Actor who achieved worldwide recognition by playing Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit": Who is Martin Freeman?

His full name is Martin John Christopher Freeman, he was born on September 8, 1971, in Aldershot, Hampshire. He was born as the youngest of five children to his mother, Philomena Norris, and to his father, naval officer Geoffrey Freeman. His parents separated when Freeman was a child. Raised by his mother's Catholic faith, Freeman was educated at the Salesian School in Chertsey, Surrey. He then enrolled at Brooklands College in nearby Weybridge for media studies. Freeman's older brother, named Tim, was a singer in the pop band Frazier Chorus.

Wanting to continue his education, Freeman attended the Central School of Speech and Drama. Here he has appeared in at least 18 TV shows, 14 theatrical productions and several radio projects. In 1997, he appeared in the police-style TV series "The Bill" and the TV series "This Life". The following year, he appeared in the tobbi drama series "Casualty". In 2000, he appeared in the comedy sketch show "Bruiser", the crime drama series "Lock, Stock..." and the sitcom "Black Books".

From 2001 to 2003, he garnered attention for his role as Tim Canterbury in the tv mockumentary sitcom "The Office". He then took part in the comedy "Hardware" from 2003 to 2004. Meanwhile, he appeared in the comedy film "Ali G Indahouse"(2002) directed by Mark Mylod and the Christmas romantic comedy "Actually Love" (2003), written and directed by Richard Curtis.

Freeman transitioned to more serious dramatic roles on television when he appeared as Lord Shaftesbury in the 2003 BBC historical drama TV movie "Charles II: The Power and The Passion". That same year, he appeared as one of the leading roles in the TV crime drama movie "The Debt" directed by Jon Jones. Later that year, he starred in a one-shot TV movie, "Margery and Gladys." The following year, he was the voice actor in the TV comedy-drama film "Pride." Furthermore, he appeared in the BBC television series "The Robinsons".

He then starred in the science fiction comedy movie "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" directed by Garth Jennings. The film received positive reviews from critics and was successful at the box office. In 2006, he starred as Matt in the mockumentary romance film "Confetti". He later appeared in the romantic crime movie "Breaking and Entering" (2006) and the fantasy comedy-drama movie "The Good Night" (2007). In 2007, he co-starred with Danny Dyer in the comedy film "The All Together," written and directed by Gavin Claxton. In the same year, he took the lead role as painter Rembrandt in the movie "Nightwatching" directed by Peter Greenaway.

In May 2009, he co-starred with Rachael Stirling in "Boy Meets Girl," a four-part comedy-drama TV mini-series that follows the development of the characters Veronica and Danny after an accident that caused them to swap bodies. That same year, the Christmas musical comedy "Nativity!" directed by Debbie Isitt. He also played the lead role with Ashley Jensen. It has been reported that the sequels of the film, which was successful at the box office, will come.

Freeman portrayed the role of Dr. John Watson with Benedict Cumberbatch in the mystery thriller drama TV series "Sherlock", a BBC contemporary adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes detective stories. The first episode of Sherlock was released on July 25, 2010 and received critical acclaim. He won a 2011 BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie. The series was shown for 4 seasons in total. Each series received critical acclaim and received positive reviews.

Meanwhile, Freeman appeared in the black comedy film "Wild Target" (2011) directed by Jonathan Lynn, with Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt, Rupert Grint, Eileen Atkins and Rupert Everett. The following year, the animated bully comedy "The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!" He also voiced "Pirate with a Scarf". The film was a modest success at both the box office and critically.

Freeman played Bilbo Baggins, the main character in the three-part fantasy adventure film series "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey", the first film in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit series. The film, which received mixed reviews from critics after its release, became the fourth highest-grossing film of 2012 with its gross. For his performance, he won the Best Hero Award at the 2013 MTV Movie Awards and the Best Actor Award at the 18th Empire Awards.

The following year, Freeman appeared in the science fiction comedy film "The World's End," written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright and directed by Edgar Wright. Upon its theatrical release, the film garnered positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success. In the same year, he starred in the movie "Svengali" directed by John Hardwick and the sequel "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug". While he received great acclaim for his performance in the latter, the film was a great success at both the box office and the critical.

In April 2014, he played insurance salesman Lester Nygaard in the black comedy-crime drama series "Fargo." enlivened. He earned nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Critics' Choice Television Award for his performance. In the same year, he played the same role in the last movie of the series, "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies". The film, which received mixed reviews from critics after its release, became the second highest-grossing film of 2014 with its gross. In 2015, Freeman took one of the lead roles as producer Milton Fruchtman in the television drama film "The Eichmann Show," which filmed the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1961 by blacklisted TV director Leo Hurwitz. His performance and the movie received great acclaim.

The following year, he appeared in the superhero movie "Captain America: Civil War" (2016) as Central Intelligence Agency agent Everett K. Ross. In 2016, he appeared in the tv crime drama series "StartUp" with Adam Brody, Edi Gathegi, Otmara Marrero, Ron Perlman, Mira Sorvino and Addison Timlin. In 2017, Freeman starred in the post-apocalyptic horror drama "Cargo," based on the short film of the same name. In the same year, he appeared in the anthology horror movie "Ghost Stories" based on the stage play of the same name. The film was able to receive positive reviews from critics. Later, he got the lead role in the mockumentary film "Carnage" directed by Simon Amstell.

In 2018, he reprized the role of Everett K. Ross in the superhero movie "Black Panther." Upon its release, the film was announced as one of the ten best films of 2018, despite receiving mixed reviews. It also broke multiple box office records with its revenue. The following year, he starred alongside Diane Kruger and Cas Anvar in the thriller "The Operative" based on a novel. In 2019, he shared the lead role with Morena Baccarin in the romantic comedy movie "Ode to Joy".

The following year, he voiced himself in the Christmas drama dasn movie "A Christmas Carol." Freeman has appeared as Paul Worsley on the FX/Sky One comedy series "Breeders" since March 2020. He also acts as the creator and executive producer of the series.

In 2022, he appeared in the same role in its sequel "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever". Upon its release, the film received generally positive reviews. It also became the sixth highest-grossing film of 2022. In the same year, he appeared as one of the leading roles in the British police drama series "The Responder". Later in the year, he appeared in the drama television mini-series "Angelyne" as Harold Wallach.

Most recently, he reappeared as Everett K. Ross in the TV mini-series "Secret Invasion" based on the story of the same name. The series is scheduled to premiere on June 21, 2023.

Personal life

He had a relationship with actress Amanda Abbington from 2000 to 2016. The couple has a son named Joe and a daughter named Grace. The couple reportedly broke up in 2016. Living in London's Belsize Park area, Freeman is a vegetarian.

For personal style, Freeman, following the British mod subculture, cited Paul Weller as one of his favorites and was influenced by his style. A fan of soul and jazz music genres, Freeman worked with his friend Eddie Piller on a jazz compilation called "Jazz on the Corner", which was released on Acid Jazz Records on March 23, 2018, and featured songs by Kamasi.