James D'Arcy

James D'Arcy is an English actor.

Early Life
James D'Arcy was born as Simon D'Arcy and grew up in Fulham, London, with his mother, Caroline (a nurse) and his younger sister Charlotte. His father died when he was young. After completing his education at Christ's Hospital in 1991, he went to Australia for a year and worked in the drama department of a school in Perth, which gave him an interest in acting. When he returned to London he applied for drama school. He did a three-year course at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, completing a BA in Acting in 1995.

During his time at LAMDA he appeared in training productions of Heracles, As You Like It, Wild Honey, The Freedom of the City and Sherlock Holmes. On leaving drama school: "It was only when I finished the course and left my graduation diploma on the bus that I realized I'd become an actor."

Career
His first appearances on television were small roles in the TV series Silent Witness (1996) and Dalziel and Pascoe (1996), followed by roles in TV film such as Nicholas Hawthorne in Ruth Rendell's Bribery and Corruption (1997), Lord Cheshire in The Canterville Ghost (1997) and Jonathan Maybury in The Ice House (1997). In 1997 he furthermore played Blifil in the Mini-series The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. In 1999, he acted alongside Daniel Craig in the World War I-drama The Trench as well as having a small role in the comedy Guest House Paradiso.

From 2001 on, D’Arcy played bigger roles and leading characters in the mini-series Rebel Heart (film) (2001, Ernie Coyne), The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (2001, Nicholas Nickleby), with Sophia Myles and Charles Dance and Revelation (2001, Jake Martel). In 2002, he portrayed a young Sherlock Holmes in the television film Sherlock: Case of Evil. In 2003, he played the role of Barnaby Caspian in the film Dot the I alongside Gael García Bernal and Natalia Verbeke, and the character Jim Caddon in the series P.O.W In 2003, he also gained wider recognition when he portrayed Lt. Tom Pullings in Peter Weir's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, opposite Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany.

He played in horror films Exorcist: The Beginning (2004, Father Francis), An American Haunting (2005, Richard Powell) and Rise: Blood Hunter (2007, Bishop). Apart from that, he appeared on television as Derek Kettering in the Poirot episode The Mystery of the Blue Train (2005), as Jerry Burton in Marple: The Moving Finger, as Tiberius Gracchus in the episode Revolution of Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire (2007), as Toby Clifford in Fallen Angel (2007) and as Tom Bertram in ITV's production of Mansfield Park, opposite Billie Piper, who played Rose Tyler in Doctor Who.

He has also worked for BBC radio dramas such as Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Winifred Holtby's The Crowded Street. He played the role of Duncan in Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

In 2010, he played the role of Edward VIII in W.E., the second film directed by Madonna.

In 2012, hee will portray an array of characters in the highly anticipated film, Cloud Atlas with such thespians as Tom Hanks, Jim Broadbent, Halle Berry, and Hugo Weaving. Also in the same year he will play Anthony Hopkins in the bio-epic Hitchcock.

Related Links
IMDB