James Dreyfus

James Dreyfus
Born	9 October 1968 (1968-10-09) London, England
Years active	1993–present

James Dreyfus (born 9 October 1968) is an English actor.

Early life and career

Born in London, Dreyfus was educated at Harrow School and then trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His parents divorced when he was very young. He is openly gay.

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 Theatre. 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

Dreyfus has created some memorable comedy characters, particularly on British television, including Constable Kevin Goody in Ben Elton's sitcom The Thin Blue Line and Tom Farrell, the gay flatmate of Linda (Kathy Burke) in Gimme Gimme Gimme. Dreyfus played opposite Bette Midler in the short-lived American sitcom Bette.

In November 2004, Dreyfus played Carmen Ghia in the London premiere of Mel Brooks' musical The Producers, 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'Hanlon. 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 Years.

In March 2006, he returned to the West End stage in a revival of Michael Frayn's comedy Donkeys' Years at the Comedy Theatre alongside Samantha Bond, David Haig 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 Cabaret. In 2008 he appeared in revival of Simon Gray's The Common Pursuit at the Menier Chocolate Factory.

From September 2009 to January 2010 he appeared in Breakfast At Tiffany's at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London.

In Januray 2012 he appeared in the Midsomer Murders episode "A Rare Bird" as Ralph Ford.

Selected works

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Thin Ice	Greg
1995–1996	The Thin Blue Line	Constable Kevin Goody	TV
1995–1996	Absolutely Fabulous	Christopher	TV
1996	Boyfriends	Paul
1999	Notting Hill	Martin
1999–2001	Gimme Gimme Gimme	Tom Farrell	TV
2000	Gormenghast	Professor Fluke	TV
2000	Bette	Oscar	TV
2004	Fat Slags	Fidor	TV
2004	Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London	Gordon
2005	Willo the Wisp	Voice
2006	My Hero	George Sunday/Thermoman	TV
2006	Colour Me Kubrick	Melvyn Prescott
2007	Cabaret	Emcee	West End theatre production
2007	Double Time	Lawrence Nixon/George McCabe
2007	Nina and the Neurons	Felix (voice)
2009	Casualty (TV series)	Rory	TV
2011	The Sarah Jane Adventures	Harrison	TV
2012	Midsomer Murders	Ralph Ford	TV

References

Notes

External links

• James Dreyfus at the Internet Movie Database