James Callis (born 4 June 1971) is a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
actor. He is best known for playing
Dr. Gaius BaltarGaius Baltar was a fictional character in the TV series Battlestar Galactica played by James Callis, a reimagining of Count Baltar from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series.-Personality:...
in the re-imagined
Battlestar Galactica miniseries and television series, and Bridget Jones' gay best friend in
Bridget Jones's DiaryBridget Jones's Diary is a British romantic comedy film, based on the novel of the same name written by Helen Fielding. The adaptation stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget, Hugh Grant as the caddish Daniel Cleaver and Colin Firth as Bridget's "true love" Mark Darcy...
.
Callis was born and raised in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, where he attended
Harrow SchoolHarrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London. Harrow has educated boys since 1243 but was officially founded by John Lyon under a Royal Charter of Elizabeth I in 1572....
in north west
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
. His parents owned a bed-and-breakfast. Callis is Jewish, the descendant of immigrants from
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
James Callis (born 4 June 1971) is a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
actor. He is best known for playing
Dr. Gaius BaltarGaius Baltar was a fictional character in the TV series Battlestar Galactica played by James Callis, a reimagining of Count Baltar from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series.-Personality:...
in the re-imagined
Battlestar Galactica miniseries and television series, and Bridget Jones' gay best friend in
Bridget Jones's DiaryBridget Jones's Diary is a British romantic comedy film, based on the novel of the same name written by Helen Fielding. The adaptation stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget, Hugh Grant as the caddish Daniel Cleaver and Colin Firth as Bridget's "true love" Mark Darcy...
.
Early life
Callis was born and raised in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, where he attended
Harrow SchoolHarrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London. Harrow has educated boys since 1243 but was officially founded by John Lyon under a Royal Charter of Elizabeth I in 1572....
in north west
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
. His parents owned a bed-and-breakfast. Callis is Jewish, the descendant of immigrants from
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. In 1990, he studied for a
BABachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences or both....
degree in English and Related Literature at the
University of YorkThe University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
, where he was a member of
Derwent CollegeDerwent College is a college of the University of York, one of the first two colleges to be opened following the university's inception. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 22 October 1965...
. At university he was a keen student actor, director and writer, sometimes also appearing in productions put on by friends at
Cambridge UniversityThe University of Cambridge , located in the City of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, is the second oldest university in the English-speaking world and the fourth oldest in Europe...
, including a production of
Harold PinterHarold Pinter, CH, CBE , was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor, director, political activist and poet. He was among the most influential British playwrights of modern times...
's
The Birthday PartyThe Birthday Party is the first full-length play by Harold Pinter and one of Pinter's best-known and most-frequently performed plays. After its hostile London reception almost ended Pinter's playwriting career, it went on to be considered "a classic".Produced by Michael Codron and David Hall, the...
. He graduated from York in 1993.
Career
Callis went on to the
London Academy of Music and Dramatic ArtThe London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art is a leading British drama school in west London.The institutions that combined to form LAMDA date from 1861 and include the London Academy of Music founded by Henry Wylde in 1867...
from which he graduated in 1996, and in the same year he was awarded the Jack Tinker Award (Theatre Record Critic of the Year) for Most Promising Newcomer for his performance in
Old Wicked SongsOld Wicked Songs is a two character play written by Jon Marans whose work received a nomination for the 1996 Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Other works by Marans include A Strange and Separate People, Jumping for Joy, Legacy of the Dragonslayers and the musical Irrationals, .Old Wicked Songs was first...
, a two-hander by Jon Marans, in which he starred alongside
Bob HoskinsRobert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor, known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, and for his performances in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit , Hook , and Super Mario Bros. .-Early life:Hoskins was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England,...
.
Callis has appeared in various
West EndWest End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's "Theatreland". Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking world...
productions and television series as well as on radio. He has also been involved in writing and directing. His directorial debut was
Beginner's Luck, a co-production of his and writer/director Nick Cohen's Late Night Pictures and Angel Eye Film & TV, starring
Julie DelpyJulie Delpy is a French/American actress, director, screenwriter, and occasional singer. She studied filmmaking at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, and has directed, written, and acted in more than 30 films....
,
Steven BerkoffSteven Berkoff is an English actor, writer and director. He is patron of the Nightingale Theatre, in Brighton, England, a fringe theatre venue, which is , a small room over a pub...
and
Fenella FieldingFenella Fielding - "England's first lady of the double entendre" is an English actress who was popular in the 1950s and 1960s...
.
Beginner's Luck was critically panned, but ran for almost three weeks on one print (all the low-budget film could afford) in one cinema in central London, then went on a tour of student cinemas around the U.K. The U.K. distributor was Guerrilla Films. The film is still on the Icon Catalogue.
Callis finished filming his first role in a cinema film,
Bridget Jones's DiaryBridget Jones's Diary is a British romantic comedy film, based on the novel of the same name written by Helen Fielding. The adaptation stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget, Hugh Grant as the caddish Daniel Cleaver and Colin Firth as Bridget's "true love" Mark Darcy...
, alongside
Renée ZellwegerRenée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
and
Hugh GrantHugh John Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. They have also earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide....
, in the summer of 2000 and between a few further film and TV roles went back on stage in the
Soho TheatreThe Soho Theatre is a theatre in the eponymous Soho district of the City of Westminster. It presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret....
in December 2002.
