{{Short description|Northern Irish actor and director}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Jonathan Harden | image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing brackets --> | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = | birth_place = Belfast, Northern Ireland | occupation = {{hlist|Actor|director}} | years_active = 2001–present | spouse = {{marriage|Bronágh Taggart<br />|2008}} }} '''Jonathan Harden''' is a Northern Irish actor and director from Belfast.
==Early life== Jonathan Harden was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.{{cn|date=January 2026}}
==Career== Harden's most notable credits include the roles of Martin Baxter in Australian miniseries ''Mix Tape'', David 'Jonty' Johnston in BBC cop drama ''Blue Lights'', Sean Rawlins in the crime drama series ''Unforgotten'', Gregory in the final season of the comedy series ''Peep Show'', Brendan Murphy in Jimmy McGovern's 2021 prison drama ''Time'', and a Resistance Monitor in ''Star Wars: The Last Jedi''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.co.uk/m-detail/2243675/112810580/peep-show|title="Peep Show" Episode Guide|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4192812/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1|title=Unforgotten (TV Series 2015– )|website=IMDb|date=8 April 2018|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2527336/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_2|title=Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)|website=IMDb|date=15 December 2017|publisher=}}</ref>
Harden's stage credits include Henry Joy McCracken in Stewart Parker's [http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/event/213650/northern-star ''Northern Star''] at the Finborough Theatre and ''Children of the Sun'' at the Royal National Theatre under the direction of the late Howard Davies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/discover-more/artists/jonathan-harden|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207233247/http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/discover-more/artists/jonathan-harden|url-status=dead|title=Jonathan Harden|website=National Theatre|archivedate=7 February 2015}}</ref> Of his performance in Northern Star, the Time Out review wrote, "Jonathan Harden reveals himself as an extraordinary talent whose performance leaves an afterglow like a good whiskey."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/event/213650/northern-star|title=Time Out review of Northern Star by Rachel Haliburton|website=Time Out}}</ref>
Harden provided the narration for 2015 BAFTA-winning short film ''Boogaloo and Graham''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.northernirelandscreen.co.uk/news/3819/northern-ireland-short-film-boogaloo-and-graham-receives-oscar-nomination.aspx|title=''Northern Ireland short film Boogaloo and Graham receives Oscar nomination''|publisher=NI Screen|access-date=2015-02-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150126130455/http://www.northernirelandscreen.co.uk/news/3819/northern-ireland-short-film-boogaloo-and-graham-receives-oscar-nomination.aspx|archive-date=2015-01-26|url-status=dead}}</ref> He has also provided voices for several video games, most notably as Xenophilius Lovegood in ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1571403|title=Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (Video Game 2010)|website=IMDb|date=16 November 2010}}</ref> In 2014, he played Axl in the Ridley Scott-produced ''Halo'' film ''Halo: Nightfall''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/programme/b-6rasbc/halo-nightfall/|title= Halo: Nightfall |publisher=Radio Times}}</ref>
In 2015, Harden launched ''In Anything at the Minute? The Honest Actors' Podcast'', a project centred on interviews with other jobbing actors and available on iTunes.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.inanything.com| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20020529165952/http://inanything.com/| url-status = dead| archive-date = 29 May 2002| title = In Anything at the Minute?}}</ref> In 2017, he produced and directed his first film project, ''Guard'', a female-led boxing film set in Belfast.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guardshortfilm.com/credits|title=Guard Short Film full credits|website=Guard Official Site|access-date=16 August 2017|archive-date=17 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817035850/http://guardshortfilm.com/credits/|url-status=dead}}</ref> It had its debut at the Galway Film Fleadh in July 2017, and soon after had its North American premiere at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.galwayfilmfleadh.com/index.php/project/new-irish-shorts-5/|title=''New Irish Shorts 5''|publisher=Galway Film Fleadh|access-date=16 August 2017|archive-date=3 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803210200/http://www.galwayfilmfleadh.com/index.php/project/new-irish-shorts-5/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://riiff.festivalgenius.com/2017/films/guard_jonathanharden_RIIFF|title=''Guard by Jonathan Harden''|publisher=Rhode Island International Film Festival|access-date=16 August 2017|archive-date=16 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816233450/http://riiff.festivalgenius.com/2017/films/guard_jonathanharden_RIIFF|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2018, it was followed by ''Troubles'', on the subject of male mental health, which again debuted at the Galway Film Fleadh.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7834678/=T|title=Troubles(2018))|website=IMDb}}</ref>
Following his venture into film directing, Harden made his London stage directing debut in 2020, with Joe Crilly's ''On McQuillan's Hill'' at the Finborough Theatre.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://finboroughtheatre.co.uk/production/on-mcquillans-hill/|title=On McQuillan's Hill|website=Finborough Theatre}}</ref> The production sold out and received critical acclaim, including five stars from the ''Morning Star'' and four stars from ''The Stage''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/c/mcquillans-hill-finborough-theatre-london|title=On McQuillan's Hill Review|website=Morning Star Online|date=12 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2020/on-mcquillans-hill-review-at-finborough-theatre-london-burns-with-authenticity/|title=On McQuillan's Hill Review|website=The Stage}}{{dead link|date=July 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Originally produced in 2000 at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast, the Finborough production was an English premiere and marked the 20th anniversary of the play's Belfast debut.
