Martin John Christopher Freeman is an English actor who was born on September 8, 1971. He has received numerous honors, including nominations for a Golden Globe Award, an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award.
He is best known for his role as Tim Canterbury in The Office, which he described as “casting a very long shadow” on him as an actor in 2004. He made an appearance in the sitcom Hardware (2003–2004). He has also appeared in films such as Ali G Indahouse (2002) and Love Actually (2003).
With his appearance as Lord Shaftesbury in the 2003 BBC historical drama Charles II: The Power and The Passion, Freeman began to move into more serious dramatic roles on television. He also makes a brief appearance in the first episode of This Life’s second season. Freeman also had a cameo in Episode 1 of Black Books and starred in the BBC television series The Robinsons.
In 2007, He appeared in Gavin Claxton’s play The Altogether, as well as Bill Kenwright’s theatre production of The Last Laugh. Faith No More’s cover of “I Started a Joke” features Freeman in the video. In May 2009, he starred in Boy Meets Girl, a four-part drama about the lives of Veronica and Danny after an accident causes them to switch bodies.
Martin Freeman’s parents: Meet Geoffrey Freeman, Philomena Freeman
Martin John Christopher Freeman, the youngest of five children, was born on September 8, 1971, in Aldershot, Hampshire. When he was a child, his parents, Philomena (née Norris) and naval officer Geoffrey Freeman, divorced.
His father died of a heart attack when Freeman was 10 years old. Freeman’s paternal grandfather, Leonard W. Freeman, was a medic in the British Expeditionary Force during World War II and was killed in action at Dunkirk just a few days before the Dunkirk evacuation. Leonard’s father, Richard, was born blind and worked as a piano tuner and organist at St Andrew’s Church in West Tarring before becoming a music teacher in Kingston upon Hull.
Freeman studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama and has appeared in at least 18 television shows, 14 theatrical productions, and several radio productions.
