James Harkness

James Harkness

James Harkness’ journey into acting is one that is truly inspirational. Born and raised in Gorbals, a deprived area of Glasgow, James’s teenage years were, to say the least, combative. However, following a traumatic and almost fatal attack, he decided to turn his life around and pursue his early passion for acting.

He took his first steps at Glasgow Citizens Youth Theatre, where he was scouted by the National Theatre, and went on to train at LAMDA, graduating in 2013. Several key screen roles followed, namely Silent Witness (BBC), Justin Kurzel’s big screen adaptation of Macbeth (2015) and Disney blockbuster Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016). He then landed parts in three award-winning films: Joe Wright’s Darkest Hour (2017), Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread (2018) and Tom Harper’s Wild Rose (2018).

Perhaps James’s breakout performance came in 2019, playing the lead in BBC One primetime mini-series The Victim. On the back of this impressive performance, he landed a lead role in Julian Fellowes’ drama The English Game (Netflix), and went on to feature in BBC One surrogacy thriller The Nest (BBC), Gareth Evans’ Gangs of London (Sky Atlantic) and period drama Anne Boleyn (Channel 5). Very much in demand, he recently played the recurring role of Tamerlane in season two of Raised By Wolves (HBO Max/Scott Free) and featured in Sarah Phelps’ mini-series The Sixth Commandment (BBC). He is soon to appear in a new drama based on events surrounding the Pan Am Flight 103 terrorist attack, entitled Lockerbie, made by World Productions for the BBC/Netflix.

James is represented by Sam Turnball and Oriana Elia at Curtis Brown.

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Talent Agent: UK
Curtis Brown Group
curtisbrown.co.uk
+44 20 7393 4400 phone
Sam Turnbull - [email protected]