Jack Davenport

For American Medal of Honor recipient, see Jack A. Davenport.
Jack Davenport

Davenport in 2007
Born Jack Arthur Davenport
(1973-03-01) 1 March 1973
Wimbledon, London, England, UK
Occupation Actor
Years active 1996–present
Spouse(s) Michelle Gomez
(2000–present)
Children 1

Jack Arthur Davenport (born 1 March 1973) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series This Life and Coupling, and as James Norrington in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. He has also appeared in other Hollywood films, such as The Talented Mr. Ripley. More recently, he was part of the ensemble cast in the drama series FlashForward and Smash, and took the lead role in the 2013 ITV drama series Breathless.

Early life

Davenport, the son of actors Nigel Davenport and Maria Aitken,[1] was born in Wimbledon, London,[2] and lived in Ibiza, Spain, for the first seven years of his life. His uncle is writer and former Conservative MP Jonathan Aitken, his maternal grandmother was socialite Penelope Aitken, his maternal grandfather was politician William Aitken, and his maternal great-grandfather was first Baron Rugby John Maffey.[3] His parents divorced when he was seven, at which point he was sent to the independent Dragon School in Oxford, as his parents did not want him to become involved in the divorce proceedings. He then went on to attend Cheltenham College, followed by the British American Drama Academy.

Career

Davenport had not planned to become an actor; however, his career began when he took a gap year after attending Cheltenham College. A director from Clwyd Theatr Cymru was impressed by his performance in a summer drama course and asked Davenport to work for him. Aged 18 he was in Wales, performing bit parts in Hamlet, where he became friends with Rhys Ifans.

The following year, he attended the University of East Anglia (UEA), concentrating in Film Studies and English Literature. He tried acting once more at the UEA but was not, at this point, particularly interested in it. Davenport had considered becoming a member of a film crew, as opposed to acting in front of the camera. His mother advised him, after his graduation from UEA, to write to John Cleese requesting work on the set of his upcoming film, Fierce Creatures, so that Davenport could gain some experience behind the camera. Cleese instead sent Davenport's letter to the casting department, and he was subsequently cast as a trainee zookeeper. Whilst a small part with few lines it provided his first opportunity to work in front of the camera. After the production of Fierce Creatures was completed, Davenport found an agent who secured him an audition for the role of Miles Stewart in the BBC television drama series This Life.

Since then Davenport has played roles in many successful films and TV series, including The Talented Mr. Ripley, Coupling and Ultraviolet, as well as the box office smash Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and its sequels, Dead Man's Chest and At World's End.

During his career Davenport has also performed voice-overs, having narrated the audio versions of John Buchan's The Thirty-Nine Steps and recorded parts in Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange. He also provides the voice over for the British MasterCard advertisements (the American being done by Billy Crudup).

In 2006, he featured in the ITV1 drama The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant and in 2009 starred in the film The Boat That Rocked.

In 2007 Davenport was cast in Swingtown, a period and relationship drama for CBS about the impact of sexual and social liberation in 1970s American suburban households, with story arcs involving open marriages and key parties. This was cancelled after one series.

In 2008, Davenport was cast in the ABC pilot FlashForward, which was based on a Robert J. Sawyer novel. In the series, Davenport played the character of Lloyd Simcoe, a physicist allegedly responsible for a worldwide blackout, which causes the whole world to see the future. The series was cancelled after a single series.

In February 2011, Davenport was cast in the NBC musical drama pilot Smash.[4] In May 2011, it was reported that NBC has picked up the show as a series for the autumn 2011 TV season.[5] The series follows a group of people coming together to put on a Marilyn Monroe musical on Broadway. Davenport plays the musical's director.

Davenport also starred as the replacement singer in the video for Snow Patrol's single "Called Out in the Dark", released on YouTube on 17 August 2011, alongside Tara Summers and Gary Lightbody.[6]

Personal life

Davenport married actress Michelle Gomez in 2000. Their son, Harry, was born in 2010.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1997 Fierce Creatures Student Zoo Keeper
1998 Tale of the Mummy Detective Bartone
1999 The Cookie Thief A Man Short film
1999 The Talented Mr. Ripley Peter Smith-Kingsley
2000 Offending Angels Rort
2001 Not Afraid, Not Afraid Michael
2001 Subterrain Businessman
2001 Gypsy Woman Leon
2001 The Bunker LCpl. Ebert
2003 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl James Norrington
2004 The Libertine Harris
2005 The Wedding Date Edward Fletcher-Wooten
2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest James Norrington Teen Choice Award for Choice Rumble
2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End James Norrington
2009 That Deadwood Feeling Jack
2009 The Boat That Rocked Twatt
2011 The Key Man Bobby
2012 Mother's Milk Patrick Melrose
2014 Death Knight Love Story Zeliek
2015 Kingsman: The Secret Service Lancelot
2016 A United Kingdom Post-production
2016 The Tank Will Sacks Post-production
2017 Americana Calib Post-production
2017 The Stolen Post-production

Television

Year Title Role
1996–1997 This Life Miles Stewart
1997 The Moth Robert Bradley
1998 Macbeth Malcolm
1998 Ultraviolet Detective Sergeant Michael Colefield
2000 The Wyvern Mystery Harry Fairfield
2000–2004 Coupling Steve Taylor
2002 Dickens Charley Dickens
2002 The Real Jane Austen Henry Austen
2003 The Welsh Great Escape Narrator
2003 Eroica Prince Lobkowitz
2004 Agatha Christie's Marple: The Body in the Library Superintendent Harper
2005 The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant Lt Ralph Clarke
2007 This Life + 10 Miles Stewart
2008 Swingtown Bruce Miller
2009–2010 FlashForward Lloyd Simcoe
2012–2013 Smash Derek Wills
2013 Breathless Otto Powell
2014 The Good Wife Frank Asher
2016 The Mindy Project Leland Breakfast

Radio

References

  1. ↑ "Coupling is back! - Biography - Jack Davenport (Steve)". BBC. 16 June 2004. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
  2. ↑ Who's Who 2014
  3. ↑ Jack Davenport Biography - Yahoo! Movies
  4. ↑ Deadline.com, 12 February 2011: "Jack Davenport To Co-Star in NBC's 'Smash'
  5. ↑ Deadline.com 11 May 2011: "NBC Picks Up Whitney Cummings & Emily Spivey Pilots, 'Smash' & 'Prime Suspect'"
  6. ↑ "Video for Snow Patrol's Called Out in the Dark"
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