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Border poll debate has to be out there - James Nesbitt

Getty Images James Nesbitt wearing a black tux with a black bow tie. He's standing behind a backdrop at a red carpet event. Getty Images

More people in Northern Ireland who grew up Protestant are changing the way they think of their identity, according to the actor James Nesbitt.

The Cold Feet star, who was born in Broughshane near Ballymena, feels his background "does not disallow" considering himself an Irishman.

Nesbitt told BBC News NI: "I think that many more from my background are beginning to see that and feel that."

In 2022, Mr Nesbitt spoke at an Ireland's Future event in Dublin, where he talked about being open to a discussion about a possible united Ireland.

Reflecting on that, he said "the conversation" about a border poll "is definitely out there".

Nesbitt's house was targeted with graffiti, which police said was a hate crime, after he addressed the event in Dublin.

'Call yourself whatever you want'

The actor, who also appeared in The Hobbit and Bloodlands, described growing up during the Troubles, saying it was a "backdrop to our lives", despite being "slightly distant from the conflict" because "it was just up the road".

He said: "If you were to ask me, the boy that I was many, many years ago, that I would ever stand in Dublin and make that speech, I would have said you were bonkers."

"The debate is out there and it continues because it has to be out there," he added.

"You can call yourself whatever you want. You can call yourself Northern Irish or from the north of Ireland, you can be nationalist or unionist, that doesn't matter," he continued.

"It's just really about having an identity and a protected identity and feeling that you can be part of a shared island with shared identities in which we move forward for the best of everyone."

'Moving on from the past'

Getty Images James Nesbitt speaking. He's caught mid-sentence, so his mouth is open. The background is black.Getty Images
James Nesbitt said he was open to an informed discussion about Ireland's future

The actor said he feels "privileged and proud" about how far Northern Ireland has moved on from the conflict.

"The world was telling you that you grew up in a place that was kind of like conflicted and divisive and, of course, in many ways it was, but to come back now and to see just how it continues to evolve, how it continues to be and how it continues to kind of celebrate in a sense, moving on from the past, is brilliant," he said.

He also said despite Northern Ireland still having "problems", it's "wonderful" that so many tourists want to visit.

"I mean clearly there are still divisions," he said, however, "when people are flocking from all over the world and seeing a whole different side to the place that I grew up in, it's brilliant".