Actor

Jimmy Nail

English guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor, screenwriter

1954 - today

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His biography is available in 15 different languages on Wikipedia. Jimmy Nail is the 10,682nd most popular actor, the 6,763rd most popular biography from United Kingdom and the 1,142nd most popular British Actor.

Jimmy Nail, born James Michael Aloysius Bradford, is most famous as an English actor and singer-songwriter best known for playing the iconic rough-around-the-edges bricklayer Leonard "Oz" Osborne in the hugely popular 1980s ITV comedy-drama Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983–1986 and later revivals), alongside creating and starring in his own hit BBC series like Spender (1991–1993) as an undercover detective and Crocodile Shoes (1994–1996) as a country music hopeful, while also scoring a UK number-one single with "Ain't No Doubt" in 1992 and gaining international exposure as tango singer Agustín Magaldi in the 1996 film Evita opposite Madonna. A proud Geordie from Newcastle upon Tyne, he has balanced acting with music throughout his career, including roles in films like Still Crazy (1998) and West End/Broadway performances, and as of 2026, the now-71-year-old has announced a UK tour called Stories and Songs featuring intimate retrospectives of his seven-decade career with music, memories, and anecdotes. Surprisingly, his stage name "Nail" originated from a real workplace accident in a glass factory where he stepped on a six-inch spike that went through his foot, earning him the nickname that stuck and became his professional identity—though he also had a tougher early life, including a short prison sentence for grievous bodily harm after a fight following a Newcastle United match in the 1970s.

Memorability Metrics

250k

Page Views

Past 12 months

46.20

HPI

Historical Popularity Index

Data Insights

15

Jimmy Nail's biography spans 15 Wikipedia language editions and earns a Historical Popularity Index of 46.20.

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Among Actors

Among actors, Jimmy Nail ranks 10,679 out of 15,712. Before him are Natalia Verbeke, Carmen Villalobos, Mark Chao, Agnieszka Grochowska, Aarón Díaz, and Joel de la Fuente. After him are Billie Lourd, Amanda Detmer, Hiep Thi Le, Lorna Gray, Julia Vysotskaya, and Jeremy Sumpter.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1954, Jimmy Nail ranks 744. Before him are Jerry Moran, Ken Olin, Alvan Adams, Gale Norton, Abida Parveen, and Dafydd Williams. After him are Mark Linn-Baker, Moon Moon Sen, Mitch Kupchak, Greg Ginn, Phil Bryant, and Mudashiru Lawal.

Others Born in 1954

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Jimmy Nail ranks 6,763 out of 9,870. Before him are Charley Boorman (1966), Doug Livingstone (1898), Andrew Airlie (1961), Pete Willis (1960), Jimmy McIlroy (1931), and Stan Anderson (1933). After him are Lizzie Deignan (1988), Mark Lawrenson (1957), Simon Kinberg (1973), Lucy Griffiths (1986), Augustus Prew (1987), and Vernon Reid (1958).

Others born in United Kingdom

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Among Actors In United Kingdom

Among actors born in United Kingdom, Jimmy Nail ranks 1,142. Before him are Dominic Keating (1962), Ricky Whittle (1981), Diane Morgan (1975), Finn Jones (1988), Paul Blackthorne (1969), and Andrew Airlie (1961). After him are Lucy Griffiths (1986), Augustus Prew (1987), Carlo Rota (1961), Joe Gilgun (1984), John Sessions (1953), and Linda Bassett (1950).

British born Actors

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