James is an Irish actor with an international appeal, known for his versatility and enigmatic screen presence. He began his journey with an English degree from University College Cork, after which he spent eight years traveling to gain life experience. This led to a later start in acting, initially with Shakespeare plays in Dublin and later with four-star reviews in the Edinburgh theatre festival. He also produced and acted in a UK premiere of a Steppenwolf/Chicago play in London's West End in 2008.
James's first screen role was in a film by Patrick & Paula Bergin based on W.B. Yeats, "The Countess Cathleen". He then appeared in the Irish series "Ballykissangel" alongside Colin Farrell, who would later do the voiceover for "Legend of Cambia", in which James played Bloudwedde. James also appeared as Ralph Morice, a role created for him by director Ciaran Donnelly, in the critically acclaimed costume drama "The Tudors" for Showtime, followed by the History channel's "Vikings" and Titanic: Blood & Steel for Netflix, all shot in Ireland.
He later moved to London, where he appeared in several drama series for the BBC and expanded his work into Europe with French TV series "Versailles", "Jappeloup", and Luc Besson's feature film, "Valerian & the city of a thousand planets". He also starred in the French language "Three Musketeers" alongside Eva Green and Vincent Cassel for Pathé, and worked on German productions "Girl you know it's true" directed by Simon Verhoeven, and "Maedchen I'm Eis". Additionally, he was involved in the Czech production "Masaryk", which premiered at the 2016 Biennale and won 12 golden lion awards.
Most recently, James played his first on-screen American role in the feature "Eddie & Sunny" directed by Desmond Devenish for Paradox studios, and appeared in "Bonhoeffer" by Todd Komarnicki, a real-life story about Dietrich Bonhoeffer who spoke truth to power in an attempt to save countless Jewish lives during the Third Reich.
