by Neil Daniels
‘If people ask to take pictures of me as me in the street, as they often do, then I say “Look, don’t put it on Twitter, please” or I say “No thanks” or “Not when I’m with my family” or whatever I say,’ he admitted to Den of Geek’s Louisa Mellor. ‘I like the idea of not everything happening between two human beings to be everyone’s property. Do you know what I mean? Because now, “Can I have a picture?” is the same as in my day, “Hello”. So “Hello, nice to meet you” is now “Can I have a picture?” and then they get out the camera and people start to line up.’
Freeman is not as ‘pathological’ about his privacy as he once described. He’s opened up in recent years, feeling more comfortable (but still guarded) about his partner and children as well as his background. He would give up a major Hollywood movie if it caused disruption to his family and home life. He is very family-orientated. Now that he is a household name and regularly seen on TV and in the cinema, he has learned that fame can be controlled. If some celebrity wants an entourage following them around with great fanfare, they have no cause to complain about the publicity and hounding from the paparazzi they might get. Freeman is less interested in causing a publicity stir.
Does he want his own children to get into acting?
‘I wouldn’t actively encourage or discourage them from this life,’ he once said to Future Movies’ Paul Gallagher. ‘Both me and my other half are actors and, while of course there are hard bits to it, it’s a good life and I’m thankful to it every day. But I think if you’re the children of actors you don’t need encouragement – you’ve got a bit of it in you. So I’m just gonna see where that goes with mine.’
Freeman spoke to TV Choice magazine’s Martina Fowler about life as a dad and its rewards: ‘Just all the positive stuff that it gives you, and the way that you improve as a human being, in that you become better by helping someone else be better. The downside of it is you suddenly realise how selfish you are, or how selfish you’re allowed to be in your life up to the point of being a parent. I thought I was a nice person before I became a dad and then I thought, “Christ, I’m not, I’m selfish, self-obsessed, and impatient.” I think until you’ve been a parent nothing else has tested you like that. No one winds you up the way a baby will!’
As a dad, he has said in interviews that he doesn’t want his kids to see him as anything but their dad, so that means they haven’t seen his films or TV shows. Maybe his children don’t have any idea just how famous their dad is?
‘I want to keep my children absolutely out of it until they’re of an age where they can decide,’ he admitted to the New Zealand Herald. ‘Sometimes when I’m stopped in the street and I’m with my children, I always try and get them out of the picture and they’ll go, “Why don’t you want us?” and I’m like, “No, I’m protecting you!”’
Wind-down time for Freeman is relaxing with his partner at home watching a DVD box-set such as the Kevin Spacey-led political drama House of Cards, or having a day out with the family or a trip to his local record stores to uncover some vinyl gems for his ever-growing collection. He has a terrific relationship with his partner – there is humour, trust, loyalty, love.
As an avid music fan and vinyl junkie, it would be interesting to see Freeman cast in a music biopic. Although whether he would commit to such a project is a different matter. He’s always said he’s glad he was not a fan of The Hobbit growing up because it would have changed his approach to the role, so perhaps playing Paul Weller or Paul McCartney in a film would have an impact on his performance. Given his age, he would perhaps be better suited as Beatles’ producer George Martin or former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham. His fellow Hobbit star Andy Serkis once played Ian Dury in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. Freeman is a fan of such music-based films as 24 Hour Party People, which he rates very highly so, if a project of a similar nature should come across his desk, there’s a chance he’d sign on the dotted line.
As 2015 approached, Martin Freeman had become one of the most respected and famous British actors working in film and TV. He stays close to his British roots and has not deserted his background in TV on this small island, though he is becoming increasingly popular in the USA. Where his career will go to next is anyone’s guess but he is likely to continue to surprise and astound us with a wide range of memorable performances.
‘He will only do things that he thinks are great,’ commented Sherlock co-creator Steven Moffat to The Guardian’s John Plunkett. ‘He is incredibly serious about acting, concentrating fiercely to the point where he can give himself a bad day. He can be a borderline grump if he feels he is having trouble, grumpy in the way that someone doing difficult sums is grumpy.’
