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Paul Nicholls

Paul Nicholls was born Paul Greenhalgh on 12 April 1979 in Bolton, Greater Manchester.
He started his Film & TV career when his earliest TV appearance was at age 10 in Children's Ward (ITV(UK), 1989) followed by the BBC children's drama Earthfasts and later The Biz (BBC, 1994), a teenage performing arts drama filmed at Hampton Court. However, it was his character of Joe Wicks in BBC's long-running serial drama Eastenders which earned him national attention.
Although he was offered a lucrative long-term Eastenders contract by the BBC and was reportedly the highest-paid teen actor in the UK, Paul did not wish to be typecast and left the series in Sep 1997. Subsequently, the BBC created a role for him as PC Terry Sydenham in the police series City Central which he played from 1998 to 1999. In 1999, he portrayed Jesus (as the character Daniel) in the 3-part BBC Easter production of The Passion (ironically, in 2008 he portrayed Judas in another BBC Easter series of the same title).
Other TV appearances include acting alongside Julie Walters in the 2003 BBC adaptations of The Canterbury Tales (as a pomiscuous young actor whose character is based on King Arthur's knight in Chaucer's story), as notorious art thief Adam Rice in the final episode in series 3 of Hustle and as the romantic idealist Gary Scant in the lead role of the 2004 6-part BBC miniseries A Thing Called Love.
Movie appearances include the WW1 drama The Trench (1999), Trevor Bentham's 1999 adaptation of the 1776 romantic comedy play The Clandestine Marriage (for which he grew very long hair), Nick Love's Goodbye Charlie Bright (2001), If Only (2004) and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004). He appeared briefly as a street boxer in Nick Love's 1999 short film Love Story.
He appeared in several teenage stage roles, notably as Aladdin in Aladdin - Genie of the Ring at the Central Theatre, Chatham (1996/97) and as Billy Fisher in the 1998 production of Billy Liar at the Bush Theatre, London. His West End debut was in 2000 as Edmund Tyrone in Eugene O'Neill's adaptation of Long Day's Journey Into Night at the Lyric. Other London stage appearances include Mrs Steinberg and the Byker Boy at the Bush Theatre (2000), Vincent in Brixton at the Royal National Theatre (2002) and a return to the Lyric in Festen in 2005. He was due to play a leading role in the Donmar Warehouse's 2006 production of Phaedra, but had to withdraw with a severe throat condition.
In July 2007, Paul played the part of Terry in Channel 4's Clapham Junction. This hard-hitting drama depicted 36 hours in the life of several gay men and was shown as part of a series of programmes commemorating the 40th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexual practices in England & Wales in 1967. His most recent television appearance was as Rob in "Harley Street" alongside Suranne Jones (July - August 2008).



What members say | Filmography

Paul Nicholls - what members say


  • Goodbye Charlie Bright
  • Goodbye Charlie Bright review by from potters bar, england
    Rated - 2.0 stars not the best 14 August 2006
    ...itish film. an early look at danny dyer who i think is a great actor but i felt Paul Nicholls and danny dyers characters are the wrong way round. worth a watch but don't exp...   Read customer review
  • Fairy Tales
  • Fairy Tales review by williamsgwynfa from gwaenysgor
    Rated - 5.0 stars superb........... 16 January 2008
    ... Billy Goat - Billy Goat, is a boy band made up of brothers Connor (played by Paul Nicholls) and Dean Gruff (played by Mathew Horne) and friend Rafiq Bhavani (played by Ni...   Read customer review
  • If Only
  • If Only review by A customer from Banbury
    Rated - 4.0 stars Good 22 February 2009
    ...A nice film. Paul Nicholls looks and sounds remarkably like Jude Law. (dont know if they are related). Seeing his girlfriend die, his life is replayed again over the same da...   Read customer review

