Sturgess was born in London, England but grew up in Farnham, Surrey, and attended Frensham Heights School at the same time as fellow screen stars Hattie Morahan and Tobias Menzies. He is a former member of the National Youth Music Theatre (1993-95)[2] and studied at the University of Salford's School of Media, Music and Performance. During that time he became a member of a seven member band, named the "Dilated Spies". Once the band broke up he began to once again pursue a career in acting.

Sturgess sustained almost a decade of roles in British productions, mostly telefilms, including I'm Frank Morgan (2000), Hawk (2001), and the three installments of The Quest series.

In 2007, he made his big break in Julie Taymor's musical Across the Universe, portraying Jude, a paternally shorn young man who travels to the U.S. amid the raging throes of the late '60s and falls in love with sheltered American teenager, Lucy, played by Evan Rachel Wood.

In 2008, he appeared in the fictional historical drama The Other Boleyn Girl in the supporting role of George Boleyn opposite Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and Eric Bana. He also starred in 21 as the male lead Ben Campbell, a movie about 5 MIT students, who, by counting cards, take Las Vegas casinos for millions. Sturgess' co-stars in 21 include Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey.

He plays Martin McGartland in the upcoming film 50 Dead Men Walking/Man On The Run and in 2008 will work on Philip Ridley's film Heartless.