Neil Jackson British actor Date of Birth: 05.03.1976 Country: Great Britain

Biography of Neil Jackson

Neil Jackson, the British actor, was born in England in 1976. He was the second of four sons to parents Iv and Dennis Jackson. From a young age, Neil had a passion for sports, and his achievements during his school years included multiple competitions in tennis, rugby, and swimming.

After living with his family in the countryside, Neil moved to Cardiff, Wales, where he became a student at the University of Wales Institute Cardiff. By this time, Jackson already had experience performing on stage at the Youth National Theatre, but his main focus was on sports. He decided to switch his specialization to boxing and became quite successful in the sport. He won a 'gold' medal in the lightweight division at the national inter-university competitions. A couple of years later, he achieved the same title in the middleweight division.

However, Neil Jackson realized that sports alone did not fulfill his aspirations in life. He had a desire to become an actor but didn't know where to start. He wrote a musical, which he presented at a competition for young authors. The musical soon caught the interest of London producers, including Michael Armstrong, a director and screenwriter. Neil became a student at Armstrong's Acting Academy and acquired the necessary acting skills by 2002.

Neil's on-screen career began in television, where he had the opportunity to appear in numerous series, including British shows like "Silent Witness," "Heartbeat," and "Dream Team." His first major film role was in Oliver Stone's historical action movie "Alexander," for which Jackson was personally selected by the renowned director. Afterward, he continued acting in his homeland, appearing in small roles in Colin Teague's war action film "The Last Drop" and Neil Jordan's comedy "Breakfast on Pluto" in 2005.

Not limiting himself to acting in front of the camera, Neil returned to writing and penned the script for the thriller "The Passage" in 2006, which was later directed by Mark Heller. Neil also acted in the film. In the same year, he played another role in the thriller "The Thirst" by Jeremy Kasten. His breakthrough role came in 2008 when he worked with director Christian B. Bagger on the short film "15-40."

In 2006, Neil Jackson joined the cast of a successful Bond film. Director Marc Forster filmed the production in six countries, including Panama, where Neil's scenes were shot. On television, Neil appeared in series such as "CSI: Miami," "Cold Case," "Stargate: Atlantis," and the comedy project "How I Met Your Mother." He is best remembered by viewers of the series "Blade: The Series" for his portrayal of the charming vampire Marcus Van Sciver. Interestingly, Neil initially auditioned for a different, smaller role in the series but was given the opportunity to try out for the role of Marcus Van Sciver. Upon reading the lines with an American accent, Neil noticed that the producers were not pleased. He then repeated the scene with his native British accent, which impressed the producers so much that the entire character was rewritten for Neil Jackson.

Among Neil Jackson's recent roles are his work in Paul McGuigan's science fiction film "Push" in 2009, a role in the series "The Cleaner," and the character of Sasha Belov in the family drama series "Make It or Break It," which premiered on ABC.