Agent
Assistant
Sarah Williams
swilliams@unitedagents.co.ukAssistant
Eve Humphreys
EHumphreys@unitedagents.co.ukBiography
James is an actor and writer whose one-man comedy/theatre show, THE BOXER, had a sell-out run in Edinburgh and several sell-out runs in London. The Guardian listed it as one of the ‘Top 10 Comedy Shows of the Year’. – “A heavyweight hour of stand-up and storytelling” ★★★★ The Guardian
He can recently be seen in BBC Comedy series JUST BRAVE GIRLS and will soon be seen in the upcoming second series of CBBC’s HORRIBLE SCIENCE – reprising his regular role. He is also one of the writers on the series.
James has appeared in recurring roles in BAFTA winning shows such as HORRIBLE HISTORIES and Apple TV’s smash hit TED LASSO. He also appeared in THE CRITIC, directed by Patrick Marber.
His other credits include POLITE SOCIETY for Working Title, THE GREAT, PRETTY RED DRESS and THE SCEPTRED ISLE for Sky Atlantic, THE RELUCTANT LANDLORD for Sky One, MUZLAMIC for BBC Three and a recurring role in THE PIN for BBC Radio 4.
James was in the West End production of THE UNDERSTUDY, an adaptation of the best-selling book by David Nicholls, joining a star-studded cast including Stephen Fry and James Norton. He also starred in two episodes of THE EMILY ATACK SHOW for ITV and joined the cast of BBC Radio 4’s SKETCHTOPIA.
Credits
Television
| Production | Character | Director | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUCH BRAVE GIRLS | PO Dean Childwall | Simon Bird / Marco Alessi | A24 / BBC |
| HORRIBLE HISTORIES SERIES 10 | Main cast | Lion | |
| TED LASSO | James | Bill Lawrence | Apple |
| THE GREAT S2 | Doctor Bjørn Vinge | Various | Thruline Entertainment |
| THIS SCEPTRED ISLE | Josh | Julian Jarrold & Michael Winterbottom | SKY |
| SEASONS | Blewitt | Caroline Jeffries | Voodoo Productions |
| LATE NIGHT MASH | Carl | Endemol | |
| HORRIBLE HISTORIES S9 | Various Roles / Regular | Gordon Anderson | Lion Television/CBBC |
| THE EMILY ATACK SHOW | Tommy Forbes/Jeanette Goulbourn | Monkey Kingdom Productions | |
| THE RELUCTANT LANDLORD | PC Lamb | David Sant | CPL Productions / Sky |
| HORRIBLE HISTORIES S8 | Regular | Steve Connelly | Lion Television/CBBC |
| MUZLAMIC | Various | Johnny Burns and Pier van Tijn | BBC3 |
| HORRIBLE HISTORIES S7 | Regular | Steve Connelly | Lion Television |
| DRUNK HISTORY S3 | Grain Addict in William Shakespeare's Shady Past | Tom McKay | Tiger Aspect / Comedy Central |
| @ELEVENISH | Pete | Tommy Forbes | Talkback / ITV2 |
| DRUNK HISTORY S2 | Anti- Nazi Guard in The Great Escape | Tom McKay | Tiger Aspect / Comedy Central |
| WOT 4 (PILOT) | Graffiti Artist | Hat Trick Productions | |
| BATTLE OF BRITAIN: THE REAL STORY | German Soldier | James Holland | BBC |
Film
| Production | Character | Director | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| THE BEAUTIFUL GAME | Guy | Thea Sharrock | Netflix & Blueprint Pictures |
| THE CRITIC | Policeman | Anand Tucker | BK Studios |
| POLITE SOCIETY | Head Waiter | Nida Manzoor | Working Title |
| PRETTY RED DRESS | PC Newman | Dionne Edwards | BBC Film |
| MASTERS OF LOVE | Wyatt | Matt Roberts | Truck Films |
Stage
| Production | Character | Director | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| THE UNDERSTUDY | Adam | Giles Croft | The Palace Theatre |
| THE BOXER | Writer / Performer | Tom Parry | Pleasance, Edinburgh |
| BEASTS PRESENT MR EDINBURGH 2016 | Writer / Performer | Tom Parry | Pleasance, Edinburgh |
| BEASTS: LIVE DVD | Writer/Performer | Tom Parry | Pleasance, Edinburgh |
| BEASTS: SOLO | Writer/Performer | Tom Parry | Pleasance, Edinburgh |
| BEASTS (2013) | Writer/Performer | Tom Parry | Pleasance, Edinburgh |
| THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST | Algernon | Henry Filloux-Bennett | Theatre Royal Haymarket |
| BEASTS | Writer / Performer | Tom Parry | Pleasance, Edinburgh |
| A FUNHOUSE OF MIRRORS | Rob | Timothy Trimingham Lee / Anna Ehnold-Danailov | Flying Orchard; Mernier Chocolate Factory |
| THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) | James | Henry Filloux-Bennett | New Red Lion Theatre |
| JULIUS CAESAR | Casca | Bronagh Lagan | Word of Mouth |
| PLATFORM | Clifford | Alex Ferris | Old Vic New Voices & Frantic Assembly |
| EUGENE MIRMAN SKETCH | Bouncer | Eugene Mirman | FunnyOrDie |
| TIME FUGG | Various | Nick Hall | Hen & Chickens Theatre |
| THE TEMPEST | Caliban | Xavier Fontenille | Laternfish Theatre |
| THE MISANTHROPE | Clitandre | Simon Evans | Black & White Rainbow; White Bear Theatre |
| BRITANNICUS | Narcissus | Ben Naylor | Central School of Speech & Drama |
| MACBETH | Macbeth | Martin Wylde | Central School of Speech & Drama |
| THE TEMPEST | Trinculo | Alice Butler | Pleasance Edinburgh |
| SQUIRRELS | Arthur | Alice Butler | Byre Theatre |
| LA TRATTORIA DI SEGRETTI | Alfredo | Tim Norton | Pleasance London |
Radio
| Production | Character | Director | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| SKETCHTOPIA | Various (Regular) | Gus Beattie | Gusman Productions / BBC Radio 4 |
| THE PIN AT HOME | Various (Regular) | Sam Michell | BBC Radio 4 |
| BEASTS, SKETCHORAMA SPECIAL | Self | Gus Beattie | Comedy Unit / BBC Radio 4 |
| BEASTS, SKETCHORAMA | Self | Gus Beattie | Comedy Unit / BBC Radio 4 |
Short Film
| Production | Character | Director | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| DONKEYS | Jake | Matt Roberts | Truck Films |
| CHEEK BALL | Eddie | Robbie McCallum | Brighton Brothers Films |
| FACE THE MUSIC | Jeremy (Crystal Meth addict) | Gia La Salvia | London Film School |
Agent
Assistant
Sarah Williams
swilliams@unitedagents.co.ukBiography
James is an actor and writer whose one-man comedy/theatre show, THE BOXER, had a sell-out run in Edinburgh and several sell-out runs in London. The Guardian listed it as one of the ‘Top 10 Comedy Shows of the Year’. – “A heavyweight hour of stand-up and storytelling” ★★★★ The Guardian
James debut book, THE CHAMP & THE CHUMP, which focusses on the comedically parallel (or not so parallel) lives of James and his grandpa (world boxing champ – Terry Downes), won The Sunday Times Sports Book of the year award. James is adapting the book for film with a major British production company.
Since 2019, James has been a writer for and performer in CBBC’s hit HORRIBLE HISTORIES, which has won and been nominated for numerous BAFTA Children’s awards, including Best Writing and Best Comedy.
James is also a writer and a performer for CBBC’s HORRIBLE SCIENCE.
He has recently written numerous episodes of THE HEROIC QUEST OF PRINCE IVANDOE for Cartoon Network and OFF THEIR ROCKERS for ITV. He is a staff writer for The Athletic, generally focussing on Arsenal. He has written for ESPN, Bleacher Report and FourFourTwo Magazine, and is the co-host of the Arsecast Extra Podcast.
In 2024, James was in the 2024 film THE BEAUTIFUL GAME as Depot Manager.
Further praise for THE BOXER:
“A magnificent mix of stand-up, theatre and memoir which packs a powerful punch” ★★★★★ iTalkTelly
“Compelling and poignant” ★★★★ The Scotsman
“A knockout” ★★★★ Beyond The Joke
“Beautiful and uplifting” ★★★★ One 4 Review
Credits
Television
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
|
THE HEROIC QUEST OF THE VALIANT PRINCE IVANDOE 2020 |
Cartoon Network |
Writer 2x episodes |
|
HORRIBLE HISTORIES 9 2020 |
Lion TV/ CBBC |
Writer and Performer |
|
HORRIBLE HISTORIES 8 2019 |
Lion TV/CBBC |
Writer and Performer |
