Bradley James

James was born in Exeter, Devon, England.^[2] He became interested in acting at the age of six, whilst in primary school.^[3] His family moved to Jacksonville, Florida when he was nine.^[2] During his time there, he attended Crown Point Elementary School^[4] and then Fletcher Middle School,^[4] before returning to England to go to Madeley High School in Madeley, Staffordshire, England.^[4] From 2004 to 2007 James attended Drama Centre London, graduating after three years.^[4]

In 2008, James appeared in an episode of Lewis, then played Ben Davis in the BBC Three comedy-drama film Dis/Connected.^[5] The same year he was cast as Arthur Pendragon in the BBC One fantasy TV series Merlin.^[6] The show was a consistent hit series in the US; its first season was shown on the broadcast network NBC and its second, third, fourth, and fifth seasons on NBC's affiliate cable network Syfy. Merlin ended its 5-year run in 2012.^[7] James presented a documentary about Arthurian legends for BBC Wales, The Real Merlin & Arthur, in 2009.^[8]

In 2014, James guest starred as Edgar in the fourth season of the Emmy Award-winning political thriller television series Homeland.^[9]

In 2015, James was cast as a villain in Underworld: Blood Wars^[10] and appeared in the television series iZombie as recurring character Lowell Tracey, a love interest for main character Liv.^[11] He starred as title character Damien Thorn in the television series Damien, created by Glen Mazzara as a sequel to the Omen film series.^[2]

In 2018, James was cast as Giuliano de' Medici in Medici: The Magnificent,^[2] a series which follows the fortunes of the Medici family, who were bankers to the Pope during Renaissance-era Florence.^[12] He co-starred with Daniel Sharman who played Guiliano's brother Lorenzo de' Medici.

In 2020, James played the American war hero Felix Sparks in The Liberator, Netflix's four-part World War II drama series based on the book by Alex Kershaw.^[13] This was the first project produced in Trioscope, a new enhanced hybrid technology that combines state-of-the-art CGI with live-action performance.^[13]

In 2023, he starred as Norwegian farmer and chieftain Harekr in the second season of the Netflix historical drama Vikings: Valhalla,^[14] created by Jeb Stuart as a sequel to History's Vikings. It was filmed in County Wicklow, Ireland.^[14]

It was reported in May 2025 that James would co-star as Wolf-Heinrich Graf von Helldorff in a historical film based on Kristallnacht that is being filmed in Vienna, Austria.^[15]

James has two sisters, Natalie and Stephanie.^[16] He is a supporter of Arsenal F.C.^[3] and a keen footballer who regularly plays charity matches.^[2] He is also a fan of the Miami Dolphins of the American Football Conference.^[4]

Film

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Note
2012	Fast Girls	Carl
2016	Underworld: Blood Wars	Varga
2019	Kurier	Tom Dunbar

Close

Television

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008	Lewis	Jack Roth	"Music to Die For"
2008	Dis/Connected	Ben	TV film [5]
2008–2012	Merlin	Arthur Pendragon	Main role - 65 episodes [6][17]
2009	Children in Need	Arthur Pendragon	"1.30"
2014	Homeland	J.G. Edgars	Episode: "The Drone Queen"[18]
2015	iZombie	Lowell Tracey	Recurring role - 5 episodes [19]
2016	Damien	Damien Thorn	Lead role- 10 episodes [20]
2017–2019	Bounty Hunters	Webb Sherman, Keegan Sherman	Main role - 5 episodes
2018–2019	Medici: Masters of Florence	Giuliano de' Medici	Main role - 11 episodes [12]
2020	The Liberator	Felix Sparks	Lead role - all 4 episodes [21]
2023	Vikings: Valhalla	Harekr	Season 2 - 5 Episodes [14]

Close