In 2003, Callis played the role of Dr. Gaius Baltar in the re-imagined
Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica is a franchise of science fiction television series and films. The franchise started with a 1978 TV show created by Glen A. Larson, followed by a sequel TV series, a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books and video games. A reimagined miniseries developed by...
miniseries, and continued the role in the regular series that followed. In 2006, Callis won Best Supporting Actor
Saturn AwardThe Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
, a
Peabody AwardThe George Foster Peabody Awards are annual, international awards for excellence in radio and television broadcasting. First awarded in 1941 for programs from the previous year, they are one of the oldest honors in electronic media...
and an
AFIThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
award (all
Battlestar-related).
Notable appearances
Film and Television:
- Murder Most Horrid
Murder Most Horrid was a BBC black comedy anthology series starring comedian Dawn French. It ran for four series runs, in 1991, 1994, 1996 and 1999....
(1996) (TV) - Mark (in episode: "Confess")
- Soldier Soldier
Soldier Soldier is a British television drama series. The title comes from a traditional song of the same name.Produced by Central Television and broadcast on the ITV network, it ran for a total of seven series and 82 episodes from 1991 to 1997...
(1996) (TV) - Major Tim Forrester
- A Dance to the Music of Time
A Dance to the Music of Time is a twelve-volume cycle of novels by Anthony Powell, inspired by the painting of the same name by Nicolas Poussin. One of the longest works of fiction in literature, it was published between 1951 and 1975 to critical acclaim...
(1997) (TV) - Prof. Russell Gwinnett
- Weekend Bird (1997) - Mike
- The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a series of television drama programmes loosely based on Baroness Emmuska Orczy's series of novels, set during the French Revolution....
(1998) (TV) .... Henri
- Ruth Rendell Mysteries
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries is a British television series made by TVS and Meridian Television for ITV between 1987 and 2000.The series comprised adaptations of the works of Ruth Rendell. Many are based on her extensive range of short stories...
: Going Wrong (1998) (TV) - Guy Curran
- Heat of the Sun (1999) (TV) - Clive Lanyard
- Surety (1999) - Short film directed & produced with Nick Cohen
- Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll
Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll is a six-part television mini-series which was written and created by Debbie Horsfield and directed by John Woods...
(1999) (TV) - The Wolf
- Jason & The Argonauts
Jason and the Argonauts, aka Jason and the Golden Fleece is a 2-part TV movie, directed by Nick Willing and produced by Hallmark Entertainment. It is very loosely based on the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts.-Plot:...
(1999) - Aspyrtes
- Arabian Nights
Arabian Nights is a three-hour, two-part miniseries that was made by Hallmark Entertainment, originally shown over two nights on April 30, and May 1, 2000 on ABC in the United States and BBC One in the United Kingdom....
(2000) (TV) - Prince Ahmed
- Bridget Jones's Diary
Bridget Jones's Diary is a British romantic comedy film, based on the novel of the same name written by Helen Fielding. The adaptation stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget, Hugh Grant as the caddish Daniel Cleaver and Colin Firth as Bridget's "true love" Mark Darcy...
(2001) - Tom
- As If
As If was a British teen comedy-drama series broadcast on Channel 4. There were four series, the first broadcast in January 2001 and the last in July 2004. There were 76 episodes in total, each lasting 30 minutes with ad breaks.-Premise & Facts:...
(2001) (TV) - Sebastian
- Victoria & Albert (2001) (TV) - Ernest (Albert's brother)
- Beginners Luck (2002) - Mark (James also wrote, co-directed & co-produced this film)
- Relic Hunter
Relic Hunter is a French Canadian television series, starring Tia Carrere and Christien Anholt. Actress Lindy Booth also starred for the first two seasons, and Tanja Reichert replaced her for the third...
(2002) - Raoul
- Blue Dove (2003) - Dominic
- Helen of Troy
Helen of Troy is a television miniseries based upon Homer's story of the Trojan War, as recounted in the epic poem, Iliad. This TV miniseries also shares the name with a 1956 movie starring Stanley Baker...
(2003) (TV) - King Menelaus (Helen's husband)
- Battlestar Galactica (2003 - 2009) (TV) - Doctor Gaius Baltar
- Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is a romantic comedy film directed by Beeban Kidron, based on Helen Fielding's novel of the same name. It stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones, Colin Firth as Mark Darcy and Hugh Grant as Daniel Cleaver. It is the sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary...
(2004) - Tom
- Dead Cool
Dead Cool is a 2004 British dramedy film. It was written and directed by David Cohen.-External links:*...
(2004) - Josh
- One Night with the King
One Night with the King is a film that was released in 2006 in the United States.The film follows the plot of the novel Esther by Nathaniel Weinreb, including direct quotes and events from the book, although the film is officially based on the novel Hadassah: One Night with the King by Tommy Tenney...
(2006) - Haman
- Merlin and the Book of Beasts (2009) - Merlin
- Numb3rs
Numb3rs is an American television drama, which premiered on January 23, 2005 on CBS. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes for the FBI...
(2009) (TV) - Mason Duryea (season 5, episode 23: "Angels and Devils")
Radio:
- Daisy Miller (199?) - Winterbourne
- HMS Ulysses (1997) Saturday Playhouse (Radio 4) - aired on 14 June 1997