James Dreyfus (born 9 October 1968) is an award-winning
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Early life and career
Born in London, his parents divorced when he was very young. His mother was an Egyptian fashion model and Dreyfus spent some years touring around the world with her. Following an education at the English
public schoolAn independent school in the United Kingdom is a school that is not financed by taxpayers or through the taxation system by local or national government, and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so not...
HarrowHarrow 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....
, he trained at
RADARada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages.Normally it is translated as "council"...
..
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 TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company....
. 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 EltonBenjamin Charles "Ben" Elton is an English comedian, author, playwright and director. He was a leading figure in the alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, while more recently he has become known for his work as a novelist.-Personal life:...
's sitcom
The Thin Blue LineThe Thin Blue Line is a British sitcom starring Rowan Atkinson set in a police station that lasted for two series from 1995 to 1996. It was written by Ben Elton.-Cast:*Rowan Atkinson - Inspector Raymond Fowler...
and
Tom FarrellThomas Thessolonius "Tom" Farrell, played by James Dreyfus, is the gay flat mate of Linda La Hughes in Gimme Gimme Gimme. His parents are Sheila and Vernon Farrell, who declared to their son in the one episode in which they appeared that they were swingers, and Tom seems to ardently hate both of...
, the homosexual flatmate of Linda (
Kathy BurkeKatherine Lucy Bridget Burke is an English actress, comedienne, playwright and theatre director.-Family and upbringing:...
) in
Gimme Gimme Gimme. Dreyfus played opposite
Bette MidlerBette Midler is an American singer, actress and comedienne, also known as The Divine Miss M. During her career, she has been nominated for two Academy Awards; and won four Grammy Awards, four Golden Globes, three Emmy Awards, and a special Tony Award.-Biography:In 1945, Midler was born in...
in the short-lived
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sitcom
Bette.
In November 2004, Dreyfus played Carmen Ghia in the London premiere of
Mel BrooksMelvin "Mel" Kaminsky , better known by his stage name Mel Brooks, is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer, best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. Brooks is a member of the short list of entertainers with the distinction...
' musical
The ProducersThe Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics by Brooks and music by Brooks and Glen Kelly. As in the film, the story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich by overselling interests in a Broadway flop. ...
, 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'HanlonArdal O'Hanlon is an Irish comedian and actor, best known for his roles in television sitcoms as Father Dougal McGuire in Father Ted and George Sunday in My Hero.-Early life:...
. 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 YearsChurchill: The Hollywood Years is a 2004 film, directed by Peter Richardson. It stars Christian Slater as Winston Churchill, and Neve Campbell as Elizabeth II...
.
In March 2006, he returned to the
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...
stage in a revival of
Michael FraynMichael J. Frayn is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce Noises Off and the dramas Copenhagen and Democracy...
's comedy
Donkeys' YearsDonkeys' Years is a play by English playwright Michael Frayn that premiered at the Globe Theatre, London, in 1976.The play is a West End farce, a genre that Frayn parodied five years later in his play within a play "Nothing On" from Noises Off....
at the
Comedy TheatreThe Comedy Theatre, is a West End Theatre, and opened on Panton Street in the City of Westminster, on 15 October 1881, as the Royal Comedy Theatre. It was designed by Thomas Verity and built in just six months in painted stone and brick. By 1884 it was known as just the Comedy Theatre...
alongside
Samantha BondSamantha Bond is an English actress best known for her role as Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond films starring Pierce Brosnan. She is married to Alexander Hanson and has two children, Molly and Tom. Samantha Bond is the daughter of actor Philip Bond and Pat Sandys, and is the sister of actors...
,
David HaigDavid Haig is an Olivier Award-winning English actor and FIPA Award-winning writer. He is known for his versatility, having been successfully cast in dramatic, serio-comic and comedic roles, playing characters of varied social classes...
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
CabaretCabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue—a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance being introduced by a master of ceremonies, or MC.Cabaret...
. In 2008 he appeared in revival of
Simon GraySimon James Holliday Gray, CBE , was a British playwright and memoirist who also had a career as a university lecturer in English literature at Queen Mary, University of London, for 20 years...
's
The Common Pursuit at the
Menier Chocolate FactoryThe Menier Chocolate Factory is an award-winning 180 seat fringe studio theatre, restaurant and gallery. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate Company factory in Southwark Street, a major street in the London Borough of Southwark, central south London, England. The theatre stages plays...
.
He is currently (from September 2009 to January 2010) appearing in "Breakfast At Tiffany's" at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London.
Selected filmography