Martin Freeman (born September 8, 1971) is an English actor. He is most famous for his roles as Tim Canterbury in the BBC's Golden Globe winning comedy The Office, and as Arthur Dent in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Since leaving the Central School of Speech and Drama, Freeman has appeared in at least 18 TV shows, 14 theatre productions, and several radio productions. Most notably, he starred in the sitcom Hardware. Freeman has also appeared in several films, including Sacha Baron Cohen's Ali G Indahouse (2002) and Richard Curtis' Love Actually (2003). As well as his various comic roles, Freeman has also appeared in serious dramatic parts. His most prominent dramatic role to date has been as Lord Shaftesbury in the 2003 BBC historical drama Charles II: The Power and The Passion. He can also be seen making a brief appearance in the first episode of the second series of This Life, helping himself to £30 from Milly and Egg's bedside table before swigging a mouthful of Egg's urine from a lager can.
He recently appeared in Hot Fuzz (2007), a film written by Shaun of the Dead writers Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, and had a brief non-speaking role in Shaun of the Dead as Yvonne's boyfriend, Declan. He will next be seen in The All Together (2007) written & directed by Gavin Claxton.
Freeman is from Aldershot in Hampshire, England. According to his website, he is "somewhat left handed". His girlfriend, Amanda Abbington, is an actress and has appeared alongside him in several productions, such as Men Only, Picking Up The Pieces, The Debt, The Robinsons and the forthcoming feature film comedy The All Together.
