Jonny Lee Miller
About
Biography
Filmography
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Biography
With a charm and wit that was uniquely British, Jonny Lee Miller brought a passion and dedication to acting that earned him a lasting, though mostly under-the-radar career from stage to screen. Whether portraying heroin addict Sick Boy in Danny Boyle's critically acclaimed "Trainspotting" (1996) or a record-breaking cyclist in "The Flying Scotsman" (2006), Miller's varied performances earned him much notice in Britain. In America, he first became known as Angelina Jolie's first ex-husband, but that all changed in 2008 when he stormed primetime American television as a prophetic lawyer who has strange visions on "Eli Stone" (ABC, 2008-09). Though the show only lasted two seasons, it was enough to put the British actor on the map stateside. From there, he played the villain on the fifth season of "Dexter" (Showtime, 2006-13), was a shiftless ne'er-do-well in "Dark Shadows" (2012) and was the star of the praised revamp of the Sherlock Holmes tale "Elementary" (CBS, 2012- ). Having finally elevated his status in the States, Miller established himself as a major leading player primed for true stardom.
Born Nov. 15, 1972 in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England to Anne Lee and Alan Miller, a stage manager for the BBC, Miller was raised in the southwest London borough of Kingston upon Thames. Miller attended the Tiffin Boys School Kingston, where he played saxophone in the Tiffin Swing Band and took up an interest in acting. At the age of 17, Miller worked as a theater usher and began to pursue acting - a profession that ran in Miller's family, as his grandfather was legendary actor Bernard Lee, best known as "M" in the first 11 James Bond films. Miller began to land roles on a number of British television series, including "Inspector Morse" (BBC, 1991) and "Cadfael" (BBC, 1994). He made his feature film debut in 1995 as a misfit computer genius who takes on a corporate evildoer in Iain Softley's "Hackers." Co-starring opposite then fellow up-and-comer Angelina Jolie, Miller found chemistry on and off screen; after rooming together while shooting the film, the pair eloped to Vegas in 1996, with Jolie wearing rubber pants and a shirt inscribed with Miller's name in her blood. The passion was short-lived, however, and the pair separated a year later before eventually divorcing. Jolie later claimed responsibility for the split, stating that they "were simply too young." Despite the split, the two remained extremely close though the years.
Miller went on to break out on screen as Sick Boy in Danny Boyle's edgy, Oscar-nominated "Trainspotting." Portraying a heroin addict obsessed with Sean Connery, Miller gave a memorable performance alongside good friend, Ewan McGregor. Bonding with his co-star, Miller and McGregor co-founded the British film production company, Natural Nylon, along with friends Jude Law; his wife, Sadie Frost; Sean Pertwee; Damon Bryant and Bradley Adams. Miller made his U.S. television debut that same year as Woodrow Call in Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove" prequel, "Dead Man's Walk" (ABC, 1996). He went on to deliver a thoughtful, intense performance as a working-class soldier struck mute by the horrors of WWI in "Regeneration" (1997), and appeared as a career-obsessed businessman opposite Julie Christie and Nick Nolte in Alan Rudolph's "Afterglow" (1997). Next, Miller starred as an 18th century English highway robber opposite Robert Carlyle in "Plunkett & Macleane" (1999) and went on to give a notable performance as Edmund Bertram, cousin and soul mate to Frances O'Connor's Fanny Price, in the Jane Austen adaptation, "Mansfield Park" (1999).
Miller went on to appear in the little-seen horror flick, "Wes Craven Presents Dracula 2000" (2000) and opposite off-screen buddy, Jude Law, as a lowly courier who joins a North London gang in "Love, Honor and Obey" (2000). Miller next found a starring role as "mad, bad and dangerous to know" poet Lord Byron in the BBC biopic, "Byron" (2003) and proceeded to work with Woody Allen as part of an ensemble cast in "Melinda and Melinda" (2004). Continuing his climb, he appeared as an FBI profiler-in-training in the thriller "Mindhunters" (2005) and as bad guy Oren Goodchild opposite Charlize Theron in the live-action film adaptation of the commercially disappointing "Aeon Flux" (2005). Portraying record-breaking Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree in "The Flying Scotsman," Miller received a Best Actor nomination at the Scottish BAFTAs. His career in an upswing, he went on to land his first primetime American television role in 2007 on the series "Smith" (CBS, 2006). Though it was hyped incessantly, the series was cancelled after airing only three episodes.
