Martin Freeman was born on 8th September 1971 in Aldershot, Hampshire, to Geoffrey Freeman (father), a naval officer, and Philomena Freeman (mother). His parents divorced when he was merely a child. Later, when he was 10, Martin’s father passed away because of a heart attack.
The actor went to the Salesian School, Chertsey, which was followed by Brooklands College of media studies. He is the youngest of five children; one of his older brothers named Tim Freeman, was a musician with the pop group Frazier Chorus.
A firm believer in his catholic faith, Freeman, is a vegetarian. The actor organized and umpired a charity cricket match to raise money for Christchurch earthquake victims in 2011.
Plays Paul Worsley on FX comedy ‘Breeders’ (2020)
Created by Simon Blackwell, Breeders is an FX parenting comedy that stars Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard as the flawed parents of two impressionable kids.
The official synopsis of Breeders reads:
FX’s Breeders is an uncompromising comedy that explores the lives of Paul (Martin Freeman) and Ally (Daisy Haggard) as they juggle full-time careers, aging parents, a mortgage and the unenviable curveballs of parenting their young children. When Ally’s estranged father appears on their doorstep, the family essentially takes on a third child – but this one comes with baggage and opinions.
Martin Freeman portrays the character of Paul Worsley, the husband of Ally Worsley, played by Daisy Haggard. The rest of the main cast includes their on-screen kids Luke Worsley and Eva Worsley, played by George Wakeman and Jayda Eyles. Meanwhile, Michael McKean plays the wacky grandpa of the children.
Martin Freeman plays Paul Worsley on FX’s ‘Breeders’ (2020).
Source: Instagram
Freeman’s character Paul is a caring father who realizes he isn’t quite the man he thought he was. His wife Ally runs a recording studio and is quite skilled at making Paul laugh. The husband and wife duo is compelled to juggle their careers, mortgage, the ups and downs in their relationship, and the challenges of raising their young kids.
Breeders premieres on FX with the first two of 10 episodes on 2nd March 2020, followed by the official release on 3rd March 2020 on FX on Hulu.
Freeman reveals how he navigates screaming and cursing at young children on FX’s ‘Breeders’
At the TCA panel in January 2020, Martin Freeman talked about how he handles the on-screen screaming at the child actors.
There are actually rules…about what they can and can’t see and hear. So obviously if there’s a lot of swearing, a lot of cursing in the scene, we do a cleaned-up dialogue version, and then once the kids have left then we get to do the swearing.
The actor continued,
We try to keep it as fun as possible. But there are also times where you have to instill in them that this is a serious [scene], that you’re going to be on the receiving end of a barrage of anger or temper.
Freeman along with the director of the series pilot, in fact, apologized twice to the kids because things had gone slightly out of hand. The actor said there was one particular scene where they were screaming and cursing at the children. George Wakeman, who plays Martin’s son, was initially fine with it but got quite upset a couple of minutes later.
Martin and the director simply explained it was merely a play. He added, “It takes a bit of handling in that way.” Meanwhile, speaking of the younger kid Jayda Eyles, the actor said, “Everything bounced off her.”
The young actors, George Wakeman & Jayda Eyles, are looking to leave their mark with the impressive display on FX’s Breeders.
Sherlock Season 5 – Will Dr. John Watson returns alongside Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes?
The popular BBC spy drama Sherlock, adapted from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels, is a critically acclaimed television masterpiece, created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. The series stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes while Martin Freeman plays Doctor John Watson. In addition, Sherlock’s archenemy Jim Moriarty, played by Andrew Scott, is a recurring character, and the conflict between the two is a consistent feature in the series.
So far, there have been four three-episode seasons of Sherlock in the span of seven years from 2010 to 2017. In addition, a special episode was released on 1st January 2016.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, respectively.
Source: Metro
Lately, fans are curious to learn whether there will be Sherlock season 5. Unfortunately, there’s no confirmation yet on the fifth installment of the series. However, the BBC drama is not officially canceled; therefore, there’s still a possibility it could happen. In the meantime, it’s anybody’s guess at the moment when precisely the series could potentially release if it does receive the green light.
