James Nelson-Joyce

English actor

James Nelson-Joyce

Nelson-Joyce, Soccer Aid for Unicef 2025

Born| 1989 or 1990 (age 35–36)[1]

Orrell Park,[2] Liverpool, Merseyside, England

Education| City of Liverpool College \+ Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
Occupation| Actor
Years active| 2013–present

James Nelson-Joyce (born 1989)[1] is an English actor, known for playing the tough guy or villainous characters, who has had roles in Mount Pleasant (2016), Little Boy Blue (2017), The Nest (2020), Time (2021), The Outlaws (2021), Industry (2022), The Gold (2023), A Town Called Malice (2023), Guy Ritchie's The Covenant (2023), Reputation (2024), Bird (2024), This City Is Ours and A Thousand Blows (both 2025).

## Early life

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Nelson-Joyce was born to a working-class family from Walton, Liverpool.[3] He left school without qualifications,[1] not realising at the time that he was dyslexic,[2] but followed advice from his English teacher, Miss Griffiths,[4] who recognised his potential for acting,[1] encouraging him to study at The City of Liverpool College.[5] He furthered his acting education at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.[6]

## Career

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Nelson-Joyce's first notable role, in 2017, was playing the teenage gang member James Yates,[4] who provided the gun that killed 11-year-old Rhys Jones in the ITV Liverpool based drama Little Boy Blue.[1][7] In 2019, Nelson-Joyce was the lead in the Lena Headey directed BAFTA nominated short film The Trap.[4]

In 2020, he co-starred with Maisie Williams in the Lena Headey directed music video "Miracle" by Madeon.[8]

In 2021, he starred in six episodes of the BBC Bristol based crime comedy series The Outlaws,[9] in a cast that included Christopher Walken, Stephen Merchant and Eleanor Tomlinson.[2] The same year, He worked with Stephen Graham and Sean Bean,[1] playing bullying convict Johnno in the Jimmy McGovern directed BBC prison drama Time.[9] Nelson-Joyce is known for playing the tough guy or villainous characters.[3]

In 2023, he continued in this role as Brian Reader in 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery series The Gold, also starring Hugh Bonneville, Dominic Cooper, Charlotte Spencer, Jack Lowden, Tom Cullen and Emun Elliott,[10] and in the Sky Max 1980s British family gangster series A Town Called Malice as an enemy of the Lord family.[4] The same year, he made a very brief appearance in Guy Ritchie's The Covenant alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and Alexander Ludwig.[4]

In October 2023, Nelson-Joyce filmed the lead role in the British indie crime feature Reputation, as drug dealer Wes.[11] The film premiered at the BIFA-qualifying Spirit of Independence Film Festival in 2024 and received strong reviews.[12][13][14]

In 2025, he secured a main role as boxer Edward 'Treacle' Goodson, working alongside Stephen Graham in A Thousand Blows,[15] and a main role as gangster Michael Kavanagh working alongside Sean Bean in This City Is Ours.[15]

The same year, Nelson-Joyce was named as one of the cast in the 7th season of Charlie Brooker's British anthology sci-fi future technology based television series Black Mirror in the episode "Plaything".[16]

## Filmography

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### Film

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Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

2019  | Money Shot | Sean  | Short films
Bee | Bradley
The Trap | Joe
2020  | The Nest | Taxi Driver
Brothers by Blood | Leonard  | Originally known as The Sound of Philadelphia
2021  | Eyeholes | Mac  | Short film
2023  | Guy Ritchie's The Covenant | Jack 'Jack Jack' Jackson  | [4]
Safe | Daz  | Short film
The Trap | Joe  | Feature-length version of the 2019 short film
2024  | Bird | Skate
Ryan Can't Read | Tyrone  | Short film
Reputation | Wes  | [11]
TBA | Amazing Grace | Karl  | Post-production

