John Simm
Independently of his acting career in the 1990s, John was a founding member, songwriter and guitarist with the rock band Magic Alex (named after The Beatles' self-styled electronics wizard). 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 was remastered and re-released in 2014 and is now available on Spotify and iTunes. Visit Magic Alex's Facebook Page for their latest news and updates.
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.
The eldest of three, John Simm was born in Leeds and grew up in Nelson, Lancashire and around the North West, including Manchester, Colne, Burnley and Blackpool. His father, a 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 The 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 to train at the Drama Centre London, where he studied the Stanislavski School of Method acting.
The eldest of three, John Simm was born in Leeds and grew up in Nelson, Lancashire and around the North West, including Manchester, Colne, Burnley and Blackpool. His father, a 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 The 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 to train at the Drama Centre London, where he studied the Stanislavski School of Method acting.
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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 dramaThe Lakes.
He then appeared in 1999 as Jip in the award-winning, cult clubbing film, Human Traffic and Michael Winterbottom's acclaimed Wonderland.
In 2002, John featured in another Michael Winterbottom film and 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 BBC's Crime and Punishment adapted by Tony Marchant.
In 2004, John starred in the BAFTA award-winning drama, Sex Traffic and reunited with Shaun Parkes (from Human Traffic) in Blue/Orange.
John was nominated for a 2006 BAFTA® TV Award for Best Actor for his role as Sam Tyler in the BAFTA® Pioneer Audience award winning, cult time-warp/70's style series Life On Mars.
In 2007, John played Vincent van Gogh in the biographical drama The Yellow House and then also returned to the Bush Theatre as the title character in the comedy Elling, which later transferred to the Trafalgar Studios for his West End debut and for which he was nominated for a Best Actor Olivier Award.
Also in 2007, John played The Master in the long-running BBC series, Doctor Who and would later reprise his role in 2009.
In 2008, John played Edward Sexby in The Devil's Whore, written by Peter Flannery. 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 again 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 played Hamlet at the Sheffield Crucible Theatre.
In 2011 John co-starred in Mad Dogs 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 and was recommissioned for a second and third series.
Also in 2011, John starred In Exile with Jim Broadbent. His performance earned him his second BAFTA nomination for Best Actor.
In 2012, John starred as Jerry in a revival of Harold Pinter's Betrayal at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.
In early 2013 John completed filming the fourth and final 2-part series of Mad Dogs Series 4 with Philip Glenister, Marc Warren and Max Beesley (the finale later aired 28 & 29 Dec 2013).
In spring 2013, series one of The Village, a 6 part drama by Peter Moffat which begins in 1912 and spans a hundred years, aired on BBC One.
In summer 2013, John joined Simon Russell Beale to star in Harold Pinter's macabre tragicomedy The Hothouse which returned to London's West End in a new production directed by Jamie Lloyd.
In early 2014 John Simm led the cast of BBC America's new original series Intruders. From writer and executive producer Glen Morgan (The X-Files) and based on Michael Marshall Smith's novel The Intruders, the series is a contemporary, chilling, paranormal drama set in the moody Pacific Northwest.
At the same time while filming Intruders in Vancouver, BC, John was also filming for Series 2 of The Village in Derbyshire, UK.
In late 2014 John completed filming ITV drama Code of a Killer, starring as Dr. Alec Jeffreys' and based on the extraordinary true story of his discovery of DNA fingerprinting and its first use by Detective Chief Superintendent David Baker in catching a double murderer.
John returned to the stage in summer 2015 for Patrick Marber’s version of Three Days In The Country at the National Theatre. He immediately followed that with another stage production back in The West End until February 2016 for Jamie Lloyd's 50th Anniversary of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming at Trafalgar Studios, London.
In March 2016 John began filming in Los Angeles for ABC's new series The Catch from Shondaland's Shonda Rhimes. John will appear in episodes 6-10 in the first series that premiered March 24th.