James Dreyfus (born 9 October 1968) is an award-winning English actor.
James Dreyfus | |
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| Years active | 1993 – Present |
Early life and career
Born in London, his parents divorced when he was very young.[1] His mother was an Egyptian fashion model and Dreyfus spent some years touring around the world with her.[1] Following an education at the English public school Harrow, he trained at RADA.[2].
In 1998 Dreyfus won the Best Supporting Performance in a Musical Olivier Award for his work in The Lady In The Dark at the National Theatre. In the same year he was nominated for the Ian Charleson Award for his performance as Cassius in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar at the Birmingham Rep.
Comedy work
Dreyfus has created some memorable comedy characters, particularly on British television, including Constable Kevin Goody in Ben Elton's sitcom The Thin Blue Line and Tom Farrell, the homosexual flatmate of Linda (Kathy Burke) in Gimme Gimme Gimme. More recently, Dreyfus played opposite Bette Midler in the short-lived American sitcom Bette.
In November 2004, Dreyfus played Carmen Ghia in the London premiere of Mel Brooks' musical The Producers, at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. He played the role for 10 months until August 2005.
He played as Thermoman in the BBC One comedy My Hero, a role he took over in the sixth series from Ardal O'Hanlon. Although the same character, he used the name George Monday, as opposed to Ardal O'Hanlon's character's name, George Sunday. After disappointing ratings following his appointment, the show was axed from the BBC's schedule. Dreyfus also starred as Mr. Teasy-Weasy in the 2004 comedy film Churchill: The Hollywood Years.
In March 2006, he returned to the West End stage in a revival of Michael Frayn's comedy Donkeys' Years at the Comedy Theatre alongside Samantha Bond, David Haig and Mark Addy. He left in August of that year to prepare for his new lead role as the Emcee in a West End revival of Cabaret. In 2008 he appeared in revival of Simon Gray's The Common Pursuit at the Menier Chocolate Factory..
Selected filmography
Footnotes
- ^ a b Fletcher, Mary, Why life's looking Goody for James, TV Times, pg 31.
- ^ Wylie, Ian. "Double trouble for James". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
External links
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