Martin Freeman

Biography:

Martin John Christopher Freeman was born on 8 September 1971 in Aldershot, Hampshire, as the youngest of five children. His parents, Philomena (née Norris) and Geoffrey Freeman, a naval officer, separated when he was young. When Freeman was ten, his father died of a heart attack.

His paternal grandfather, Leonard W. Freeman, served as a medic with the British Expeditionary Force in World War II and was killed in action at Dunkirk shortly before the evacuation. Leonard’s father, Richard, had been born blind and worked as an organist and piano tuner.

Freeman was raised in the Catholic faith and attended the Salesian School in Chertsey, Surrey, before studying media at Brooklands College in Weybridge. His older brother Tim went on to become a member of the band Frazier Chorus.

Freeman trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and has appeared in more than a dozen television series, numerous stage productions, and several radio dramas. He rose to recognition playing Tim Canterbury in The Office (2001–2003), a role he later said “cast a very long shadow” over his career. He also starred in the sitcom Hardware (2003–2004) and appeared in films including Ali G Indahouse (2002) and Love Actually (2003).

He began taking on more dramatic roles with his portrayal of Lord Shaftesbury in the 2003 BBC series Charles II: The Power and The Passion. He had a brief appearance in This Life, starred in The Robinsons, and made cameos in Black Books and the film The All Together (2007). He also performed in the stage production The Last Laugh and appeared in Faith No More’s music video for their cover of “I Started a Joke.” In May 2009, Freeman led the body-swap drama Boy Meets Girl.

Freeman achieved widespread acclaim as Dr. John Watson in the BBC’s modern Sherlock Holmes adaptation Sherlock. The first episode aired on 25 July 2010 to strong reviews. His work earned him the 2011 BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor and the 2014 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie.

He starred as Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s three-part The Hobbit film series, winning Best Hero at the 2013 MTV Movie Awards and Best Actor at the 18th Empire Awards for the first film.

Freeman appeared in all three films of Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright’s Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy—briefly in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, and later as a main cast member in The World’s End (2013). On 5 October 2013, he received a fellowship from the Literary & Historical Society at University College Dublin. In 2014, he starred as Lester Nygaard in the series Fargo, earning nominations for a Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and Critics’ Choice Television Award. That same year, he played the title role in Richard III at Trafalgar Studios.

In 2015, Freeman portrayed producer Milton Fruchtman in the TV film The Eichmann Show, which intercut dramatized scenes with original footage from the 1961 Adolf Eichmann trial. Critics praised the production. He joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as CIA agent Everett K. Ross in Captain America: Civil War (2016).

In 2017, he starred in the feature-length film Cargo, premiering at the Adelaide Film Festival, and later performed alongside Tamsin Greig in James Graham’s political comedy Labour of Love. In 2018, he reprised his role as Ross in Black Panther. Between 2017 and 2019, he also appeared in several Vodafone commercials.

Freeman took part in the BBC Wales drama To Provide All People in 2018. Since March 2020, he has starred in and co-created the FX/Sky One comedy series Breeders, which was renewed for a second season in May 2020.

Freeman lives in Belsize Park, London. He previously lived in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, with actress Amanda Abbington. Together from 2000 until 2016, they have a son and a daughter and worked together on several projects, including Sherlock and The Robinsons. Their separation was announced in December 2016.

Once a pescetarian, Freeman returned to eating red meat in 2024. Though raised Catholic, he no longer practices the faith. He is close friends with actor Simon Pegg, who is godfather to his son. Freeman’s personal style is influenced by British mod culture, and he has often cited Paul Weller as an inspiration.

In 2011, he umpired a charity cricket match to support victims of the Christchurch earthquake. His brother Jamie Freeman, a singer-songwriter and web designer, died from brain cancer in December 2022.

A fan of soul, Motown, and jazz, Freeman presented the BBC Two program Martin Freeman Goes to Motown in 2009, curated the 2006 Motown compilation Made to Measure, and collaborated with Eddie Piller on the jazz compilation Jazz on the Corner (2018). They later co-hosted Craig Charles’ Funk and Soul Show and released the follow-up album Soul on the Corner.

Politically, Freeman is a supporter of the Labour Party. As a teenager, he backed the Militant movement and volunteered with the Labour Party Young Socialists. In 2015, he appeared in a campaign broadcast for Labour and later endorsed Jeremy Corbyn in the party’s leadership race.