James Duval

Born in Detroit in 1972^[1] to a Franco-Vietnamese mother from Saigon^[1] and a father with Irish and Native American ancestry,^[1] Duval's family moved to Los Angeles when he was 2 years old.^[1] He grew up around the Greater Los Angeles area, going to elementary school in Redondo Beach before graduating from Gladstone High School in Covina in 1989.^[1] He got his start in entertainment as a muscian and was classically trained as a pianist, and eventually became more involved in theater up until high school.^[4]

Duval moved to Hollywood to pursue acting, getting his start by doing work as an extra - including support in the 1990 John Waters film, Cry Baby. He was approached and scouted for audition by Gregg Araki, who was then in the process of writing Totally Fucked Up, because they were both regulars at the Double Rainbow Cafe in Hollywood.^[5]

Primarily an indie actor at first, Duval was able to break into the commercial film industry with Independence Day in 1996. He was simultaneously working on both Nowhere and Independence Day at the same time.^[4]

Duval has starred in numerous independent films,^[1] including the 2009 psychological thriller The Black Waters of Echo's Pond and the mystery crime-thriller film Noirland.^[6][7]

During his early career, while he was acting in Gregg Araki's Teenage Apocalypse films, he identified with their themes of nihilism, social alienation and not fitting in.^[8][9] He said, "I was 18 and living that, searching for myself who I was, where I belonged. I was really confused. Working with Gregg gave me something to move towards. ... there were things I was feeling—that I wasn’t liked, that there were things I couldn’t do to fit in. I was attracted to alternative music and feeling what they were singing about, even though I hadn’t really lived. I was so distraught. I was only 18–19. Everything weighed on that on a daily basis. It was so intense, and almost overwhelming."^[8]

In a 1997 interview promoting Araki's Nowhere, Duval discussed the racism he experienced in his youth^[10] and his frustration with being asked about his sexuality as a result of playing queer roles. He also mentioned that he was dating his Nowhere co-star Sarah Lassez.^[10] Duval has also discussed the challenges in avoiding getting too "pigeonholed" or set in specific characterizations. Wanting to work outside his comfort zone, he cited turning down horror castings in the 90s so that he could continue to expand himself as an actor and artist.^[4]