Jonathan Harden (born 1979) is a Northern Irish actor and director.
Jonathan Harden | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1979 (age 44–45) Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2001–present |
| Spouse | |
Early life edit
Harden was born in Belfast in 1979, the son of an Irish father and an American mother.
Career edit
Harden's most notable credits include the roles of David 'Jonty' Johnston in BBC cop drama Blue Lights, Sean Rawlins in the crime drama series Unforgotten, Gregory in the final season of the comedy series Peep Show, Walter Hill in the costume drama series Titanic: Blood and Steel, Newman Noggs and the narrator in the BBC adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby, Brendan Murphy in Jimmy McGovern's 2021 prison drama Time, and an unnamed character in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.[1][2][3]
Harden's stage credits include Henry Joy McCracken in Stewart Parker's Northern Star at the Finborough Theatre and Children of the Sun at the Royal National Theatre under the direction of the late Howard Davies.[4] Of his performance in Northern Star, the Time Out review wrote, "Jonathan Harden reveals himself as an extraordinary talent whose performance leaves an afterglow like a good whiskey."[5]
Harden provided the narration for 2015 BAFTA-winning short film Boogaloo and Graham.[6] He has also provided voices for several video games, most notably as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I.[7] In 2014, he played Axl in the Ridley Scott-produced Halo film Halo: Nightfall.[8]
In 2015, Harden launched In Anything at the Minute? The Honest Actors' Podcast, a project centred on interviews with other jobbing actors and available on iTunes.[9] In 2017, he produced and directed his first film project, Guard, a female-led boxing film set in Belfast.[10] It had its debut at the Galway Film Fleadh in July 2017, and soon after had its North American premiere at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.[11][12] In 2018, it was followed by Troubles, on the subject of male mental health, which again debuted at the Galway Film Fleadh.[13]
Following his venture into film directing, Harden made his London stage directing debut in 2020, with Joe Crilly's On McQuillan's Hill at the Finborough Theatre.[14] The production sold out and received critical acclaim, including five stars from the Morning Star and four stars from The Stage.[15][16] Originally produced in 2000 at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast, the Finborough production was an English premiere and marked the 20th anniversary of the play's Belfast debut.
In 2021, Harden appeared in Jimmy McGovern's prison drama Time as lifer, Brendan Murphy. The role earned him praise from many, with Esquire calling this performance, "a highly-charged, emotive turn, and the Sunday Life noting it as "superb".[17][18]
Personal life edit
Harden is a vegan and enjoys running.[19] He is married to Northern Irish actress Bronágh Taggart.[20]
Filmography edit
Film edit
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Fifty Dead Men Walking | Young Man's Brother |
| 2009 | Five Minutes of Heaven | David |
| 2009 | Ditching | Paul |
| 2009 | Ghost Machine | Benny |
| 2011 | Dreams of a Life | Cleaner |
| 2011 | Whole Lotta Sole | Sammy Pavis |
| 2012 | Jump | Richie |
| 2012 | The Good Man | Stephen |
| 2012 | Hives | Bus |
| 2013 | The Invisible Woman | Charles / Mr Arnott |
| 2014 | Rise of the Footsoldier II | Dave |
| 2015 | The Ones Below | Mark |
| 2015 | The Truth Commissioner | Gleeson |
| 2016 | Star Wars: The Last Jedi | Resistance Monitor |
| 2017 | Another Mother's Son | Bookshop Owner |
| 2017 | Victoria & Abdul | Kaiser Wilhelm II |
| 2017 | Justice.net | Gerald McNulty |
| 2018 | Doing Money | DC Liam Partridge |
| 2020 | The Courier | Leonard |
Television edit
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Small Island | Postal Worker #1 |
| 2010 | Coming Up | The Young Man |
| 2012 | Titanic: Blood and Steel | Walter Hill |
| 2012 | The Life and Adventures of Nick Nickleby | Newman Noggs |
| 2013 | The Mimic | Connor |
| 2014 | Halo: Nightfall | Axl |
| 2015 | Humans | Andy |
| 2015 | Unforgotten | Sean Rawlins |
| 2015 | Peep Show | Gregory |
| 2016 | Casualty | Dion Bateman |
| 2016 | My Mother and Other Strangers | Martin Brady |
| 2016 | SS-GB | Assassin |
| 2016 | The Secret | D.C. Devine |
| 2017 | EastEnders | DS Kye Anderson |
| 2018 | Dark Heart | Grant Balden |
| 2020 | COBRA | DI Miller |
| 2021 | Time | Brendan Murphy |
| 2022 | Sherwood | Reverend Wells |
| 2023 | Blue Lights | Inspector Johnson |
| 2023 | World on Fire | Captain Briggs |
References edit
- ^ ""Peep Show" Episode Guide".
- ^ "Unforgotten (TV Series 2015– )". IMDb. 8 April 2018.
- ^ "Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)". IMDb. 15 December 2017.
- ^ "Jonathan Harden". National Theatre. Archived from the original on 7 February 2015.
- ^ "Time Out review of Northern Star by Rachel Haliburton". Time Out.
- ^ "Northern Ireland short film Boogaloo and Graham receives Oscar nomination". NI Screen. Archived from the original on 26 January 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (Video Game 2010)". IMDb. 16 November 2010.
- ^ "Halo: Nightfall". Radio Times.
- ^ "In Anything at the Minute?". Archived from the original on 29 May 2002.
- ^ "Guard Short Film full credits". Guard Official Site.
- ^ "New Irish Shorts 5". Galway Film Fleadh.
- ^ "Guard by Jonathan Harden". Rhode Island International Film Festival.
- ^ "Troubles(2018))". IMDb.
- ^ "On McQuillan's Hill". Finborough Theatre.
- ^ "On McQuillan's Hill Review". Morning Star Online. 12 February 2020.
- ^ "On McQuillan's Hill Review". The Stage.
- ^ "Time Review". Esquire UK. 3 June 2021.
- ^ Little, Ivan (13 June 2021). "Harden's blinding turn in McGovern jail drama". Sunday Life.
- ^ https://www.instagram.com/jonatharden/ [permanent dead link]
- ^ "The Fall's Bronagh Taggart enters into boxing ring in new film". The Irish News. 20 October 2016.