Jeremy Northam makes cultivated Englishmen worth watching, particularly when their authority is open to question. We rate him most in ensembles, and his singing in Gosford Park is a particular pleasure.
Fi1m perspective
Jeremy Northam sings as Ivor Novello in Gosford Park (2001), and the singing is a useful place to begin. Here is an actor often cast as someone educated, well connected or officially in charge, being allowed to entertain. We warmed to the film when he sang, because the pleasure of the performance briefly mattered as much as the social distinctions around it. Robert Altman's ensemble gives that charm a proper setting: Northam can contribute to the country-house comedy without having to become its centre. The mystery can get muddled, but we would not exchange this company for a tidier plot.
Mr Knightley in Emma (1996) helped establish his place in British literary adaptations, though The Net (1995), opposite Sandra Bullock, had already taken him into a Hollywood thriller. The two strands continued through the 2000s, with British period films alongside American work. His strength is the educated man whose position gives him authority without settling whether he deserves our confidence; Enigma (2001) belongs to that side of his work. That is a useful speciality, but it can become limiting if good manners are all a part asks him to supply.
The television roles continued the pattern, from Sir Thomas More in The Tudors (2007) to Anthony Eden in The Crown (2016). We find the latter worth watching for its precise acting and its attention to the cost of royal duty in private life. Northam suits an ensemble that needs actors who can make official figures worth spending time with. The solemnity sometimes makes scenes drag, and a cast this capable cannot always compensate for the pace.
His ease in these settings is no guarantee, however: The Golden Bowl (2000) is a less persuasive fit. We would rather see a director give him something particular to do than depend on his familiar assurance to make a character interesting. Altman does precisely that, using Northam's singing as part of Novello's contribution to the ensemble and its comedy of class. Begin with Gosford Park, and allow for a mystery whose people are sometimes more rewarding than its clues.
Biography
Jeremy Northam is an English actor. He was born on 1 December 1961 in Cambridge and studied English at Bedford College, London, before training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
Northam began his career on stage, winning a Laurence Olivier Award for most promising newcomer for his performance in the 1990 Royal National Theatre revival of The Voysey Inheritance. He made his screen debut in the early 1990s and gained wider recognition with roles such as Mr Knightley in Emma (1996) and Ivor Novello in Gosford Park (2001), in which he also performed several songs. His later credits include Sir Thomas More in The Tudors (2007–2008) and Anthony Eden in The Crown (2016–2017).
