John Simm Society
About John
As 'The Master' in
Doctor Who - The Sound of Drums
and
Doctor Who - The End of Time
As 'Sam Tyler' in Life On Mars
Magic Alex - Dated & Sexist (2007)
Listen to Chica Chica by Magic Alex
John Ronald Simm is most recently best known for his roles in two BAFTA® award-winning dramas; as an incarnation of The Master in the long-running science fiction series Doctor Who and as Sam Tyler in the detective drama Life on Mars. He has also appeared in many highly-acclaimed television dramas such as The Lakes, State of Play and two BAFTA® award-winning serials; Clocking Off and Sex Traffic.
Early Years:
The eldest of three children, John was born in West Yorkshire and grew up in Nelson, Lancashire and around the North West, including Manchester, Colne, Burnley and Blackpool. His father, a Mancunian musician, taught him to play guitar and from age 12 John joined his father on stage in the working men’s clubs. They became a semi-professional double act, calling themselves Us2.
When he was 16, John went to Blackpool and Fylde College in St Annes for three years, starring in Guys and Dolls and West Side Story. Soon after, he joined an amateur dramatic group, playing the title roles in Billy Liar and Amadeus. He then moved to London and attended the Drama Centre, a very strict classical theatre school where he studied the Stanislavski School of method acting.
Musician:
Independently of his acting career in the 1990s, John was a founder member; songwriter and guitarist with the rock band Magic Alex (named after The Beatles' electrician). The group played support on two tours with Echo and the Bunnymen. Plus, John plays guitar on the track Sliding, from the album Slideling, by his friend Echo and the Bunnymen singer, Ian McCulloch. John also played lead guitar on a few of McCulloch's solo live shows, including one at Wembley arena as main support to Coldplay.
After splitting up in 2003, Magic Alex released a musical compendium of their finest moments in 2007. Their album Dated & Sexist is currently available on iTunes. Watch their space magicalexthegroop for the latest news and updates.
Actor:
John made his professional acting debut in 1992 with his role as Joby Johnson in an episode of Rumpole of the Bailey.
His breakthrough role came in 1995 as a psychotic teenager in Cracker. He then received a Best Actor Award at the Valencia Film Festival for his feature film debut role in the coming-of-age drama, Boston Kickout.
Also in 1995, John appeared on stage in the Nick Ward play as Danny Rule at the Royal Court Theatre. He then played "Colin" in Simon Bent's Goldhawk Road, at the Bush Theatre in 1996.
John first found fame in 1997 in the critically acclaimed and often controversial drama, The Lakes.
He then appeared in 1999 in another lauded film production, Human Traffic, a tale of sex, drugs and music set against the Cardiff club scene of the 1990s.
In 2002, John sang the acoustic version of Blue Monday as enigmatic New Order front man Bernard Sumner, in 24 Hour Party People. He also appeared as Raskolnikov in the BBC adaptation of Crime and Punishment.
John was nominated for a 2006 BAFTA® TV Award for Best Actor in Life On Mars.
Just after his roles in Life On Mars and Doctor Who, John returned to the Bush Theatre in 2007, in the title role in the comedy Elling, which later transferred to the Trafalgar Studios for his West End debut and for which he was nominated for a 2008 Best Actor Laurence Olivier Award.
Current Projects:
John has reprised his role as Baxter to film a second series of Sky1’s Mad Dogs with Philip Glenister. Series 2, filmed in Majorca and Ibiza, is confirmed for early 2012 transmission.
John is also involved in an ongoing project, Seven Days, with director Michael Winterbottom, which is being filmed in real time over five years until 2012. They film for a few weeks every year. The project co-stars Shirley Henderson.
Personal Life:
John is married to actress Kate Magowan, who also appears with him in 24 Hour Party People, Devilwood, Tu£sday and Exile. They have two children; Ryan and Molly. John is well known as an avid Manchester United supporter and music-lover of The Beatles.
How would John most like to be remembered:
"As a great father and husband and son and friend and as an exceptional actor. That’d be nice."
Early Years:
The eldest of three children, John was born in West Yorkshire and grew up in Nelson, Lancashire and around the North West, including Manchester, Colne, Burnley and Blackpool. His father, a Mancunian musician, taught him to play guitar and from age 12 John joined his father on stage in the working men’s clubs. They became a semi-professional double act, calling themselves Us2.
