Jonny Lee Miller makes charm slightly suspect, and we like him most when a part leaves that suspicion unresolved. The accents are convincing; the more interesting skill is keeping morally uncertain characters worth spending time with.
Fi1m perspective
As Sick Boy in Trainspotting (1996), Jonny Lee Miller makes charm a reason to pay attention, not a reason to relax. We rate him highly in parts that allow that uncertainty to persist. His convincing Scottish accent helps him fit into Danny Boyle's ensemble alongside Ewan McGregor, without making the accent itself the attraction. We were frightened by Trainspotting because Miller and the other actors keep the addicts human; their suffering matters. The editing sometimes rushes past it, but the performances give us reason to care.
His film breakthrough came with Hackers (1995) and Trainspotting, followed by a less convincing stretch that included Plunkett & Macleane (1999) and Æon Flux (2005). Those uneven films are a reason to choose carefully, though they tell us less about his acting than the parts that gave him something to work with. We would not dismiss the later work simply because the early breakthrough remains the obvious starting point.
As cyclist Graeme Obree in The Flying Scotsman (2006), he had a role requiring physical and emotional change. On stage, Frankenstein (2011) asked him to alternate Victor Frankenstein and the Creature, a useful reminder that Sick Boy's charisma was only one of his tools. The more sustained turn came with Sherlock Holmes in Elementary (2012–2019), a television lead running to 154 episodes. That long-running lead makes sense for an actor comfortable working quietly as well as intensely.
He returned to Sick Boy with Boyle in T2 Trainspotting (2017), but we would resist making that character the measure of every other performance. The Scottish roles rightly draw attention to his accents, yet technical assurance is only part of what we value in him. We remain interested when a character can attract us without earning our confidence. Begin with Trainspotting; leave time for his Holmes.
Biography
Jonny Lee Miller, also credited as Jonathan Lee Miller, is an English actor. He was born on 15 November 1972 in Kingston upon Thames and comes from a family with acting connections: his parents were both involved in theatre and his maternal grandfather was actor Bernard Lee.
Miller began acting as a child with an uncredited appearance in the BBC series Doctor Who in 1982. He gained recognition for his role as Dade Murphy in Hackers (1995) and as Simon 'Sick Boy' Williamson in Trainspotting (1996), a part he reprised in T2 Trainspotting (2017).
His other notable credits include Æon Flux (2005), Dark Shadows (2012), The Crown (2016) as John Major, and a long-running portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in the series Elementary (2012–2019). He has also worked in theatre, sharing a Laurence Olivier Award for his performance in Frankenstein (2011).