Miller received another shot at primetime television, however, and quickly landed the title role on the midseason drama, "Eli Stone" (ABC, 2008-09). He played the title character, a cutthroat lawyer who finds himself having prophetic visions that include manifestations of pop singer George Michael after being diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. Despite controversy over the pilot episode - the American Academy of Pediatrics opposed a plot line that depicted childhood vaccines as the cause for autism in children - "Stone" received favorable ratings and gave Miller long-sought stateside success. But unfortunately, the series sagged during its second season and was eventually canceled. Following a supporting turn in the apartheid-themed British feature, "Endgame" (2009), co-starring William Hurt, he was Mr. Knightley in the BBC's serial adaptation of Jane Austen's "Emma" (2009), which featured Romola Garai as the titular matchmaking heroine. Back on American television, Miller was motivational speaker and main antagonist, Jordan Chase, who tries to outwit serial killer Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) on the fifth season of "Dexter" (Showtime, 2006-13). After playing the ne'er-do-well brother in a dysfunctional family headed by a 200-year-old vampire (Johnny Depp) in "Dark Shadows" (2012), Miller portrayed a contemporary version of Sherlock Holmes on the well-received series "Elementary" (CBS, 2012- ), which co-starred Lucy Liu as his Dr. Watson.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1982
Made TV debut on an episode of "Doctor Who" (BBC)
1990
Made guest appearance on the popular British sitcom "Keeping Up Appearances" (BBC1)
1992
Cast as a student suspected of being a serial killer in the BBC2 drama "Dead Romantic"
1993
Played role of Ste in the stage play "Beautiful Thing" at London's Bush Theatre
1993
Appeared on ITV networks' "Prime Suspect 3"
1994
Landed guest role on an episode of "Cadfael," starring Derek Jacobi
1995
Feature debut as a computer expert in "Hackers"; co-starred with future wife Angelina Jolie
1996
Co-starred in CBS miniseries "Larry McMurtry's 'Dead Man's Walk'"
1996
Cast in breakthrough role as Sick Boy in Danny Boyle's "Trainspotting"
1997
Portrayed a young uptight married man who begins an affair with an older woman in Alan Rudolph's "Afterglow"
1997
First collaboration with director Gillies Mackinnon, "Regeneration"
1997
Co-founded the British film production company Natural Nylon; company folded in 2003
1999
Portrayed Edmund Bertram to Frances O'Connor's Fanny Price in "Mansfield Park"
1999
Teamed with "Trainspotting" co-star Robert Carlyle to portray 18th-century highwaymen in the delightful "Plunkett and Macleane"
2000
Co-starred with Gerard Butler in "Wes Craven Presents Dracula 2000"
2000
Played a newspaper reporter who becomes the prime suspect in a series of murders in "Complicity"
2001
Reunited with director Gillies Mackinnon for "The Escapist"
2004
Co-starred in Renny Harlin's "Mindhunters," replacing an unavailable Gerard Butler
2005
Cast in the feature adaptation of the MTV cartoon "Aeon Flux," starring Charlize Theron in the title role
2005
Cast in Woody Allen's "Melinda and Melinda," a comedic storyline which was one of two stories (one comic and one tragic)
2006
Portrayed cyclist Graeme Obree in "The Flying Scotsman"; nominated for the Scottish BAFTA for Best Actor
2008
Starred as the titular lawyer who believes he might be a prophet on the short-lived ABC series "Eli Stone"
2010
Guest starred on Showtime's "Dexter" as serial killer Jordan Chase
2012
Co-starred with Johnny Depp in Tim Burton's remake of the gothic soap opera "Dark Shadows"
2012
Played a modern Sherlock Holmes on crime drama "Elementary"
2017
Reprised role of Simon in "T2 Trainspotting"
Family
Companions
