonmayo is (hello) Jason isaacs dropping in?
Just posted: "My interview in which I talk about meeting and working with Jason Isaacs"( http://twitthis.com/g6sgfl )
tapasmalfoy (Tapas Malfoy) Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:17:23 -0000
Just posted: "My interview in which I talk about meeting and working with Jason Isaacs"( http://twitthis.com/g6sgfl )
@miss_HER_tweets hahahahh nice! I'd be content with just Harry Potter,and loads of Jason Isaacs everywhere!
DeadlyElegance (Ali Gennosa) Sun, 13 Dec 2009 23:10:49 -0000
@miss_HER_tweets hahahahh nice! I'd be content with just Harry Potter,and loads of Jason Isaacs everywhere!
Just watched all 6 Harry Potter movies. Daniel Radcliffe, Matthew Lewis, Tom Felton, Gary Oldman, Jason Isaacs, and Alan Rickman, OVERLOAD.
kisamaru2 (Sarah Salisbury) Sun, 13 Dec 2009 23:02:22 -0000
Just watched all 6 Harry Potter movies. Daniel Radcliffe, Matthew Lewis, Tom Felton, Gary Oldman, Jason Isaacs, and Alan Rickman, OVERLOAD.
At least Jason Isaacs makes a good Captain Hook; otherwise this is as bad as Hook, which was as bad as the Bubonic plague.
LeChristopherAG (Christopher) Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:06:13 -0000
At least Jason Isaacs makes a good Captain Hook; otherwise this is as bad as Hook, which was as bad as the Bubonic plague.
Oooh Peter Pan is on in the lounge. Mmmph Jeremy Sumpter and Jason Isaacs.
yanks02 (Johnna Walker) Sun, 13 Dec 2009 18:34:03 -0000
Oooh Peter Pan is on in the lounge. Mmmph Jeremy Sumpter and Jason Isaacs.

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