Jim Sturgess does on 16th May - check out my tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 38, at the end of this feature.
Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!
Sunday 15th May
- Chaz Palminteri - Born 1952, turns 64 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
- Grant Heslov - Born 1963, turns 53 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
Monday 16th May
- Pierce Brosnan - Born 1953, turns 63 - Actor | Producer
- Jim Sturgess - Born 1978, turns 38 - Actor | Singer | Songwriter
- Danny Trejo - Born 1944, turns 72 - Actor | Producer
- Debra Winger - Born 1955, turns 61 - Actress | Producer
- Megan Fox - Born 1986, turns 30 - Actress
Tuesday 17th May
- Bill Paxton - Born 1955, turns 61 - Actor | Producer | Director
Wednesday 18th May
- Hugh Keays-Byrne - Born 1947, turns 69 - Actor | Director
- Yin-Fat Chow - Born 1955, turns 61 - Actor | Writer
- Miriam Margolyes - Born 1941, turns 75 - Actress
- Tina Fey - Born 1970, turns 46 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Singer
Thursday 19th May
- Claudia Karvan - Born 1972, turns 44 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Director
- Amanda De Cadenet - Born 1972, turns 44 - Actress | Producer
- Grace Jones - Born 1948, turns 68 - Actress | Singer | Songwriter
- Peter Mayhew - Born 1944, turns 72 - Actor
- James Fox - Born 1939, turns 77 - Actor
Friday 20th May
- Louis Theroux - Born 1970, turns 46 - Television Personality | Writer | Producer
- Anton Corbijn - Born 1955, turns 61 - Director
- Timothy Olyphant - Born 1968, turns 48 - Actor | Producer
- Cher - Born 1946, turns 70 - Actress | Producer | Singer
Saturday 21st May
- Nick Cassavetes - Born 1959, turns 57 - Actor | Writer | Director
- Judge Reinhold - Born 1957, turns 59 - Actor
- Mr. T. - Born 1952, turns 64 - Actor
James Anthony Sturgess was born in Wandsworth, London, England to mother Jane Martin and father Peter Sturgess. He is the middle of three children, with an older brother Will, and a younger sister Tia. He grew up in Farnham, Surrey, and attended Frensham Heights School - an independent co-educational school and sixth form college. He spent much of his young teenage years skateboarding and forming his first band at about fifteen years of age playing gigs wherever and whenever they could. His first acting experience was in a play for a local theatre group that he auditioned for. Landing the part it became clear early on to his parents and teachers that he had a natural ability, but music was always his first love. After school he relocated to Manchester to attend Salford University to be close to the burgeoning music scene coming from that city. There he got to know a bunch of budding film-makers and actors, and so his interest in acting was sparked once more. He began writing his own plays and short films, and graduated in 1999 with a Higher National Diploma in Media and Performance.His big screen debut came in 1994 with a small part in Mike Figgis' 'The Browning Version' with Albert Finney, Matthew Modine, Michael Gambon and Greta Scachi. The film was well received critically, but commercially less so. It would be eleven years before he appeared on the big screen again, but, in the meantime there were multiple appearances in television series and made for TV films, including 'Heartbeat', 'A Touch of Frost', 'Judge John Deed', 'The Residents' and 'Other People's Children'.
2008 saw three films released - 'The Other Boleyn Girl' with Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Kristen Scott Thomas, Eric Bana and Mark Rylance; '21' in which Sturgess took the lead role in this blackjack card counting college drama starring Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne and Kate Bosworth. The film was a commercial success. The there was 'Fifty Dead Men Walking' with Ben Kingsley and Rose McGowan with Sturgess in the lead role in this true story of an IRA infiltrator set during the Northern Ireland Troubles of the late 80's.
'Crossing Over' came next with Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta and Ashley Judd in this US crime drama about illegal immigrants seeking legal status in LA. The film made just US$3.5M in Box Office and subsequent DVD sales. 'Heartless' followed as Written and Directed by Philip Ridley - this British horror film also starred Timothy Spall and Clemence Poesy and was critically well received, garnering several awards and nominations, including a Best Actor win for Sturgess.
The WWII Russian prison escape drama 'The Way Back' followed in 2010 for Director/Producer and Writer Peter Weir with Ed Harris, Colin Farrell, Mark Strong and Saoirse Ronan - an acclaimed film critically, but it failed to make back its US$30M budget. Later that same year Sturgess lent his voice talent to the animated 'Legend of the Guardians : The Owls of Ga'Hoole' for Director Zack Snyder and and all star voice ensemble.
Romantic Drama 'One Day' with Anne Hathaway starring as the female lead to Sturgess male lead was knocked critically but it did return US$57M from its US$15M outlay. This gave way to 'Ashes' with Ray Winstone and Luke Evans, with 'The Best Offer' starring Geoffrey Rush and Donald Sutherland in this romantic mystery English language Italian film of high end antique art, portraits and auctions.
The multi-layered time travelling epic 'Cloud Atlas' for Tom Tykwer and the Wachowski's with an ensemble cast including Tom Hanks, Ben Whishaw, Hugo Weaving, Jim Broadbent and Halle Berry, was next up. This film polarised audiences and critics alike and barely recovered its US$129M budget, but, it did win sixteen awards and was nominated for another 71 from around the circuit.
'Upside Down' with Kirsten Dunst followed, with crime drama bio 'Electric Slide' that same year with Patricia Arquette and Christopher Lambert. 'Stonehearst Asylum' based on an Edgar Allen Poe story was next in 2014 with Michael Caine, Ben Kingsley, Brendan Gleeson and Kate Beckinsale, followed up by 'Kidnapping Mr. Heineken' based on the true story of that kidnapping which made the headlines in 1983 and starring Anthony Hopkins, Sam Worthington and Ryan Kwanten.
Up next is 'London Fields' starring Billy Bob Thornton, Theo James, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard currently in post-production, and 'Geostorm' for Dean Devlin with Gerard Butler, Ed Harris, Andy Garcia and Abbie Cornish also in post-production for release next year. In the meantime, awaiting release on our small screen are wartime TV mini-series 'Close to the Enemy' for the BBC, and Brooklyn set 'Feed the Beast' for AMC. All up Sturgess has 35 acting credits, two award wins for 'Heartless' and '21' and three other nominations. Aside from carving out an increasingly successful movie career he continues with his musical exploits having played for many years in 'Saint Faith' and 'Dilated Spies' and he wrote music included in 'Crossing Over' and 'Heartless'.
Jim Sturgess - never typecast having appeared on TV and film across all genres - horror, drama, thriller, Sci-Fi, comedy, animation and bio; a musical and acting talent at times combining both together; inspired by River Phoenix growing up; plays the piano, drums and guitar; possesses boyish good looks; has not let celebrity get to him and remains firmly grounded; and clearly has much more to offer, and is doing so just quietly. Happy Birthday to you Jim, from Odeon Online.-Steve, at Odeon Online-
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