Jonny Miller

With a charm and wit that was uniquely British, Jonny Lee Miller brought a passion and dedication to acting that earned him a lasting – though mostly under-the-radar – career from stage to screen. Whether portraying a heroin-addict in Danny Boyle’s critically acclaimed “Trainspotting” (1996) or a record-breaking cyclist in “The Flying Scotsman” (2006), Miller’s varied performances earned him much notice in Britain. In America, he was known mainly as Angelina Jolie’s ex-husband. But that all changed in 2008, when he stormed primetime American television as a prophetic lawyer who sees – among many things, singer George Michael performing “Faith in his living room – on ABC’s “Eli Stone” (2008- ). With this high profile role, Miller was primed to become a major leading player.

Born Nov. 15, 1972 in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England to Anne Lee and Alan Miller, a stage manager for the BBC, Miller was raised in the southwest London borough of Kingston upon Thames. Miller attended the Tiffin Boys School Kingston, where he played saxophone in the Tiffin Swing Band and took up an interest in acting. At the age of 17, Miller worked as a theater usher and began to pursue acting professionally – a profession that ran in Miller’s family, as his grandfather was legendary actor Bernard Lee – best known as “M” in the first 11 James Bond films. Miller began to land roles on a number of British television series, including “Inspector Morse” (BBC, 1991) and “Cadfael” (BBC, 1994). He made his feature film debut in 1995 as a misfit computer genius who takes on a corporate evildoer in Iain Softley's “Hackers.” Co-starring opposite then fellow up-and-comer Angelina Jolie, Miller found chemistry on and off screen – after rooming together while shooting the film, the pair eloped to Vegas in 1996, with Jolie wearing rubber pants and a shirt inscribed with Miller’s name in her blood. The passion was short-lived, however, and the pair separated a year later before eventually divorcing. Jolie later claimed responsibility for the split, stating that they “were simply too young.” Despite the split, the two remained extremely close though the years.

Miller went on to break out on screen as Sickboy in Danny Boyle’s edgy, Oscar-nominated “Trainspotting.” Portraying a heroin addict obsessed with Sean Connery, Miller gave a memorable performance alongside good friend, Ewan McGregor. Bonding with his co-star, Miller and McGregor co-founded the British film production company, Natural Nylon, along with friends Jude Law; his wife, Sadie Frost; Sean Pertwee; Damon Bryant and Bradley Adams. Miller made his U.S. television debut that same year as Woodrow Call in Larry McMurtry’s “Lonesome Dove” prequel, “Dead Man’s Walk” (ABC, 1996). He went on to deliver a thoughtful, intense performance as a working-class soldier struck mute by the horrors of WWI in “Regeneration” (1997), and appeared as a career-obsessed businessman opposite Julie Christie and Nick Nolte in Alan Rudolph’s “Afterglow” (1997). Next, Miller starred as an 18th century English highway robber opposite Robert Carlyle in “Plunkett & Macleane” (1999) and went on to give a notable performance as Edmund Bertram, cousin and soul mate to Frances O’Connor’s Fanny Price, in the Jane Austen adaptation, “Mansfield Park” (1999).

Miller went on to appear in the less-seen horror flick, “Wes Craven Presents Dracula 2000” (2000) and opposite off-screen buddy, Jude Law, as a lowly courier who joins a North London gang in “Love, Honor and Obey” (2000). Miller next found a starring role as “mad, bad and dangerous to know” poet Lord Byron in the BBC biopic, “Byron” (2003) and proceeded to work with Woody Allen as part of an ensemble cast in “Melinda and Melinda” (2004). Continuing his climb, he appeared as an FBI profiler-in-training in the thriller “Mindhunters” (2005) and as bad guy Oren Goodchild opposite Charlize Theron in the live-action film adaptation of the commercially disappointing “Aeon Flux” (2005).

Portraying record-breaking Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree in “The Flying Scotsman,” Miller received a Best Actor nomination at the Scottish BAFTAs. His career in an upswing, he went on to land his first primetime American television role in 2007 on the series “Smith” (CBS, 2006). Though the series was much hyped, it was cancelled after airing only three episodes. Miller got another shot at primetime television, however, when he quickly landed the title role on ABC’s midseason drama, “Eli Stone.” As Stone – a cutthroat lawyer who finds himself having prophetic visions after he is diagnosed with a brain aneurysm – Miller finally found stateside success. Despite controversy over the pilot episode – the American Academy of Pediatrics opposed a plot line that depicted childhood vaccines as the cause for autism in children – “Stone” received favorable ratings.