Born:
May 19, 1939
in
London
Best Known For:
Playing various posh characters.
Early-life:
Born William Fox on May 19, 1939, in London, the son of influential agent Robin Fox and his wife, actress Angela Fox. His older brother Edward is also an actor, while younger sibling Robert is a theatre producer. He made his film debut as an 11-year-old using his birth name in the movie The Miniver Story, quickly followed by The Magnet. He later studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama, and in the early 1960s changed his name to James.
Career:
Appeared in 1962's The Loneliness of The Long Distance Runner and he became famous for The Servant a year later. He then starred in Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Chase and Isadora. In 1970, he made Performance with Mick Jagger, but then dropped out of showbusiness to do vocational work with Christian missionary sect The Navigators. Apart from religious low-budget movie No Longer Alone, he didn't act again until Country in 1981. Since then, he's appeared in acclaimed productions A Passage to India, Greystoke, The Remains of the Day, Jinnah, Sexy Beast and the remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Quote:
'People think Performance blew my mind. My mind was blown long before that.'
Trivia:
In her 2014 book A Story Lately Told, actress Anjelica Huston reveals that she had a sexual relationship with Fox when she was a teenager.