The final episode of Sherlock season 4 aired on 15th January 2017.
Martin Freeman was married to his wife Amanda Abbington
Martin Freeman divorced his wife Amanda Abbington after 16 years.
Source: Telegraph
Martin Freeman tied the knot with his actress wife Amanda Abbington in 2000. The couple shares two children together, Joe Freeman (son), born in 2005, and Grace Freeman (daughter), born in 2008. Freeman is a close friend of English actor Simon Pegg, who is the godfather of Martin’s son, Joe.
The couple, who lived in Potters Bar in Hertfordshire, enjoyed several acting credits together, most notably Sherlock, Swinging with the Finkels, The Debt, The Robinsons, and The All Together.
Martin Freeman and his former wife Amanda Abbington, with their kids, Joe Freeman (son) and Grace Freeman (daughter).
Source: Pinterest
On 22nd December 2016, the actor announced he and Abbington had parted ways, during an interview with Financial Times magazine. Freeman said,
I’m not with Amanda anymore. It’s very, very amicable — I’ll always love Amanda.
Martin Freeman was married to his former wife Amanda Abbington, for 16 years from 2000 till 2016.
Freeman admitted smacking his children and calling them ‘little f—kers’ when they were younger
In February 2020, the actor revealed his flaws as a parent. As per The Independent, Freeman admitted,
I have smacked my kids. When they were very young. I smacked my kids, yes. And it’s not like a victory. It’s not, ‘Oh, I must be doing something right!’ But I have done it. When it is route one to something they need to understand and I cannot rationalize with them. Also I was impatient and at the end of my rope.
The actor confessed both his actions were a rule not supposed to be broken at his home, and he did so more than once. The actor said,
One of the rules is, don’t smack your kids or call them little f******. But, you know, I’ve done both. I’ve probably smacked twice, but I’ve called them little f***ers more than twice. I know I’m not supposed to do it, but there are so many images about how all just has to be brilliant that it makes people feel bad.
Martin added,
I’ve always been open about my shortcomings as a parent, because I’m a pretty good dad. A demonstrably loving father. And I’m not even sure I shout more than others, but I admit to it more than almost anybody. And, well, I’m doing a f–king show about it.
Freeman admitted he does not excel at maintaining his patience; however, he does shout less towards his kids now that they’re gaining more maturity. In fact, he appreciates the fact his kids let him know when he’s crossing the line.
What is Martin Freeman’s Net Worth?
Martin Freeman’s net worth is estimated to be $18 million.
Source: Instagram
One of Martin Freeman’s most notable roles came in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit film trilogy (2012-14), playing the role of Bilbo Baggins. Moreover, he is famed for the portrayal of Dr. John Watson in the British crime drama series Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular character Sherlock Holmes. He featured for 13 episodes over four seasons from 2010 to 2017.
In 2014, Freeman played the role of Lester Nygaard in an American black comedy-crime drama Fargo. Earlier, the actor portrayed the character of Tim Canterbury in a British mockumentary sitcom The Office (2001-03).
Martin’s notable film credits include Christmas-themed romantic comedy Love Actually (2003) as John, science-fiction comedy The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005) as Arthur Dent, and Christmas comedy Nativity! (2009) as Paul Maddens, and an anthology comedy trilogy Three Flavours Cornetto (2004-13); most recently on the final edition of the trilogy, sci-fi comedy The World’s End (2013) as Oliver Chamberlain.
Martin starred as Everett K. Ross in a couple of Marvel movies, Captain America: Civil War (2016) and Black Panther (2018). Meanwhile, the actor won several accolades in his career, most notably an Emmy, a BAFTA, an Empire, and a SAG award.
Martin Freeman’s net worth is estimated at $18 million.
Visit Celebs In-depth for more interesting Biography and details on Celeb Life.