Eli James is a multi-talented individual with a wide range of skills, including acting, writing, comedy, and dialect specialization. He is perhaps best known for his voice work on Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal (2011) and his roles on Gossip Girl (2007),Unforgettable (2011),Alpha House (2013),Lights Out (2011),and numerous commercials.
On Broadway, Eli has appeared in notable productions such as "One Man, Two Guvnors," directed by Nicholas Hytner, and "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson," a collaboration between Alex Timbers and Michael Friedman.
In addition to his Broadway credits, Eli has also had a successful stage career, with notable roles in "Rutherford & Son" at The Mint Theater, "Becky Shaw" at the Huntington Theater, "The Four of Us" at Manhattan Theatre Club, and the world premiere of Jason Grote's "Maria/Stuart" at the Woolly Mammoth Theater, directed by Pam McKinnon.
In his native Philadelphia, Eli has appeared in "Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde" with Philadelphia Theatre Company, and was part of the East Coast premiere of Tom Stoppard's "The Invention of Love" at The Wilma Theater.
Eli has also had a successful solo career, with his show "Imagine All the People: A Survey of Music Business Creeps" running at the Peoples Improv Theater in New York. Prior to that, his solo work "William and the Tradesmen" was performed in the New York International Fringe Festival, Ars Nova's ANT Fest, and at the Drilling Company Theater with Project: Theater, earning praise from nytheatre for being "a gem... well-wrought, insightful and precise."
For three years, Eli was a house-team performer at New York's legendary comedy venue the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, where he performed on Maude Night, UCB's monthly sketch comedy showcase, with the teams "Cha-Cha," "Mama's Gotta Go" and "Lover." He continues to perform at the UCB Theater in improv, sketch, and character shows, and is a long-time student of the theater's Advanced Study Improv Program and UCB Academy.
As a coach, Eli has instructed many diverse groups and individuals in acting, improv, and dialects, drawing on his lifelong passion for music as a guitarist and songwriter.