Given his recent roles as Lester Nygaard and Richard III, one wonders if Freeman will shed his nice-guy image once and for all.
‘I don’t get cast as the guy who steps off a yacht in a white linen suit with a martini,’ he once told Entertainment Weekly’s Josh Rottenberg. ‘It would not really be my function to be the smooth guy – unless something shitty happens to the smooth guy.’
There is a degree of uncertainty about acting and the entertainment-and-arts industry that allures Freeman.
‘I like uncertainty in roles, and I like uncertainty in art, really,’ Martin said to Stuff.co.nz’s Tom Cardy. ‘And in theatrical terms, I’m not a massive fan of certainty. Without sounding overly pompous about it, I don’t really trust certainty in anything, actually. Especially as I get older. Except love, I’m certain of love, I guess. But beliefs, characteristics, all that, I think everything is uncertain. And so I like playing people who reflect that, ’cause I think it’s honest. I don’t really believe it if it’s certain, you know what I mean? I just don’t buy it.’
It is more than likely that one day Freeman will be spoken about in the same breath as such revered actors of the stage and screen as Alec Guinness, Anthony Hopkins and Peter Cushing.
His star continues to shine.
SELECTIVE CREDITS
What follows is a list of Martin Freeman’s roles in all mediums.
FILM
The Low Down (2000)
Ali G Indahouse (2002)
Love Actually (2003)
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Confetti (2006)
Breaking and Entering (2006)
Long Hot Summer (2006)
Dedication (2007)
The Good Night (2007)
Hot Fuzz (2007)
The All Together (2007)
Nightwatching (2007)
Nativity! (2009)
Wild Target (2010)
Swinging with the Finkels (2011)
What’s Your Number? (2011)
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (aka The Pirates! Band of Misfits) (2012)
Animals (2012)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Svengali (2013)
The World’s End (2013)
Saving Santa (2013)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
TV SERIES
The Bill (‘Mantrap’, 1997)
This Life (‘Last Tango In Southwark’, 1997)
Casualty (‘She Loved The Rain’, 1998)
Picking Up The Pieces (Episode 1.7, 1998)
Exhaust (1999)
Bruiser (2000)
Lock, Stock… (2000)
Black Books (‘Cooking The Books’, 2000)
World of Pub (2001)
The Office (2001–2003)
Helen West (2002)
Linda Green (‘Easy Come, Easy Go’, 2002)
Charles II: The Power and The Passion (2003)
Hardware (2003–2004)
The Robinsons (2005)
Comedy Showcase (‘Other People’, 2007)
When Were We Funniest? (2008)
Boy Meets Girl (2009)
Sherlock (2010–2014)
Fargo (2014)
TV MOVIES
Men Only (2001)
Comic Relief: The Big Hair Do (2003)
The Debt (2003)
Margery and Gladys (2003)
Pride (2004)
Not Tonight with John Sergeant (2005)
The Old Curiosity Shop (2007)
Svengali (2009)
Micro Men (2009)
The Eichmann Show (2015)
SHORT FILMS
I Just Want to Kiss You (1998)
Fancy Dress (2001)
Call Register (2004)
Round About Five (2005)
Blake’s Junction 7 (2005)
Lonely Hearts (2007)
Rubbish (2007)
HIV: The Musical (2009)
The Girl Is Mime (2010)
So You Want To Be A Pirate! (2012)
The Voorman Problem (2012)
STAGE
La Dispute (1999)
Jump Mr Malinoff, Jump (2000)
Kosher Harry (2002)
Blue Eyes and Heels (2005)
The Exonerated (2006)
The Last Laugh (2007)
Clybourne Park (2010)
Richard III (2014)
RADIO
The Great Unknown (BBC Radio 2, 2006)
The Steve Show (BBC 6Music, 2008)
The Unfortunates (BBC Radio 3, 2010)
Soul Show’s New Year’s Day Special (BBC Radio 2, 2014)
DOCUMENTARY
Rembrandt’s J’Accuse (2008)
VIDEO GAMES
LEGO The Hobbit: The Video Game (2014)
MUSIC
Martin Freeman Presents… Made To Measure (2006)
SOURCES
The following print and online media was invaluable during the researching and writing of this biography. Thank you to every publication.
