James Fox
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This article's listed sources may not meet Wikipedia's guidelines for reliable sources. (January 2012) |
| James Fox | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Fox 19 May 1939 London, England, UK |
| Residence | London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | Jim Fox |
| Alma mater | Harrow School |
| Years active | 1950–1970, 1983–present |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Elizabeth Piper (1973–present) |
| Children | Laurence Fox Lydia Fox Robin Fox Tom Fox Jack Fox |
| Parents | Robin Fox Angela Worthington |
| Family | Richard Ayoade (son-in-law), Billie Piper (daughter-in-law) 2 grandchildren Edward Fox (brother) Robert Fox (brother) Emilia Fox (niece) Frederick Lonsdale (grandfather) |
James Fox (born William Fox, 19 May 1939) is an English actor.
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Early life[edit]
Fox was born in London, England to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. Actress Emilia Fox is his niece and the actor Laurence Fox is his son. His grandfather was playwright Frederick Lonsdale. Like his brother, Fox served with the Coldstream Guards. Like several members of the Fox family, including his brothers and his son, James was educated at Harrow School.
Acting career[edit]
James Fox first appeared on film in The Miniver Story in 1950. His other early film appearances were made under the name William Fox.
During the 1960s he gained popularity and appeared to be heading for stardom. In 1964, he won a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for his role in The Servant (1963).[1] His roles in films such as Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965), King Rat (1965), The Chase (1966), Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), Isadora (1968), and Performance (1970) (alongside Mick Jagger), as well as his relationship with actress Sarah Miles, had made him a media personality.
Spiritual life and break from acting[edit]
After finishing work on Performance, and following his father's death, Fox suspended his acting career. The strain of filming, his father's death and smoking the hallucinogen DMT led to a nervous breakdown.[2] On his break from acting, Fox has commented that "[p]eople think Performance blew my mind... my mind was blown long before that."[2]
He has also said that: "Performance gave me doubts about my way of life. Before that I had been completely involved in the more bawdy side of the film business. But after that everything changed."[2]
In a 2008 interview, he said: "It was just part of my journey...I think my journey was to spend a while away from acting. And I never lost contact with it - watching movies, reading about it ... so I didn't feel I missed it."[3]
He became an evangelical Christian, working with The Navigators and devoting himself to the ministry.[4] During this time, the only film in which Fox appeared was No Longer Alone (1978), the story of a suicidal woman saved by Christianity.
Return to acting[edit]
After an absence of almost ten years from mainstream cinema, Fox gradually returned to the screen, appearing in Stephen Poliakoff's Runners (1983), A Passage to India (1984), and playing Anthony Blunt in the acclaimed BBC play by Alan Bennett, A Question of Attribution (1992). He also portrayed the character of Colonel Ferguson in Farewell to the King.
More recently, he has appeared in the 2001 adaption of The Lost World as Prof. Leo Summerlee, Agatha Christie's Poirot - Death on the Nile (2004) as Colonel Race and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) playing Mr. Salt, Veruca Salt's father. He appeared in the Doctor Who audio drama Shada, and in 2007, he guest-starred in the British television crime series Waking the Dead. He also appeared opposite his son Laurence Fox in "Allegory of Love", an episode in the third season of Lewis. He was part of the cast of Sherlock Holmes, as Sir Thomas, leading member of a freemason-like secret society.
In 2010, he filmed Cleanskin, a terrorist thriller directed by Hadi Hajaig,[5] and in 2011 he played King George V in Madonna's film W.E.[1]
Personal life[edit]
In the 1960s, Fox had a relationship with the actress Sarah Miles.
He married Mary Elizabeth Piper in 1973, with whom he has five children: actors Laurence, Lydia, and Jack Fox, and sons Robin and Thomas. In 2007 both Laurence and Lydia married actors Billie Piper and Richard Ayoade, respectively. Fox is grandfather to Laurence's two sons with Billie Piper. His niece, Emilia Fox, is also an actress. Both Emilia and James Fox have portrayed roles in BBC's hit TV series Merlin.
