On film, James is best known for otherworldly characters. He played the title role in Frankenstein's Creature, a bicentenary tribute to Mary Shelley's novel that premiered at FrightFest, Leicester Square. James's other cinematic abominations include the Parasite in DASHCAM (Blumhouse), the Spirit in Host (Shudder) and the Demon in Salt (Fox), all for director Rob Savage. Last December, James took on another classic monster when he appeared as the Mummy in Lot No. 249 - Mark Gatiss's latest BBC Ghost Story for Christmas - in which he persecuted Kit Harington.
James has also acted in such horror features as Stopmotion, Walking Against the Rain, Broadcast Signal Intrusion and Double Date and such horror shorts as To Fire You Come at Last, The Dead of Winter, Stop Dead and The Thing That Ate the Birds (he did not play any of the birds in it). For these efforts, Kim Newman dubbed him 'horror-star-of-the-future James Swanton' and chose him as his Cult Hero of the Month in Empire. This spring, James makes mayhem in The First Omen (20th Century Studios) and Tarot (Sony), screening in cinemas worldwide.
On stage, James has been closely associated with Dickens. His one-man play Sikes & Nancy was described by Simon Callow as 'a startling and enthralling contribution to the art of the theatre.' Sikes & Nancy ran at the West End's Trafalgar Studios, toured extensively across the UK and crossed the sea for a sell-out engagement at Jersey Opera House. At every step, the show was highly acclaimed. James's Ghost Stories for Christmas - seasonal performances of A Christmas Carol, The Chimes and The Haunted Man - have meanwhile become an annual staple at London's Charles Dickens Museum. James also holds the unique record of having performed all five of Dickens's Christmas Books in a single day; Miriam Margolyes declared that 'it couldn't have been more vivid!'
James's other theatre credits include Victor Carroon in the 70th anniversary production of The Quatermass Experiment (Alexandra Palace), Lucifer in The York Mystery Plays and the title role in Dracula (which together won him Outstanding Performing Artist in the York Culture Awards), West End appearances in The Ghost Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore (Tristan Bates Theatre) and In the Penal Colony (Arts Theatre), and Dippermouth productions Frankenstein's Creature (Theatre503) and Scrooge & Marley (Waterloo East Theatre).
On multiple occasions, James has resurrected the Victorian actor Sir Henry Irving: in his acclaimed one-man play Irving Undead, as well as the site-specific Winter Gothic, a double bill of Irving vehicles The Bells and The Dream of Eugene Aram. He has also featured in two rehearsed readings for horror scholar Jonathan Rigby: Hammer's Vampirella (opposite Caroline Munro) and Nigel Kneale's The Road (opposite Mark Gatiss).
Whilst at Cambridge University, James appeared in twenty-four productions, including eight for the Marlowe Society, three one-man plays and the Cambridge Footlights panto. He also played Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, thus setting the pattern for many future dabblings.
James has also acted in such horror features as Stopmotion, Walking Against the Rain, Broadcast Signal Intrusion and Double Date and such horror shorts as To Fire You Come at Last, The Dead of Winter, Stop Dead and The Thing That Ate the Birds (he did not play any of the birds in it). For these efforts, Kim Newman dubbed him 'horror-star-of-the-future James Swanton' and chose him as his Cult Hero of the Month in Empire. This spring, James makes mayhem in The First Omen (20th Century Studios) and Tarot (Sony), screening in cinemas worldwide.
On stage, James has been closely associated with Dickens. His one-man play Sikes & Nancy was described by Simon Callow as 'a startling and enthralling contribution to the art of the theatre.' Sikes & Nancy ran at the West End's Trafalgar Studios, toured extensively across the UK and crossed the sea for a sell-out engagement at Jersey Opera House. At every step, the show was highly acclaimed. James's Ghost Stories for Christmas - seasonal performances of A Christmas Carol, The Chimes and The Haunted Man - have meanwhile become an annual staple at London's Charles Dickens Museum. James also holds the unique record of having performed all five of Dickens's Christmas Books in a single day; Miriam Margolyes declared that 'it couldn't have been more vivid!'
James's other theatre credits include Victor Carroon in the 70th anniversary production of The Quatermass Experiment (Alexandra Palace), Lucifer in The York Mystery Plays and the title role in Dracula (which together won him Outstanding Performing Artist in the York Culture Awards), West End appearances in The Ghost Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore (Tristan Bates Theatre) and In the Penal Colony (Arts Theatre), and Dippermouth productions Frankenstein's Creature (Theatre503) and Scrooge & Marley (Waterloo East Theatre).
On multiple occasions, James has resurrected the Victorian actor Sir Henry Irving: in his acclaimed one-man play Irving Undead, as well as the site-specific Winter Gothic, a double bill of Irving vehicles The Bells and The Dream of Eugene Aram. He has also featured in two rehearsed readings for horror scholar Jonathan Rigby: Hammer's Vampirella (opposite Caroline Munro) and Nigel Kneale's The Road (opposite Mark Gatiss).
Whilst at Cambridge University, James appeared in twenty-four productions, including eight for the Marlowe Society, three one-man plays and the Cambridge Footlights panto. He also played Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, thus setting the pattern for many future dabblings.