### Television

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

2013  | Shameless | Benny  | Series 11; episode 12: "Early Retirement"
2014  | Casualty | Frankie Macfarland  | Series 28; episode 30: "The Lies We Tell"
Cilla | Degsy  | Mini-series; episodes 1 & 2
2015  | No Offence | Franny Lowry  | Series 1; episode 4
2016  | Vera | Jason McNeive  | Series 6; episode 3: "The Moth Catcher"
Mount Pleasant | Liam  | Series 6; episodes 2–4 & 6–10
2017  | Little Boy Blue | James Yates  | Main role; mini-series; all 4 episodes
2019  | The Virtues | Ryan  | Mini-series; episode 2
The Rook | Henry Hylton Foster  | Episode 2: "Chapter 2"
World on Fire | Tony  | Series 1; episode 5
2021  |  Innocent | Aaron Holmes  | Series 2; episodes 3 & 4
Time | Johnno  | Series 1; episodes 1–3
The Outlaws | Spider  | Series 1; episodes 1–6
2022  | The Responder | Greg Gallagher  | Series 1; episodes 4 & 5
Industry | Jamie Henson  | Series 2; episodes 4 & 6
2023  | The Family Pile | Greg  | Main role; episodes 1–6
The Gold | Brian Reader  | Series 1; episodes 2, 3 & 6
A Town Called Malice | Barney  | Episodes 1 & 3
2024  | Strike | Preston 'Pez' Pierce  | Supporting role; series 6; episodes 1–3
2025  | A Thousand Blows | Edward 'Treacle' Goodson  | Main role; episodes 1–6
This City Is Ours | Michael Kavanagh  | Main role; episodes 1–8
Black Mirror | DCI Kano  | Series 7; episode 4: "Plaything"
Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes | Firearms officer Charlie 2  | Mini-series; episode 3

### Music videos

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Year  | Artist  | Track  | Notes

|
|
|

2020  | Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds | "Blue Moon Rising"  | [17]
Madeon | "Miracle"  | [8]
2024  | Fontaines D.C. | "Bug"
2025  | Jamie Webster | "Across the river"

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e f Hadfield, Charlotte (27 May 2021). "Scouse actor's chance encounter with Stephen Graham in Nando's that changed his career". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
2. ^ a b c Saunders, Lawrence (28 July 2021). "James Nelson-Joyce Interview". YM Liverpool. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
3. ^ a b Aubrey, Elizabeth (8 June 2021). "James Nelson-Joyce on playing Bez in the new Happy Mondays film: "He couldn't believe I was a Scouser!"". NME. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
4. ^ a b c d e f "Anon Fashion Magazine in Exclusive conversation with James Nelson Joyce for Feb22 Issue No. 45". Anon Fashion Magazine. 22 February 2022.
5. ^ "Spotlight: Mr James Nelson-Joyce". therakishgent.co.uk. 13 June 2021.
6. ^ "James Nelson-Joyce". italiaconti.com. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
7. ^ Becky Gamester-Newton (3 June 2021). "7 Questions with… Time's James Nelson-Joyce: 'A family friend of mine was Britain's most wanted man'". bt.com.
8. ^ a b Madeon, Maisie Williams, James Nelson-Joyce (as James Joyce) (29 July 2020). Madeon - Miracle (Official Video) (YouTube). Retrieved 15 May 2023.
9. ^ a b Flora Carr (10 June 2021). "Meet the cast of Time". radiotimes.com.
10. ^ Fletcher, Alex (1 February 2023). "The Gold: Everything you need to know about BBC One's true story heist drama". bt.com.
11. ^ a b "Reputation (2024)". filmfreeway.com. 2024.
12. ^ Haldon, Kevin. "'Reputation' Review (2024)". Nerdly.
13. ^ Gaskell, Darren. "Spirit of Independence 2024: Reputation". Warped Perspective.
14. ^ Rebecca, Film Carnage- (5 November 2024). "Review: Reputation". Film Carnage. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
15. ^ a b David Craig (24 March 2025). "Who is James Nelson-Joyce? Meet This City Is Ours and A Thousand Blows star". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
16. ^ Bethan Rose Jenkins (14 March 2025). ""Nothing is as it seems": Why Black Mirror's series 7 is the most "mind-expanding" watch yet". Good Housekeeping. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
17. ^ Noel Gallagher, Jack O'Connell, Gala Gordon, James Nelson-Joyce (as James Joyce) (30 January 2020). Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Blue Moon Rising (Official Video) (YouTube). Retrieved 15 May 2023.

## External links

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* James Nelson-Joyce on Instagram
* James Nelson-Joyce at IMDb ,