Theodore Peter James Kinnaird Taptiklis (born 16 December 1984), known professionally as Theo James, is an English-Greek actor. He gained recognition for playing Tobias Eaton in The Divergent Series film trilogy (2014–2016). He has starred in the horror films Underworld: Awakening (2012) and Underworld: Blood Wars (2016) and the science fiction film Archive (2020).
James was born on 16 December 1984 in High Wycombe.[1][2] He is the son of Philip Taptiklis, a business consultant, and Jane (née Martin), who worked for the National Health Service.[3][4] His grandfather was a Greek refugee who fled to Syria during WWII.[5][6][7] He is also of part Scottish descent.[8] He has two older brothers and two older sisters.[8][9]
In 2011 James starred in the short-lived horror series Bedlam, playing the lead role of Jed Harper. That same year, he also played James, an obnoxious night club rep, in the British comedy The Inbetweeners Movie (2011). In 2012 James appeared in the miniseries Room at the Top as Jack Wales and ITV's Case Sensitive as Aiden Harper.[17] He was in the films The Domino Effect (2012) and Underworld: Awakening (2012), playing the role of David in the latter opposite Kate Beckinsale.[18] He reprised his character David in the fifth Underworld film, as the film's male lead.[19][20] James starred as Detective Walter William Clark Jr. in the American crime-drama series Golden Boy (2013), which aired for one season.[21]
James starred alongside Amber Heard, Billy Bob Thornton and Jim Sturgess in the film adaptation of London Fields,[25] and in the indie drama The Benefactor (2015), with Richard Gere and Dakota Fanning.[26][27] James executive produced and starred as Michael in Backstabbing for Beginners (2018). He starred as Will Younger in the Netflix film How It Ends (2018). In 2019 James executive produced and played Sidney Parker in the British series Sanditon as a male lead. It is an eight-part period-drama adaptation of Jane Austen's final novel, written only months before her death in 1817. James did not reprise his role for the series' second and third seasons. He then executive produced and starred in the film Lying and Stealing. James launched his own film and TV production company, named Untapped, that same year.[28]
James produced and appeared in the 2020 science fiction film Archive, playing a robotics scientist working on a secret project involving building a prototype based on his dead wife.[29] He starred in the romance series The Time Traveler's Wife, which premiered in May 2022. The Hollywood Reporter's Angie Han described James's portrayal of the titular time traveler "dashing and a little sardonic" and highlighted his and co-star Rose Leslie's "inability to generate any real sparks between them".[30] James played a series regular role in the second season of the satire series The White Lotus.[31]
Outside his acting career, James was the singer and guitarist of the London-based band Shere Khan, which disbanded in 2012.[35] In 2015, he became the brand ambassador for Hugo Boss fragrances for men, appearing in print ads and commercials.[36]
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