James Nesbitt Bofur              Full Name: James Nesbitt Birthplace: Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland Birth Date: 15th January, 1965 Marital Status: He is married to Sonia Forbes-Adams         Trivia: When he was 18, he began attending Ulster Polytechnic working for a degree in French but dropped out after a year and moved to London to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama His mother, May was a civil servant Was raised an Ulster Presbyterian He has three sisters, all of whom are teachers In 2010 he was given the ceremonial position of Chancellor of the University of Ulster Moved to Coleraine, County Londonderry when he was 11 years old Has been a UNICEF UK ambassador since 2005 Signed a contract with the American agency, United Talent Agency in 2009 Lived in house adjoining a one room school, with had room for just 32 pupils. His father James, was the headmaster and also a teacher His big break came with the TV comedy series Cold Feet (1998-03) Has been playing golf since he was a teenager When he accepted the role of Bofur in The Hobbit he had never read the book Performed in a Christmas production of Oliver! at the Riverside Theatre when he was 13 years old. He played the Artful Dodger and continued to perform at the theatre for another three years At the age of 15, he obtained his first job, as a bingo caller He met his wife Sonia, a fellow actress, in 1989 while they were on a worldwide tour of Hamlet. He played Guildenstern and she played Ophelia. They married in 1993 During filming of The Hobbit his mother passed away Made his professional stage debut in 1987 performing in Up on the Roof which transferred from Plymouth to the West End Attended Blagh Primary School and later Coleraine Academical Institution Is an honorary patron of Youth Lyric, one of Ireland's largest theatre schools Has two daughters. Peggy born in 1998 and Mary in 2001 Received an Honorary Doctor of Letters for "services to drama" from the University of Ulster in 2003 In the 1970's along with his father and a sister, he narrowly avoided being injured after a car bomb exploded outside of Ballymena County Hall His wife and children have moved to New Zealand while he is filming The Hobbit Notable Projects: Murphy's Law (TV Series) (2003-07) Jekyll (TV Series) (2007) Cold Feet (TV Series) (1997-03) Waking Ned (1998) Current Projects: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) The Hobbit: There and Back Again (2014)   < <Back to cast biographies index