Nesbitt's first significant film role came when he appeared as pig farmer "Pig" Finn in "Waking Ned" (1998). With the rest of the starring cast, he was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. In "Lucky Break" (2001), he made his debut as a film lead, playing prisoner Jimmy Hands. The next year, he played Ivan Cooper in the television film "Bloody Sunday", about the 1972 shootings in Derry. A departure from his previous "cheeky chappie" roles, the film was a turning point in his career. He won a British Independent Film Award and was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor.