James was born in Exeter, Devon, England.[2] He became interested in acting at the early age of six, whilst in primary school.[3] His family moved to Jacksonville, Florida, when he was nine.[2] During his time there, he attended Crown Point Elementary School[4] and then Fletcher Middle School,[4] before returning to England to attend Madeley High School in Madeley, Staffordshire, England.[4] From 2004 to 2007 James attended Drama Centre London, graduating after three years.[4]
In 2008, James appeared in an episode of Lewis, then played the part of Ben Davis in the BBC Three comedy-drama film Dis/Connected.[5] The same year, he was cast as Arthur Pendragon, in the BBC One fantasy TV series Merlin.[6] The show was a consistent hit series in the US; its first season was shown on the broadcast network NBC and its second, third, fourth, and fifth seasons on NBC's affiliate cable network Syfy. Merlin ended its 5-year run in 2012.[7] James went on an exploration of Arthurian legends for BBC Wales, The Real Merlin & Arthur, in 2009.[8]
In 2015, James was cast as a villain in Underworld: Blood Wars.[10] The same year, he appeared in the television series iZombie as recurring character Lowell Tracey, a love interest for main character Liv.[11] He starred as title character Damien Thorn on the television series Damien, created by Glen Mazzara a sequel to the Omen film series.[2]
In 2020, James played the lead role of American war hero Felix Sparks in The Liberator, Netflix's four-part World War II drama series based on the book by Alex Kershaw.[13] This is the first project produced in Trioscope, a new enhanced hybrid technology that combines state-of-the-art CGI with live-action performance.[13]
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