Actor / Director Profile

Jared Harris was born Jared Francis Harris on August 24th 1961 in London, England. Son of famous Irish actor Richard Harris and Elizabeth Harris (Elizabeth Rees) and brother of Damian Harris (director, born in 1958) and Jamie Harris (actor, born in 1965). Most of his childhood was spent in boarding schools and Central School in London.Despite being the son of esteemed Irish actor Richard Harris, Jared showed little interest in following his father's career, 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 joined the Royal Shakespeare Company for many years, performing "Hamlet", "Romeo & Juliet", "Silent Woman" and "A Clockwork Orange". In 1989, he has 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.Still in New York, Jared appeared in the off-Broadway play "Ecstasy", for which he won an Obie Award in 1992.In 1996, he won recognition by playing famous pop artist Andy Warhol in I Shot Andy Warhol (1996). After that, Jared has appeared in lots of independent films such as Fathers' Day (1997), Smoke (1995), Lush (1999), How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog (2000), Igby Goes Down (2002), B. Monkey (1998), Shadow Magic (2000) and VH1's Two of Us (2000) (TV) where he portrayed John Lennon'.He also starred in big movies like Lost in Space (1998), Happiness (1998) and Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), to name a few.He formed The Sinachie Theater Company (NYC), and performs in both movies and theatre.Jared is dating Allegra Riggio, a well-known lighting designer and TV host.