Neil Jackson
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Neil Jackson (born 5 March 1976) is an English actor, singer, musician and writer who has appeared in several television series and films, but is probably best known for his role as Marcus on '' Blade: The Series'' and Sasha on ''
Make It or Break It ''Make It or Break It'' ( ''MIOBI)'' is an American teen/family drama television series that focused on the lives of teen gymnasts who strived to make it to the Olympic Games in 2012. The series was inspired by Touchstone's 2006 teen comedy-dra ...
''. His screenwriting credits include the film ''
The Passage Passage, The Passage or Le Passage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Passage'' (2008 film), a documentary about Arctic explorers * ''Passage'' (2009 film), a short movie about three sisters * ''The Passage'' (1979 film), starring ...
'' directed by Mark Heller and released in 2007. He has starred in several other films including '' Quantum of Solace'' and '' Push''.


Early life

Jackson was born in
Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...
, Bedfordshire, the second of four sons of Evelyn and Dennis Jackson. Jackson began acting when studying drama at GCSE level in Harlington Upper School. While there he was in several school plays including ''Annie'', ''Little Shop of Horrors'', ''Hard Times'', and ''West Side Story''. He also acted in National Youth Theatre as a teenager before moving to
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
to study sport at the
University of Wales Institute Cardiff , image_name = Shield of Cardiff Metropolitan University.svg , image_size = 150px , motto = cy, Gorau Meddiant Gwybodaeth , mottoeng = The most valuable possession is knowledge , established = 2011 – Car ...
(UWIC) in Wales. In Wales, Jackson started competitive boxing, entering in the British Universities Boxing Championships, an inter-university competition held throughout the whole of Britain, and won the gold at light middleweight. He went on to successfully defend his title two years later at middleweight. His boxing earned him a scholarship to stay on at UWIC, where he earned his master's degree and graduated in 1998.


Career

Not knowing how to get into acting, Jackson wrote a musical and entered it into a national competition for new writers. It came in third and gained attention from producers in London including Michael Armstrong. He later enrolled in Michael Armstrong's Acting Academy, graduating in 2002. Jackson's first professional acting job was in the UK national touring production of
Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...
's classic ''
Miss Julie ''Miss Julie'' ( sv, Fröken Julie) is a naturalistic play written in 1888 by August Strindberg. It is set on Midsummer's Eve and the following morning, which is Midsummer and the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist. The setting is an estate of ...
''. He understudied the lead character, Jean, a role he took over in the West End production later that year. His breakthrough came in 2004 when Oliver Stone cast him as
Perdiccas Perdiccas ( el, Περδίκκας, ''Perdikkas''; 355 BC – 321/320 BC) was a general of Alexander the Great. He took part in the Macedonian campaign against the Achaemenid Empire, and, following Alexander's death in 323 BC, rose to beco ...
in the Hollywood blockbuster film, ''
Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
,'' alongside
Colin Farrell Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A leading man in projects across various genres in both blockbuster and independent films since the 2000s, he has received numerous accolades including a Golden Globe Award. ''The ...
and
Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...
. When he met the director, he had a black eye and three stitches in his eyebrow, a fact he jokes must have assisted him as Stone cast him for the role on the spot. He was also in the British football drama ''
Dream Team Dream Team may refer to: Sport Basketball * Dream Team, the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team in Barcelona * Dream Team II, the 1994 U.S. men's national basketball team at the FIBA World Championship * Dream Team III, the 1996 ...
'' for a season as lottery winning chairman Phil Wallis. In 2006, he made a guest appearance on American TV's ''
Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...
'' in the season 4 episode "Sandhogs", as "Donny", the victim killed during a cave-in by his brother-in-law. Then ''
The Passage Passage, The Passage or Le Passage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Passage'' (2008 film), a documentary about Arctic explorers * ''Passage'' (2009 film), a short movie about three sisters * ''The Passage'' (1979 film), starring ...
'' was released in 2007, a film written by Jackson and shot in
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
, in which he played a lead character alongside
Stephen Dorff Stephen Hartley Dorff Jr. (born July 29, 1973) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Roland West in the third season of HBO's crime drama anthology series ''True Detective'', PK in '' The Power of One'', Stuart Sutcliffe in ''Back ...
. It won the 2008 Jury Award at the Durango Film Festival. He made further TV guest appearances: on ''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...
'' in the season 8 episode "A La cart"; as "Ian" on '' How I Met Your Mother;'' in 2008 on ''
CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...
;'' and in 2009 as a wraith on '' Stargate: Atlantis''. In 2008, Jackson filmed scenes on location in
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
for the
Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...
film '' Quantum of Solace'', where he played the character of Mr. Slate. He previously starred in the ABC Family original series, ''
Make It or Break It ''Make It or Break It'' ( ''MIOBI)'' is an American teen/family drama television series that focused on the lives of teen gymnasts who strived to make it to the Olympic Games in 2012. The series was inspired by Touchstone's 2006 teen comedy-dra ...
'' as Sasha Belov. Additionally, Jackson has appeared as Lucas Hellinger, a Blackout conspirator, on the ABC show '' FlashForward''. In 2010, he starred as the chauffeur, Harry Spargo, in the BBC revival of '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. Jackson was cast in the lead role of Sir Percy Blakeney/The Scarlet Pimpernel in Fairbanks Productions' adaptation of the classic tale in 2012.


Other interests

Jackson is patron of UK spinal injuries charity Trust PA,Website of Trust PA, a spinal injuries charity of which Neil Jackson is Patron
/ref> in memory of a friend.


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links


Official Website
*

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...
interview
Hollywood Reporter – The Scarlet Pimpernel

The Scarlet Pimpernel announced
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Neil English male film actors English male television actors 1976 births Living people Actors from Luton Male actors from Bedfordshire National Youth Theatre members