# Neil Jackson

Neil Jackson (born 5 March 1976) is an English actor, singer, musician and writer who has appeared in several television series and films, but is probably best known for his role as Marcus on Blade: The Series and Sasha on Make It or Break It.
His screenwriting credits include the film The Passage directed by Mark Heller and released in 2007. He has starred in several other films including Quantum of Solace and Push.

## Early life

Jackson was born in Luton, Bedfordshire, the second of four sons of Evelyn and Dennis Jackson.
Jackson began acting when studying drama at GCSE level in Harlington Upper School. While there he was in several school plays including Annie, Little Shop of Horrors, Hard Times, and West Side Story. He also acted in National Youth Theatre as a teenager before moving to Cardiff to study sport at the University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC) in Wales.
In Wales, Jackson started competitive boxing, entering in the British Universities Boxing Championships, an inter-university competition held throughout the whole of Britain, and won the gold at light middleweight. He went on to successfully defend his title two years later at middleweight. His boxing earned him a scholarship to stay on at UWIC, where he earned his master's degree and graduated in 1998.

## Career

Not knowing how to get into acting, Jackson wrote a musical and entered it into a national competition for new writers. It came in third and gained attention from producers in London including Michael Armstrong. He later enrolled in Michael Armstrong's Acting Academy, graduating in 2002.
Jackson's first professional acting job was in the UK national touring production of Strindberg's classic Miss Julie. He understudied the lead character, Jean, a role he took over in the West End production later that year. His breakthrough came in 2004 when Oliver Stone cast him as Perdiccas in the Hollywood blockbuster film, Alexander, alongside Colin Farrell and Angelina Jolie. When he met the director, he had a black eye and three stitches in his eyebrow, a fact he jokes must have assisted him as Stone cast him for the role on the spot. He was also in the British football drama Dream Team for a season as lottery winning chairman Phil Wallis.
In 2006, he made a guest appearance on American TV's Cold Case in the season 4 episode "Sandhogs", as "Donny", the victim killed during a cave-in by his brother-in-law. Then The Passage was released in 2007, a film written by Jackson and shot in Morocco, in which he played a lead character alongside Stephen Dorff. It won the 2008 Jury Award at the Durango Film Festival. He made further TV guest appearances: on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in the season 8 episode "A La cart"; as "Ian" on How I Met Your Mother; in 2008 on CSI: Miami; and in 2009 as a wraith on Stargate: Atlantis.
In 2008, Jackson filmed scenes on location in Panama for the Bond film Quantum of Solace, where he played the character of Mr. Slate. He previously starred in the ABC Family original series, Make It or Break It as Sasha Belov. Additionally, Jackson has appeared as Lucas Hellinger, a Blackout conspirator, on the ABC show FlashForward. In 2010, he starred as the chauffeur, Harry Spargo, in the BBC revival of Upstairs, Downstairs. Jackson was cast in the lead role of Sir Percy Blakeney/The Scarlet Pimpernel in Fairbanks Productions' adaptation of the classic tale in 2012.

## Other interests

Jackson is patron of UK spinal injuries charity Trust PA, in memory of a friend.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | Alexander | Perdiccas | |
| 2005 | Breakfast on Pluto | Man At Disco | |
| 2006 | The Last Drop | Flight Sergeant Simkins | |
| 2006 | The Thirst | Duke of Earl | |
| 2007 | Passage | Adam | |
| 2008 | 15-40 | Kai Hansen | Short film |
| 2008 | Quantum of Solace | Mr. Slate | |
| 2009 | Push | Victor Budarin | |
| 2009 | Table for Three | Tre | |
| 2010 | You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger | Alan | |
| 2012 | True Bloodthirst | Derricks | |
| 2016 | Nocturnal Animals | Christopher | |
| 2018 | Welcome to Marwen | Kurt | |
| 2021 | The King's Man | Captain Forrest | |
| TBA | Shiver | Lewis Brisbane | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001–2003 | Dream Team | Phil Wallis | 2 episodes |
| 2002 | Heartbeat | Jeremy Purves | Episode: "The Leopard's Spots" |
| 2002 | The House That Jack Built | Charlie | Episode: "Dynasty" |
| 2002 | Is Harry on the Boat? | Matthew | Episode: "#1.10" |
| 2002 | Ultimate Force | Luke | Episode: "Natural Selection" |
| 2002 | Silent Witness | Marcus Saul | 2 episodes |
| 2003 | The Last Detective | Stuart Gilley | Episode: "Lofty" |
| 2004 | Red Cap | Private Robbie McCoy | Episode: "Fighting Fit" |
| 2005 | Sugar Rush | Dale | Recurring role |
| 2005 | Stargate SG-1 | Khalek | Episode: "Prototype" |
| 2006 | Blade: The Series | Marcus Van Sciver | Main role |
| 2006 | Cold Case | John Donovan | Episode: "Sandhogs" |
| 2007 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Michael, The Waiter | Episode: "A La Cart" |
| 2007 | How I Met Your Mother | Ian | Episode: "Third Wheel" |
| 2008 | CSI: Miami | Paul Sanders | Episode: "Won't Get Fueled Again" |
| 2008 | The Cleaner | Duncan Collins | 2 episodes |
| 2008 | Stargate Atlantis | Wraith | Episode: "Vegas" |
| 2009–2012 | Make It or Break It | Sasha Belov | Main role |
| 2010–2012 | Upstairs, Downstairs | Harry Spargo | Main role |
| 2010 | FlashForward | Lucas Hallinger | Recurring role |
| 2011 | White Collar | David Lawrence | Episode: "On Guard" |
| 2013–2015 | Sleepy Hollow | Abraham Van Brunt | Recurring role |
| 2013 | Jo | Baron | Episode: "Invalides" |
| 2013 | Lightfields | Dwight Lawson | Recurring role |
| 2014 | House of Secrets | Sam | Television movie |
| 2014 | Person of Interest | Rick Dillinger | Episode: "RAM" |
| 2016 | Hell's Kitchen | Himself | Episode: "5 Chefs Compete" |
| 2017 | The Originals | Alistair Duquesne | Episode: "Gather Up the Killers" |
| 2017–2020 | Absentia | Jack Byrne | Main role |
| 2018 | Westworld | Nicholas | Episode: "Virtù e Fortuna" |
| 2020-2022 | Stargirl | Jordan Mahkent / Icicle | Main role (Season 1) Guest (Season 2) Recurring (Season 3) |
| 2024 | Tracker | William Locke | Episode: "Noble Rot" |