Jared Harris
Biography
Life Story
Jared Francis Harris was born in London, England. He is the son of Irish actor Richard Harris and Welsh actress Elizabeth Harris (Elizabeth Rees), and brother of Damian Harris and Jamie Harris. Despite his lineage, Jared showed little interest in becoming an actor, until he was cast in a college production while attending North Carolina's Duke University (USA), where he studied drama and literature, in the early 1980s.
After graduation, Jared returned to the UK where he attended Central School of Speech and Drama and then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, performing in Mark Rylance's "Hamlet", "Romeo & Juliet", "The Silent Woman" and "A Clockwork Orange". In 1989, he had his screen debut in The Rachel Papers (1989).
In 1990, while on vacation in New York, Jared auditioned for the role of Hotspur in "Henry IV, Part 1", which he played at the New York Shakespeare Festival following his brilliant course as an excellent theater artist in the off-Broadway play "Ecstasy", for which he was honored with an Obie Award in 1992.
Widely regarded as the one of greatest stage and screen actors both in his native Great Britain and internationally, from his breakthrough role as Andy Warhol in I Shot Andy Warhol (1996) and VH1's Two of Us (2000) where he portrayed John Lennon to Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) and Lincoln (2012), Jared Harris expressed his unparalleled qualities as a sublime "chameleon" in a wide range of roles full of profoundness, intelligence and insights through his praised performances, among others, in The Last of the Mohicans (1992), Natural Born Killers (1994), Smoke (1995), Happiness (1998), How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog (2000), Igby Goes Down (2002), B. Monkey (1998), Shadow Magic (2000), Mr. Deeds (2002), Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008).
His tour-de-force mesmerizing, staggering and fascinating interpretations of substantial mastery, subtlety, charisma and generosity also include some of his finest precious gems on TV such as in The Other Boleyn Girl (2003), The Riches (2007), Fringe (2008), Mad Men (2007), The Crown (2016), The Terror (2018) and Chernobyl (2019).
Jared is married to Allegra Riggio, a well-known lighting designer and TV host.
Family
Trivia
Son of Richard Harris and Elizabeth Rees.
Cousin of Annabelle Wallis.
Former stepson of Rex Harrison.
Middle brother of director-actor Damian Harris and Jamie Harris.
At the age of thirteen, he appeared on his father Richard Harris's album of poetry and songs "I, in the membership of my days" together with his brothers Jamie Harris and Damian Harris.
Former son-in-law of Edward Fox and Joanna David.
His father, Richard Harris, and ex-wife's uncle, James Fox, appeared together in Patriot Games (1992).
Graduated from Duke University in 1984 with a BFA in Drama.
Spent a lot of time in the Bahamas as a child.
(November 9, 2013) Married his girlfriend of 4 years Allegra Riggio following a 5-month-long engagement. Their relationship began in November 2009.
Not a relation of Ed Harris.
He is of Irish, Welsh, and English descent.
Turned down a role in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). Harris said on CBS Local News' The Sit Down (7 Aug 2019) it was because he felt the script was rubbish and filled with soft-core porn. After seeing the finished film, he realized how much Francis Ford Coppola's vision improved the raw text as well as the story and character development.
When asked what he was most proud of in his career, he answered with Mad Men (2007), The Crown (2016) and The Terror (2018), saying he might give the edge to Mad Men (2007). Conversely, he has disavowed his involvement in Lost in Space (1998) because his voice was dubbed by another actor.
Personal Quotes
I never lost an argument and my parents assumed I would be a lawyer. They cast me in that role.
I've auditioned for normal characters. But I never get cast.
There were a few times where I could have worked with my father (Richard Harris) at the beginning. One of them was in The Field (1990) - they couldn't find someone to play the son and they offered the part to me. But my father and I didn't think it was a good idea and looking back I think we made the right decision.
[on Daniel Day-Lewis' work ethic] His attention to detail and commitment is truly impressive, but people refer to it as being an imposition or intimidating. It isn't. Actors do that stuff all the time. He just likes to "stay in it", and he asks that you respect that, by not talking about bullshit.
[on his father] He enjoyed conflict and argument, in fact his mind was at its clearest when he was in an argument.
