Jump to content

James Dreyfus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Mjmcb1 (talk | contribs) at 03:50, 5 October 2016 (Fixed various minor typos and updated tense of reference to Dreyfus appearing in Harvey at Birmingham Rep.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

James Dreyfus
Born (1968-10-09) 9 October 1968 (age 56)
France
NationalityBritish
OccupationActor
Years active1993–present
Notable workThe Thin Blue Line (1995–96)
Absolutely Fabulous (1995–96)
Gimme Gimme Gimme (1999–01)
My Hero (2006)
The Sarah Jane Adventures (2011)
Mount Pleasant (2012–)

James Dreyfus (born 9 October 1968) is an English actor. He is most notable for his roles on television sitcoms The Thin Blue Line as Constable Kevin Goody, and Gimme Gimme Gimme as Tom Farrell. He is most recently known for his role as Reverend Roger in Mount Pleasant.

Early life and career

He was born in France but moved to England at an early age and was educated at Harrow School[1] and then trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.[2] His parents divorced when he was very young.[3][4]

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.

Career

Dreyfus' first television break came with the BBC comedy series Absolutely Fabulous.[5]

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.

Known for portraying "camp, endearing characters," Dreyfus (in a Sheengate Publishing interview) compared the character Frank Spencer from Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, who he described as a campy but married heterosexual, to Dreyfus' character Kevin Goody from The Thin Blue Line. Moreover, Dreyfus described Goody as "naïve and silly, and gormless and stupid." In response to viewers' assumptions that the character is gay, Dreyfus said that Goody is attracted to a female character in the series.[6] Regarding his character Tom Farrell from Gimme Gimme Gimme, Dreyfus hypothesized that, even if the character were heterosexual, the actor would still portray Tom as campy and flamboyant.[6] Furthermore, Dreyfus said that he felt that he became typecast due to his portrayals of "flamboyant" characters.[6]

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 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, the show was axed.

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

Since 2012 Dreyfus has been appearing as Reverend Roger in the Sky Living series Mount Pleasant.

In February 2015 Dreyfus appeared on stage in Harvey, directed by Lindsay Posner. The production ran at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre until 21 February, before a UK tour and the West End.[7]

In January 2016, he appeared as Dr Herdal in "The Master Builder" at the Old Vic Theatre.

Selected works

Year Title Role Notes
1995 Thin Ice Greg
1995–96 The Thin Blue Line Constable Kevin Goody TV series (14 episodes)
1995–96 Absolutely Fabulous Christopher TV series (2 episodes)
1996 Boyfriends Paul
1999 Notting Hill Martin
1999–2001 Gimme Gimme Gimme Tom Farrell TV series (19 episodes)
2000 Gormenghast Professor Fluke TV
2000 Bette Oscar U.S. TV series (18 episodes)
2004 Fat Slags Fidor TV
2004 Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London Gordon
2005 Willo the Wisp Voice
2006 Colour Me Kubrick Melvyn Prescott
2006 My Hero George Monday / Thermoman TV series (8 episodes)
2007 Cabaret Emcee West End theatre production
2007 Double Time Lawrence Nixon/George McCabe
2007 Nina and the Neurons Felix (voice)
2009 Casualty Rory TV
2011 The Sarah Jane Adventures Harrison TV
2012 Midsomer Murders Ralph Ford TV
2012 Holby City Felix TV
2012 Whitechapel Ripperologist Charlie Cross TV
2012–present Mount Pleasant Reverend Roger TV
2013 Shameless School Inspector TV
2013 Dandelion & Burdock Dandelion TV
2015 Father Brown Binkie Cadwaller Episode 3.10 "The Judgment of Man"

References

  1. ^ "How We Met: James Dreyfus & Robert Portal". The Independent. 11 May 2008.
  2. ^ Wylie, Ian. "Double trouble for James". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
  3. ^ Fletcher, Mary, Why life's looking Goody for James, TV Times, pg 31.
  4. ^ Thomas Quinn. "Interview: James Dreyfus". thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  5. ^ "Our interview with James Dreyfus". sheengate.co.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  6. ^ a b c Our interview with James Dreyfus. Interviewed by Rob Edwards. Sheengate Publishing. 31 January 2013.
  7. ^ "James Dreyfus To Star In New Production Of Harvey". British Theatre. Retrieved 27 February 2016.


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Dreyfus&oldid=742678959"