You have reached Jim-Sturgess.com, a growing resource for the talented British actor known from his work in the films Across the Universe, The Other Boleyn Girl and 21. Up next is Crossing Over due out August 22 (US). Here we will keep you up to date with all the latest news, media downloads and information. Bookmark us and check back often for the latest on Jim Sturgess!
Jim Sturgess was on the set of the Elizabethan drama, The Other Boleyn Girl, in which he played the Boleyn brother George, when he was first pitched the idea of playing Ben Campbell in the card counting movie, 21.
“I knew nothing about the book or the story,” he said, “but they told me it was inspired by true story which always makes my ears prick up a bit more. There’s just an extra sprinkle of interest for me when the story is based on real life.”
Sturgess read the script for 21, which tells the story of a group of MIT math whiz kids who use a card counting system to bust a Las Vegas casino, and immediately liked the ‘roller coaster’ nature of the story. He met with the director, Robert Luketic, and soon found himself trading in his tights for a sharp suit and sunglasses.
Recently, I was talking about Kate Winslet with Russell Carpenter, one of the world’s finest cinematographers. He won an Oscar for his work on Titanic. Russell said that while making Titanic he’d seen in Kate screen magic and he knew she would become a big star. He said he had the same feeling while shooting 21 with Jim Sturgess. Carpenter says Sturgess is remarkable.
Winslet and Sturgess are alike off camera in that neither seems too preoccupied with fame. They don’t put up a movie star wall when they speak to you. British actors and musicians are great that way. In Britain you are an actor not an icon. Their sports figures are far more revered.
There he was, Jim Sturgess, a real live movie star, at a shopping mall in suburban New Orleans. The occasion was a preview screening of his new film, 21, at the AMC Palace Clearview 12.
The 26-year-old British actor, previously seen in the Beatles-based musical, Across the Universe, and the historical-costume drama, The Other Boleyn Girl, plays a super-bright MIT student in 21. His character, Ben Campbell, joins a group of fellow card sharks from MIT for hugely profitable weekend treks to gambling mecca Las Vegas.
Columbia Pictures’ new gambling drama 21, directed by Robert Luketic and starring Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Laurence Fishburne and Kevin Spacey, opened in first place with an estimated $23.7 million from 2,648 theaters, and average of $8,950 per site! The studio said the debut for the $35 million-budgeted film exceeded expections, and it played strongly to old and young, male and female moviegoers. Congrats to Jim!
1.) 21 - $23,700,000
2.) Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who - $17,425,000
3.) Superhero Movie - $9,510,000
4.) Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns - $7,760,000
5.) Drillbit Taylor - $5,800,000
The Arcade recently had the opportunity to interview Jim Sturgess, the 26-year-old star of the upcoming movie 21. Based on the successful novel Bringing Down The House, 21 recounts the journey of five MIT students and a professor beating the casino blackjack odds through card counting.
After being accepted into Harvard Medical School, Jim Sturgess’s character Ben Campbell finds himself unable to pay for the expensive tuition. One of his professors (Kevin Spacey) discovers Ben’s brilliance and invites his to a secret card counting club. Ben thinks that joining the club will curb his anxiety about paying for school, so he decides to stay in the club until he reaches his goal of $300,000. The team members study during the week at MIT, then fly to Las Vegas on weekends to test their gambling abilities. Within all this excitement, however, Ben finds himself becoming greedier and more eager to lead the team. We first asked Sturgess about playing the lead role.
21 (2008) 