Film and television appearances[edit]
- The Miniver Story (1950) – Toby Miniver
- The Magnet (1950) – Johnny Brent
- One Wild Oat (1951) – Porter
- The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) – Gunthorpe
- Tamahine (1963) – Oliver
- The Servant (1963) – Tony
- King Rat (1965) – Peter Marlowe
- Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965) – Richard Mays
- The Chase (1966) – Jason 'Jake' Rogers
- Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) – Jimmy
- Duffy (1968) – Stephane Calvert
- Performance (1970) – Chas
- Runners (1983) – Tom Lindsay
- Anna Pavlova (1983)
- Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) – Lord Charles Esker
- A Passage to India (1984) – Richard Fielding
- Absolute Beginners (1986) – Henley of Mayfair, Dressmaker to the Queen
- The Whistle Blower (1986) – Lord
- The Mighty Quinn (1989) – Thomas Elgin
- The Russia House (1990) – Ned
- Patriot Games (1992) – Lord William Holmes
- A Question of Attribution (1992) (TV) – Sir Anthony Blunt
- The Remains of the Day (1993) – Lord Darlington
- Heart of Darkness (1994) – Gosse
- The Choir (1995) – The Dean, Hugh Cavendish
- Gulliver's Travels (1996) – Dr. Bates
- Anna Karenina (1997) – Karenin
- Jinnah (1998) – Mountbatten
- Mickey Blue Eyes (1999) – Philip Cromwell
- The Dwelling Place (late 1990s)[6]
- Up at the Villa (2000) – Sir Edgar Swift
- Sexy Beast (2000) – Harry
- The Golden Bowl (2000) – Colonel Bob Assingham
- The Lost World (2001) – Prof. Leo Summerlee
- Cambridge Spies (2003) – Lord Halifax
- The Prince and Me (2004) – King Haraald
- Agatha Christie's Poirot – Death on the Nile (2004) – Colonel Race
- Agatha Christie's Marple: The Body in the Library (2004) – Colonel Arthur Bantry
- Colditz (2005) – Lt. Colonel Jimmy Fordham
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) – Mr. Salt
- Absolute Power – The Nation's Favourite (2005) – Gerald Thurnham
- Suez: A Very British Crisis (2006) – Anthony Eden
- Mister Lonely (2007) – The Pope
- Waking the Dead (2007) – Dr Bruno Rivelli
- New Tricks (2008) – Ian Figgis
- Margaret (2009) – Charles Powell
- Sherlock Holmes (2009) – Sir Thomas
- Midsomer Murders (2010–present) "Master Class" – Sir Michael Fielding
- Law & Order: UK (2011) – Dr. Edward Austen
- W.E. (2011) – King George V
- Cleanskin (2012) – Scott Catesby
- Merlin (2012) – King Rodor
- Utopia (2013) – Assistant
- Effie (2013) – Sir Charles Eastlake
- The Double (2013) – The Colonel
- A Long Way From Home (2013) – Joseph
References[edit]
- ^ a b "W./E. | Cast". We-movie.com. 2011-03-18. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
- ^ a b c IMDB.com, James Fox: Biography.
- ^ Jeeves (2010-11-22). ""Tweedland" The Gentlemen's club: JAMES FOX". Tweedlandthegentlemansclub.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
- ^ "Biography at British Cinema Greats". Retrieved 2006-07-31.
- ^ Bean, Rampling Join Terrorist Thriller "Cleanskin" Dark Horizons. 2 March 2010
- ^ Catherine Cookson's The Dwelling Place at radiotimes.com
External links[edit]
- James Fox at the Internet Movie Database
- James Fox at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
- Biography at British Cinema Greats
- Comeback: An Actor's Direction, autobiographical memoir by James Fox
- The Guardian - "'Acting ... ? It paid for a bicycle, I seem to remember'"
- Mail Online - "It's not all happy families! Acting legend James Fox on his Lewis star son Laurence - and what he really thinks of daughter-in-law Billie Piper"
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