Star Facts
- James supports Celtic Football Club
- James’ wife actress Anne-Marie Duff is 9 years his senior
- He and Anne-Marie live in a modest flat in London and drive a Nissan Micra
- James considered being a priest when he was growing up
Biography:
One of our favourite acting hotties, James hails from Scotland, and was brought up in Glasgow, resulting in that to-die-for accent. Born into a modest home, his mum was a nurse and his dad a builder. His father left the family and James was brought up by his grandparents in a council tenement, and he visits them regularly – awww.
Brought up a Catholic and attending Catholic school, James toyed with the idea of going into the priesthood before settling a very different path. And boy are we glad he did. He trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. After graduating in 2000, he caught the eye of directors Joe Wright and Sam Mendes when they saw him performing on stage.
From 2004 to 2006 he played Steve McBride in Shameless, meeting and falling in love with his future wife Anne-Marie Duff in the process. His first big feature film followed in 2005 playing Mr. Tumnus in Hollywood blockbuster Narnia. James went on to huge Hollywood success, each film becoming more successful. He chose his films wisely, sticking to intelligent movies like The Last King of Scotland and Atonement.
Most recently James has tried his hand at megablockbuster action films and thrillers, landing his highest paid role to date as telepathic superhero Professor X in the hugely successful X-Men franchise.