When he was 16, John went to Blackpool and Fylde College in St Annes for three years, starring in Guys and Dolls and West Side Story. Soon after, he joined an amateur dramatic group, playing the title roles in Billy Liar and Amadeus. He then moved to London and attended the Drama Centre, a very strict classical theatre school where he studied the Stanislavski School of method acting.
Musician:
Independently of his acting career in the 1990s, John was a founder member; songwriter and guitarist with the rock band Magic Alex (named after The Beatles' electrician). The group played support on two tours with Echo and the Bunnymen. Plus, John plays guitar on the track Sliding, from the album Slideling, by his friend Echo and the Bunnymen singer, Ian McCulloch. John also played lead guitar on a few of McCulloch's solo live shows, including one at Wembley arena as main support to Coldplay.
After splitting up in 2003, Magic Alex released a musical compendium of their finest moments in 2007. Their album Dated & Sexist is currently available on iTunes. Watch their space magicalexthegroop for the latest news and updates.
Actor:
John made his professional acting debut in 1992 with his role as Joby Johnson in an episode of Rumpole of the Bailey.
His breakthrough role came in 1995 as a psychotic teenager in Cracker. He then received a Best Actor Award at the Valencia Film Festival for his feature film debut role in the coming-of-age drama, Boston Kickout.
Also in 1995, John appeared on stage in the Nick Ward play as Danny Rule at the Royal Court Theatre. He then played "Colin" in Simon Bent's Goldhawk Road, at the Bush Theatre in 1996.
John first found fame in 1997 in the critically acclaimed and often controversial drama, The Lakes.
He then appeared in 1999 in another lauded film production, Human Traffic, a tale of sex, drugs and music set against the Cardiff club scene of the 1990s.
In 2002, John sang the acoustic version of Blue Monday as enigmatic New Order front man Bernard Sumner, in 24 Hour Party People. He also appeared as Raskolnikov in the BBC adaptation of Crime and Punishment.
John was nominated for a 2006 BAFTA® TV Award for Best Actor in Life On Mars.
Just after his roles in Life On Mars and Doctor Who, John returned to the Bush Theatre in 2007, in the title role in the comedy Elling, which later transferred to the Trafalgar Studios for his West End debut and for which he was nominated for a 2008 Best Actor Laurence Olivier Award.
In 2008 Simm played Edward Sexby in The Devil's Whore, a four-part English Civil War epic for Channel 4, written by Peter Flannery and shot on location in South Africa. Later that year he performed at The Royal Variety Performance with Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller and in 2009 starred in the film Skellig, with Tim Roth and Kelly Macdonald.
John returned to the west end stage in 2009, starring opposite Ian Hart, Lucy Cohu and Kerry Fox in the Andrew Bovell play Speaking in Tongues, at the Duke of York's theatre.
In September 2010 John Simm played Hamlet at the Sheffield Crucible. The production was a sellout and broke box office records for the Theatre.
In 2011 he co-starred in Mad Dogs as Baxter that reunited him with Philip Glenister and Marc Warren along with Max Beesley and Ben Chaplin. Mad Dogs received a BAFTA nomination for best Drama serial.
Also in 2011, John starred In Exile with Jim Broadbent. Exile, written by Danny Brocklehurst from an idea by Paul Abott, is a psychological thriller that tells an intimate story of prodigal redemption.
John has reprised his role as Baxter to film a second series of Sky1’s Mad Dogs with Philip Glenister. Series 2, filmed in Majorca and Ibiza, is confirmed for early 2012 transmission.
In May 2012 is Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, which sees John Simm return to Sheffield Theatres following his role in Hamlet at the Crucible last year. Betrayal, written in 1978, is a heartbreaking comment on love and relationships through the intertwined stories of two couples over nine years.
John is also involved in an ongoing project, Seven Days, with director Michael Winterbottom, which is being filmed in real time over five years until 2012. They film for a few weeks every year. The project co-stars Shirley Henderson.
Personal Life:
John is married to actress Kate Magowan, who also appears with him in 24 Hour Party People, Devilwood, Tu£sday and Exile. They have two children; Ryan and Molly. John is well known as an avid Manchester United supporter and music-lover of The Beatles.
How would John most like to be remembered:
"As a great father and husband and son and friend and as an exceptional actor. That’d be nice."