PRINT
Chicago Sun-Times
Daily Mirror
Daily Telegraph
Financial Times
The Globe and Mail
The Independent
Mail On Sunday
Metro
The Observer
The Sunday Times
The Times
Time Out
The Washington Post
ONLINE
http://www.aintitcool.com
http://britishtheatreguide.info
http://collider.com
http://dorkshelf.com
http://exclaim.ca
http://articles.latimes.com
http://londoncalling.com
http://movies.about.com
http://nerdrepository.com
http://news.asiaone.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk
http://nycmovieguru.com
http://twocentstv.com
http://uk.askmen.com
http://uk.ign.com
http://variety.com
www.3news.co.nz
www.avclub.com
www.bbc.co.uk
www.beyondthejoke.co.uk
www.cinemablend.com
www.comedy.co.uk
www.contactmusic.com
www.dailymail.co.uk
www.darkhorizons.com
www.denofgeek.com
www.digitalspy.co.uk
www.dvdtalk.com
www.dvdverdict.com
www.empireonline.com
www.esquire.co.uk
www.ew.com
www.express.co.uk
www.flicksandbits.com
www.futuremovies.co.uk
www.gq-magazine.co.uk
www.theguardian.com
www.hampshire-life.co.uk
www.hitfix.com
www.hollywood.com
www.hollywoodreporter.com
www.indielondon.co.uk
www.indiewire.com
www.inspiremagazine.org.uk
www.lastbroadcast.co.uk
www.latino-review.com
www.mediamikes.com
www.mirror.co.uk
www.movieweb.com
www.musicomh.com
www.nerve.com
www.nydailynews.com
www.nytimes.com
www.nzherald.co.nz
www.radiotimes.com
www.readersdigest.co.nz
www.rte.ie
www.scotsman.com
www.sfgate.com
www.shortlist.com
www.smh.com.au
www.splicedwire.com
www.stagenoise.com
www.standard.co.uk
www.stuff.co.nz
www.telegraph.co.uk
www.timeout.com
www.tinymixtapes.com
www.totalfilm.com
www.tvchoicemagazine.co.uk
www.tvguide.co.uk
www.universityobserver.ie
www.usatoday.com
www.vulture.com
www.walesonline.co.uk
www.washingtonpost.com
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to the following writers, journalists and authors whose work was integral in researching and writing this biography:
Carlos Aguilar, Ethan Alter, Andrew Anthony, Michael Arbeiter, Nick Aveling, Steven Balbirnie, Anne Bayley, Gabby Bermingham, Robert Bianco, Michael Billington, Aaron Birch, Rob Blackwelder, Rob Bleaney, Peter Bradshaw, Ben Brantley, Simon Brew, Georgina Brown, Christopher Campbell, Capone, Tom Cardy, Rob Carnevale, Jeannette Catsoulis, Dominic Cavendish, Paul Connolly, Rachel Cooke, Richard Corliss, Maddy Costa, Simon Crook, Manohla Dargis, Michael Deacon, Bruce Dessau, Amanda DeWees, Emma Didbin, Claire Dikecoglu, Andrew Duncan, Tom Eames, Angie Errigo, Euan Ferguson, Daniel Fienberg, Paul Fischer, Kathryn Flett, Jack Foley, Tyler Foster, Martina Fowler, Garth Franklin, Oliver Franklin, Philip French, Philo Gabriel, Paul Gallagher, Mark Gatiss, Mike Gencarelli, Olly Grant, Frank Grice, Mike Hale, Robert Hanks, Kevin Harley, Jesse Hassenger, Sarah Hemming, David Hinkley, John Hiscock, Henry Hitchings, Michael Hogan, Michael Holden, Jonathan Holland, Travis Mackenzie Hoover, Simon Houpt, Tim Huddleston, David Jenkins, Ellen E. Jones, Emma Jones, Morgan Jeffery, Dan Jolin, Ellen E Jones, Danuta Kean, Rhoda Koenig, Tom Lamont, Peter Lathan, Ben Lawrence, Susanna Lazarus, Alana Lee, Matthew Leyland, Brian Lowery, Denise Martin, Matt Maytum, Gareth McLean, Caroline McGinn, Craig McLean, Louisa Mellor, Stephanie Merritt, Tom Morgan, Rebecca Murray, Hannah Nathanson, Kim Newman, Philiana Ng, Hanh Nguyen, Phelim O’Neill, Robin