Arts Show Special features University of Ulster Chancellor James Nesbitt in Conversation

Dr Nesbitt is the first of a trio of local, high profile actors to join Marie-Louise Muir in the three-part spin-off from monthly series, ‘The Arts Show’.

The in-depth interview, which was filmed entirely in the School of Media, Film and Journalism’s film and television studio on the Coleraine campus, will be an in-depth look at the popular actor’s life and career

Programme two, on Thursday, March 7, features Derry~Londonderry star, Bronagh Gallagher and the following week, on March 14, the actor Adrian Dunbar is the subject.

In 2009, Enniskillen-born Dunbar was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Ulster in recognition of his services to acting.

Over the course of the series, the three celebrities talk about their relationship with home and how it has shaped them and their work, how they started out and their inspirations and influences.

In Thursday night’s programme, Dr Nesbitt shares stories from his early days on stage at the Riverside Theatre to hisrecent blockbuster success with ‘The Hobbit’.

He talks to Marie-Louise about one of his first acting roles as the Artful Dodger at the Riverside Theatre, Coleraine and gives his opinion on his performance as a 15-year-old in a summer stage show in archive footage from 1980.

He also speaks about his role in the hit television series ‘Cold Feet’; how playing civil rights leader, Ivan Cooper, in the film ‘Bloody Sunday’ marked a turning point in his acting career and what it was like sharing a fight scene with Liam Neeson in ‘Five Minutes of Heaven’.