Theo James (born Theodore Peter James Kinnaird Taptiklis) is a British actor. He studied acting at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in England, and has a degree in Philosophy from the University of Nottingham.
In 2013, James played the lead as a rookie detective and future New York City police commissioner "Walter William Clark, Jr.", in the CBS crime drama Golden Boy. In 2014, he played "Four" or "Tobias Eaton" in the film adaptation of Veronica Roth's novel, Divergent (film), The Divergent Series: Insurgent, and The Divergent Series: Allegiant.
Early Life and Education[]
James was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, the son of Jane (née Martin) and Philip Taptiklis. His paternal grandfather was Greek, and the rest of his ancestry is English and Scottish. He attended Aylesbury Grammar School and went on to earn his undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the University of Nottingham. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
Career[]
Acting[]
James made his television debut in A Passionate Woman, starring opposite Billie. He played Turkish diplomat "Kemal Pamuk" in an episode of the first season of Downton Abbey. James starred in Bedlam, playing the lead role of "Jed Harper". He appeared in the 2012 adaptation of John Branie's Room at the Top, as "Jack Wales".
His film credits include You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger and The Domino Effect. James was cast in Stranger while still in his final year at drama school. His most notable role is of "James", an obnoxious night club rep in The Inbetweeners Movie. In 2011, James was chosen to play the character as "David" in the fourth installment of Underworld:Awakening, released in 2012, opposite Kate Beckinsale. In 2012, he appeared in ITV's Case Sensitive starring Olivia Williams and Dareen Boydas as "Aidan Harper", and was named a "Star of Tomorrow" in 2009 by Screen International.
James played the lead role, "Tobias (Four) Eaton", in the film adaptation of Veronica Roth's New York Times best-selling book, Divergent. Among his upcoming film projects, he will star alongside Amber Heard, Billy Bob Thorton and Jim Sturgess in the film adaptation of London Fields (2014), and in the indie drama Franny (2014) alongside Richard Gere and Dakota Fanning. In January 2015, James will be filming For Secret Scripture.
James will reprise his role as Tobias "Four" Eaton in the sequels to Divergent, in Insurgent due out March 20, 2015 (USA,UK), Allegiant Part 1 in March 2016, and Allegiant Part 2 in March 2017. Shailene Woodley will also reprise her role as "Beatrice (Tris) Prior", the main character and James' love interest in the films.
Music[]
Outside his acting career, James was the singer and guitarist of the London-based band Shere Khan. On November 21, 2012 the band announced on their (now deleted) Facebook page that they were no longer actively playing as a band and that members would be pursuing other musical endeavors.
Filmography[]
| A Passionate Woman (2010) 2 episodes as Craze | |||
| Downtown Abbey (2010-2015) 1 episode as Kemal Pamuk | |||
| Bedlam (2011-2012) 6 episodes as Jed | |||
| Golden Boy (2013) 13 episodes as Walter Clark Jr. | |||
| Sanditon (2019/2020) 8 episodes as Sidney Parker | (also produced) |
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You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger (2010) as Ray |
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| The Inbetweeners (2011) as James | |
| Underworld: Awakening (2012) as David | |
| Divergent Trilogy (2014-2016) as Tobias "Four" Eaton | |
| The Benefactor (2015) as Luke | |
| Underworld: Blood Wars (2016) as David | |
| War On Everyone (2016) as Will | |
| The Secret Scripture (2016) as Father Gaunt | |
| Backstabbing for Beginners (2017) as Micheal Sullivian | |
| London Fields (2018) as Guy Clinch | (Filmed in 2013-2014) |
| How It Ends (Original Netflix film) (2018) as Will Younger | |
| Zoe (2018) as Ash | |
| Lying and Stealing (2019) as Ivan | (also produced) |
| Archive (2020) as George Almore |
Minor Cameos/Unreleased early Roles[]
| Red Tails | 2012 | Less than a cameo, face not shown |
| Room At The Top | 2012 | 2 part BBC TV drama series |
| The Domino Effect (2012) | 2012 | as Random "Dinner party guest" |
| You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger (2010) | 2010 |
- External Source (Theo James small roles)