Paul Nicholls - filmography


  • Candy Cabs (2011)
    Starring: Jo Joyner,  Lisa Millett,  Paul Kaye
    Director: Jane Lush
    Certificate: Certificate: TBC
    Britain's most glamorous taxi fleet. A group of friends set up their own, all-female taxi firm in the face of their chaotic personal lives, and opposition from existing companies. Comedy ensues as they struggle to make the business work.
    2 stars out of 5 35% from 9 members
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  • Daylight Robbery on DVD (2008)
    Starring: Geoff Bell,  Justin Salinger,  Vas Blackwood
    Director: Paris Leonti
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    A group of men check in early for their flight to Germany to support England at the World Cup. However, this is to establish an alibi for a heist at a London bank where millions of pounds in used notes is being held, awaiting incineration. Will they be able to pull off the job and catch their plane?
    3 stars out of 5 60% from 2,909 members
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  • The Passion (2 discs) on DVD (2008)
    Starring: James Nesbitt,  Joseph Mawle,  Paul Nicholls
    Director: Michael Offer
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Temple priests prepare themselves for the influx of pilgrims to Jerusalem for Passover, as does Roman governor Pontius Pilate (James Nesbitt, BLOODY SUNDAY). Meanwhile, Jesus the Galilean (Joseph Mawle, SILENT WITNESS), is about to enter Jerusalem through the East Gate on a donkey's colt. BBC mini-..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 67% from 87 members
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  • Harley Street (2 discs) on DVD (2008)
    Starring: Paul Nicholls,  Suranne Jones,  Kim Medcalf
    Director: Paul Whittington
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Glossy medical drama, HARLEY STREET, follows the tense lives, loves, and scalpel-slicing-action of a lively General Practice on London's prestigious Harley Street. Suranne Jones stars as strong-minded Dr. Martha Elliot, who heads up the Practice's gifted staff, including; Dr. Robert Fielding (Paul ..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 66% from 69 members
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  • If Only on DVD (2004)
    Starring: Jennifer Love Hewitt,  Paul Nicholls,  Tom Wilkinson
    Director: Gil Junger
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Shortly after a painful fight with her boyfriend Ian (Paul Nicholls), Samantha (Jennifer Love Hewitt) dies in a terrible accident. Miraculously, Ian gets an opportunity to live the fatal day all over again and possibly prevent her death.
    3 stars out of 5 56% from 3,843 members
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  • A Thing Called Love (2004)
    Starring: Paul Nicholls,  Liz White,  David Gillespie
    Director: Andy DeEmmony,  Ed Fraiman
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Gary Scant is a man on a mission: to match great sex with real love. As the ultimate romantic, Gary is certain 'the one' is out there and he's determined to find her... Even if that means dumping his girlfriend, Mel, on Valentine's night when she was under the impression they were about to get ..read more »
    2.5 stars out of 5 50% from 10 members
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  • Gunpowder, Treason And Plot (2004)
    Starring: Robert Carlyle,  Emilia Fox,  Paul Nicholls
    Director: Gillies Mackinnon
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Award-winning writer Jimmy McGovern explores the lives of Mary Queen of Scots and her son, James I in this BBC drama. Robert Carlyle leads a prestigious cast in this lavish production. Peopled with infamous characters, driven by compelling drama and life with love, lust, politics and prejudice, we ..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 65% from 808 members
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  • Goodbye Charlie Bright on DVD (2001)
    Starring: Paul Nicholls,  Danny Dyer,  Dani Behr
    Director: Nick Love
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    Two lifelong friends discover that growing up sometimes means growing apart in this gritty British drama. Charlie (Paul Nicholls) and Justin (Roland Manookian) are a pair of best friends who grew up together in a rough-and-tumble London neighborhood, close enough that some of Charlie's pals ..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 61% from 3,792 members
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  • The Clandestine Marriage (1999)
    Starring: Nigel Hawthorne,  Joan Collins,  Timothy Spall
    Director: Christopher Miles
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    A period film, set around an English country house whose owners want to arrange a marriage of convenience between their elder daughter and an aristocratic heir of a hard-up noble family. The planned marriage suffers a last-minute upset when the would-be husband switches affections to the bride's sister.
    3.5 stars out of 5 65% from 9 members
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  • The Trench on DVD (1999)
    Starring: Paul Nicholls,  Daniel Craig,  Danny Dyer
    Director: William Boyd
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    THE TRENCH tells the story of a group of young British soldiers on the eve of the Battle of the Somme in the summer of 1916, the worst defeat in British military history. Against this ill-fated backdrop, the movie depicts the soldiers' experience as a mixture of boredom, fear, panic, and ..read more »
    2.5 stars out of 5 52% from 1,953 member
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Paul Nicholls facts

5 most recent films

Midsomer Murders - Series 14 - A Rare Bird - 3.5 stars
Candy Cabs - 2.0 stars
Secret Diary of a Call Girl - S04 E01 - 3 stars
Secret Diary of a Call Girl - S04 E07 - 3 stars
Secret Diary of a Call Girl - S04 E06 - 3 stars

5 highest-rated films

Secret Diary Of A Call Girl - Series 4 - 4.0 stars
The Passion - 3.5 stars
Harley Street - 3.5 stars
Fairy Tales - 3.5 stars
Gunpowder, Treason And Plot - 3.5 stars

5 lowest-rated films

Candy Cabs - 2.0 stars
A Thing Called Love - 2.5 stars
The Clandestine Marriage - 3.5 stars
Midsomer Murders - Series 14 - A Rare Bird - 3.5 stars
The Trench - 2.5 stars

Most frequent co-stars

Billie Piper - 20 times - show films
Gemma Chan - 19 times - show films
Iddo Goldberg - 19 times - show films
Roger Barclay - 19 times - show films
Ashley Madekwe - 19 times - show films

Most frequent directors

Owen Harris - 19 times - show films
Marc Munden - 3 times - show films
John Mackay - 3 times - show films
Julia - 3 times - show films
Andy de Emmony - 3 times - show films