Career: James began doing stand-up and it was on the comedy circuit that he met comedian and actor Ray Romano. He made guest appearances on Ray's sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond, and this led to the development of his own sitcom, The King of Queens, which ran from 1998 to 2007. James made his big-screen debut in 2005 romantic comedy Hitch, alongside Will Smith. Since then he has appeared in a number of comedy films, including I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007), Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009), Grown Ups (2010), Zookeeper (2011), Here Comes the Boom (2012) and Grown Ups 2 (2013).

Career: In 1989, Romano won a talent contest run by a local radio station, which landed him a manager. He made his TV debut that year in The Johnnie Walker National Comedy Search. Appearances on The MTV Comedy Half-Hour and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson helped boost his profile. Guest roles in animated sitcom Dr Katz, Professional Therapist, proved he could act. He won a regular role in NewsRadio in 1996, but turned it down to launch Everybody Loves Raymond. It proved a wise move. The show ran for nine years, was hugely popular and made Romano a major US star. He's since appeared in the movie Welcome to Mooseport and lent his voice to animated film Ice Age and its sequels. He was last seen in the comedy drama Men of a Certain Age and the sitcom Parenthood.