| Intro | British actor |
| Is | Actor |
| From | United Kingdom |
| Type | Film, TV, Stage & Radio |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 1987, London |
| Age: | 33 years |
James Floyd (born 1987) is an English actor. He is mostly known for his roles in My Brother the Devil, Everywhere and Nowhere, Tormented, The Infidel, and City of Tiny Lights. His ethnically ambiguous appearance has allowed him to portray characters of several different nationalities.
Early life
Floyd grew up in North West London. His father is English, with Scottish and Welsh ancestry, while his mother is half Tamil-Indian and half Singaporean. His family now lives in Spain, and Floyd can speak conversational Spanish. He left a philosophy degree at the London School of Economics and Political Science to pursue acting in theatre. Floyd received funding on the Assisted Places Scheme (for families with low income) to attend the private school University College School. He is an alumnus of the British National Youth Theatre.
Career
Film
His first starring role in was in Everywhere and Nowhere. It played at the 2011 Mumbai Film Festival and Dinard Film Festival and was released in 2011 in the UK, Europe and the Middle East.
His performance in Sally El Hosaini’s debut feature film My Brother the Devil, where he starred as a young, drug-dealing boxer with a secret, won him the award as the Best Newcomer at British Independent Film Awards and Best Male Actor at the Milan Film Festival. He was also nominated for an Evening Standard Film Award.
Floyd will co-star in upcoming British noir thriller City of Tiny Lights directed by Pete Travis, where he will play the role of ‘Lovely’. He also plays the lead role of Alex Harks in upcoming American industrial espionage thriller Rogue Agent.
Television
From 2006 to 2007, he played the role of Miguel Lopez, a footballer, in the TV series Dream Team. In 2009, Floyd appeared in the TV film, Compulsion (based on Jacobean tragedy The Changeling) playing the role of a feckless son of an industrialist alongside Ray Winstone and Parminder Nagra. He appeared alongside Marton Csokas and Hayley Attwell in the Seville set crime series Falcón for Sky Atlantic.
He portrayed Freddie Mercury in the 2012 BBC Four Kenny Everett biopic The Best Possible Taste. He starred as Ishbaal in the ABC television drama Of Kings and Prophets.
Stage
In 2007, Floyd played the role of Angus McBane in J.B. Priestley’s play The Glass Cage at the Royal & Derngate Theatre, directed by Laurie Sansom. Other performances include, the lead in Anna Ziegler’s Dov & Ali (2008) at Theatre 503.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Tormented | Nasser | |
| 2010 | The Infidel | Gary Page | |
| 2011 | Everywhere and Nowhere | Ash | |
| 2013 | My Brother the Devil | Rashid |
Won BIFA award for Best Newcomer at British Independent Film Awards |
| 2015 | Rearview | Simon | |
| 2016 | City of Tiny Lights | Lovely | |
| 2016 | Rogue Agent | Alex Harks |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Dream Team | Miguel Lopez | |
| 2009 | Compulsion | Jaiman | |
| 2012 | Falcón | Rafa Falcon | |
| 2013 | The Best Possible Taste | Freddie Mercury | |
| 2016 | Of Kings and Prophets | Ishbaal |
Stage
- The Glass Cage at the Royal & Derngate
- Dov & Ali at Theatre 503
- Totally Practically Naked… at the Tristan Bates Theatre
- Antigone at Hell’s Mouth at the Soho Theatre
- “The Glass Cage”. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
- “Theatre503 presents the World Premiere of: Dov and Ali”. www.dovandali.theatre503.com. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
- “Totally Practically Naked in My Room on a Wednesday Night review at Tristan Bates Theatre London | Review | Theatre | The Stage”. The Stage. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
- “James Floyd – BIFA – The British Independent Film Awards”. www.bifa.film. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
Awards and recognition
For his performance in My Brother the Devil, Floyd won a BIFA for Best Newcomer at British Independent Film Awards, Best Male Actor at Milan Film Festival and was nominated for an Evening Standard Film Award. He was selected as a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit 2013 and was a Screen International Star of Tomorrow 2012.
Screen International wrote “Floyd gives an attractive star performance” and Time Out described it as “a career-making performance” for his performance in Everywhere and Nowhere. Evening Standard described his his performance as “outstanding”. A Time Out review for the film stated “James Floyd in particular must now be on every director’s must-cast list.” The Hollywood Reporter noted “My Brother the Devil should put Floyd on the casting map.” while the Daily Telegraph described his portrayal as “reminiscent of Robert De Niro”. Empire Magazine wrote “James Floyd is magnetic”, with Daily Mail writing “an eye catching central performance”.