Oliver, Ken P., Andrew Parker, Anthony Pearce, Cindy Pearlman, John Plunkett, Vicki Power, John Preston, Tony Purnell, Libby Purves, Anthony Quinn, Nathan Rabin, Christina Radish, James Rampton, Katey Rich, Olly Richards, Tim Robey, James Rocchi, Kate Rodger, Julian Roman, Jonathan Romney, Josh Rottenberg, Sukhdev Sandhu, Lisa Schwarzbaum, A.O. Scott, Nick de Semlyen, David Sexton, Jane Simon, Leigh Singer, Adam Smith, Nancy Banks-Smith, Neil Smith, Rupert Smith, Jason Solomons, Charles Spencer, Cheryl Stonehouse, Hank Stuever, Chris Sullivan, Siobhan Synnot, John Thaxter, Paul Taylor, Michael Thomson, Alexis Tirado, Gabe Toro, Kenneth Turan, Karen Valby, Alona Wartofsky, Darren Waters, Jamie Watt, Steve ‘Frosty’ Weintraub, Jay Weissberg, David Wiegand, Alice Wignall, Andrew Williams, Benji Wilson, Kyle Wilson, Neil Young and Jordan Zakarin.
Thank you also to Chris Mitchell and the staff at John Blake Publishing.
Apologies if I have missed out any names; it was not intentional.
Visit the author’s website at www.neildanielsbooks.com
Martin Freeman’s first big break came in the celebrated TV show The Office. The cast (from left: Ricky Gervais, Ash Atalla, Martin Freeman, Lucy Davis and Stephen Merchant) were together at the 61st Golden Globes to collect the award for Best Series.
The London premiere of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy was a happy event for the stars Freeman, Zooey Deschanel and Sam Rockwell.
Freeman has always been protective over the private life he shares with his better half, actress Amanda Abbington. However, they enjoyed a very public ‘wedding’ when they appeared together in Sherlock in 2013.
Fargo aired in 2014 to great acclaim and an Emmy for Outst
anding Miniseries with Freeman appearing with a strong Minnesotan accent in the lead role of Lester Nygaard.
The role of a lifetime: being cast as Bilbo Baggins changed Freeman’s life. The cast of the final Hobbit film gathered in London on 1 December 2014 for the premiere; Freeman’s journey to Middle Earth had finally come to an end.
Filming Sherlock at Gloucester Cathedral in early 2015 – with a fairly prominent moustache.
As comfortable on the stage as in front of the cameras, Freeman appeared as the malformed King Richard in Richard III, directed by Jamie Lloyd.
Possibly his best-loved role, Freeman and Cumberbatch form an incredible partnership in Sherlock.
All photos © Rex Features
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neil Daniels is the author of Matthew McConaughey – The Biography (John Blake) and over a dozen books on music. His titles include AC/DC – The Early Years & Bon Scott; Metallica: The Early Years And The Rise Of Metal; Iron Maiden: The Ultimate Unauthorized History Of The Beast; Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers: A ZZ Top Guide; High Stakes & Dangerous Men – The UFO Story; Bon Jovi Encyclopaedia; Don’t Stop Believin’: The Untold Story of Journey; and Reinventing Metal: The True Story Of Pantera and the Tragically Short Life of Dimebag Darrell. He has written for a number of publications including The Guardian, Rock Sound and Record Collector.
Neil lives in the north-west of England.
His official website is www.neildanielsbooks.com
Copyright
Published by John Blake Publishing Limited
3 Bramber Court, 2 Bramber Road
London W14 9PB
www.johnblakepublishing.co.uk