In 2021, Harden appeared in Jimmy McGovern's prison drama ''Time'' as lifer, Brendan Murphy. The role earned him praise from many, with ''Esquire'' calling this performance, "a highly-charged, emotive turn, and the ''Sunday Life'' noting it as "superb".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/tv/a36616044/time-stephen-graham-and-jimmy-mcgovern-interview/|title=Time Review|website=Esquire UK|date=3 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Little|first=Ivan|date=2021-06-13|title=Harden's blinding turn in McGovern jail drama|work=Sunday Life}}</ref>
==Personal life== Harden is a vegan and enjoys running.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/jonatharden/ {{dead link|date=April 2022|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> He is married to Northern Irish actress Bronágh Taggart.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishnews.com/arts/2016/10/20/news/the-fall-actress-enters-into-boxing-ring-in-new-film-746137/|title=The Fall's Bronagh Taggart enters into boxing ring in new film|date=20 October 2016|website=The Irish News}}</ref>
==Filmography== ===Film=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year !! Title !! Role |- | 2008 || ''Fifty Dead Men Walking'' || Young Man's Brother |- | 2009 || ''Five Minutes of Heaven'' || David |- | 2009 || ''Ditching'' || Paul |- | 2009 || ''Ghost Machine'' || Benny |- | 2011 || ''Dreams of a Life'' || Cleaner |- | 2011 || ''Whole Lotta Sole'' || Sammy Pavis |- | 2012 || ''Jump'' || Richie |- | 2012 || ''The Good Man'' || Stephen |- | 2012 || ''Hives'' || Bus |- | 2013 || ''The Invisible Woman'' || Charles / Mr Arnott |- | 2014 || ''Rise of the Footsoldier II'' || Dave |- | 2015 || ''The Ones Below'' || Mark |- | 2015 || ''The Truth Commissioner'' || Gleeson |- | 2016 || ''Star Wars: The Last Jedi'' || Resistance Monitor |- | 2017 || ''Another Mother's Son'' || Bookshop Owner |- | 2017 || ''Victoria & Abdul'' || Kaiser Wilhelm II |- | 2017 || ''Justice.net'' || Gerald McNulty |- | 2018 || ''Doing Money'' || DC Liam Partridge |- | 2020 || ''The Courier'' || Leonard |}
===Television=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year !! Title !! Role |- | 2009 || ''Small Island'' || Postal Worker #1 |- | 2010 || ''Coming Up'' || The Young Man |- | 2012 || ''Titanic: Blood and Steel'' || Walter Hill |- | 2012 || ''The Life and Adventures of Nick Nickleby'' || Newman Noggs |- | 2013 || ''The Mimic'' || Connor |- | 2014 || ''Halo: Nightfall'' || Axl |- | 2015|| ''Humans'' || Andy |- | 2015|| ''Unforgotten'' || Sean Rawlins |- | 2015|| ''Peep Show'' || Gregory |- | 2016|| ''Casualty'' || Dion Bateman |- | 2016|| ''My Mother and Other Strangers'' || Martin Brady |- | 2016|| ''SS-GB'' || Assassin |- | 2016|| ''The Secret'' || D.C. Devine |- | 2017 || ''EastEnders'' || DS Kye Anderson |- | 2018|| ''Dark Heart'' || Grant Balden |- | 2020|| ''COBRA'' || DI Miller |- | 2021|| ''Time'' || Brendan Murphy |- | 2022|| ''Sherwood'' || Reverend Wells |- |2023 | ''Blue Lights'' || Inspector David 'Jonty' Johnston |- | 2023|| ''World on Fire'' || Captain Briggs |- | 2024|| ''Ellis'' || Adam Reid |- | 2025|| ''Mix Tape'' || Martin Baxter |- | 2025|| ''The Rainmaker'' || Agent Nick Cistulli |- |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|2325042}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Harden, Jonathan}} Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Category:Male actors from Belfast Category:Male film actors from Northern Ireland Category:Male television actors from Northern Ireland Category:Male stage actors from Northern Ireland Category:Male video game actors from Northern Ireland Category:Male voice actors from Northern Ireland Category:Theatre directors from Northern Ireland Category:People educated at Rathmore Grammar School Category:Film directors from Belfast