James Purefoy | |
|---|---|
 Purefoy in 2012 | |
| Born | James Brian Mark Purefoy (1964-06-03)3 June 1964 (age 61) Taunton, England |
| Education | Central School of Speech and Drama (BA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
James Brian Mark Purefoy[1] (born 3 June 1964) is an English actor. He playedMarcus Antonius in theHBO seriesRome, Nick Jenkins inA Dance to the Music of Time, college professor turned serial killer Joe Carroll in the hitFox thriller seriesThe Following,Solomon Kane in thefilm of the same name, and Hap Collins in theSundance seriesHap and Leonard. Purefoy also played Lord Phillipe de Clermont in the second season of the hit AMC/Netflix series "A Discovery of Witches". In 2018, he starred as Laurens Bancroft in thefirst season ofAltered Carbon, aNetflix original series. Following an uncredited role asV in the 2006 filmV for Vendetta (replaced anddubbed over byHugo Weaving), he was cast in a main role asCaptain Gulliver "Gully" Troy / Captain Blighty in the 2020–2021second and 2022third season of the television seriesPennyworth, theprequel to bothGotham andV for Vendetta.
Purefoy was born inTaunton, Somerset, the eldest son of Anthony Chetwynd Purefoy and Shirley,née Taylor.
Purefoyboarded atSherborne School, which he left with only oneO-level. He later went to night school and received 11 more O-levels, before taking his A-levels atBrooklands College inWeybridge. He worked as a porter atYeovil District Hospital before studying acting at theCentral School of Speech and Drama.[2]
Purefoy said that as a “young radical actor”, he had different politics to his father, who was a Tory and who worked for theConservative Party; they had had “long interesting discussions” about politics.[3]
Purefoy's early professional roles included Romeo inRomeo and Juliet inLeatherhead, Walter inMary Morgan at theRiverside Studios and Alan Strang inEquus on tour. He subsequently joined theRoyal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 1988 and appeared inThe Constant Couple,Macbeth,[4]The Tempest,[4]The Man Who Came to Dinner,[4] (Gene Saks, Barbican) andKing Lear as Edgar.[4]
Elsewhere, he has also appeared as Laertes inHamlet at theBristol Old Vic (1991),[4] Brian inWilliam Gaminara'sBack Up the Hearse and Let them Sniff the Flowers at theHampstead Theatre (1992), Roland Maule inNoël Coward'sPresent Laughter at theGlobe Theatre (1993), Biff inDeath of a Salesman, alongsideKen Stott andJude Law, at theWest Yorkshire Playhouse inLeeds (1994), Tony inThe Servant at theBirmingham Rep (1995). He returned to the RSC forSimon Callow's stage adaptation of the film classic,Les enfants du paradis at theBarbican.[4] He also played Hugh de Morville in Paul Corcoran'sFour Nights in Knaresborough at theTricycle Theatre, (1999) and Loveless inTrevor Nunn's production ofThe Relapse at theNational Theatre in 2001.[4]
Between March and June 2011 he starred as Peter inTrevor Nunn's production ofFlare Path at theTheatre Royal, Haymarket, alongsideSheridan Smith andSienna Miller, as part of the playwrightTerence Rattigan's centenary year celebrations.[4]
He appeared as part of the ensemble cast of the 2019 West and Middle Chinnock Christmas Show, as well as singing several sea shanties fromFisherman's Friends.
In 1991, Purefoy played James McCarthy, a young man accused of murdering his father, in "The Boscombe Valley Mystery," inGranada'sThe Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes. Another of his notable roles was as Nicholas Jenkins in the four-part miniseriesA Dance to the Music of Time forChannel 4 in 1997. He playedEdward, the Black Prince in the filmA Knight's Tale,[4] Rawdon Crawley inVanity Fair withReese Witherspoon,[4] and Tom Bertram in the 1999 production ofMansfield Park.[4] He has played major roles in several television costume dramas, includingSharpe's Sword,The Tenant of Wildfell Hall,The Prince and the Pauper,The Mayor of Casterbridge,Blackbeard: Terror at Sea,[2]Beau Brummell: This Charming Man,The Tide of Life,Camelot andRome.[4][2]
Purefoy wasscreen tested for the role ofJames Bond in 1995 forGoldenEye, but ultimately lost the role toPierce Brosnan. Throughout 2004 and 2005 Purefoy's name was rumoured as a possible candidate to replace Brosnan as Bond in future films. Speculation suggested that his departure was due to an opportunity to play James Bond in the 2006 filmCasino Royale.[5] He was originally the actor for V in the 2006 filmV for Vendetta but had creative differences with the production team and left the film six weeks into filming. Parts of the film contain (dubbed) scenes of Purefoy.
Purefoy playedMark Antony in theHBO/BBC original television series,Rome.[2] At the time there were rumours that at least one nude body in the show had been digitally enhanced. When his Wikipedia entry, which at that time referred to the rumours, was brought up in an interview with Alastair McKay, published in the January 2007 issue ofOut magazine, Purefoy said, "I won't say whose it was, but there was a penis in the series that may have been slightly enhanced. But it wasn't mine. Mine's all mine."[6]
In 2007, producerWilliam J. Macdonald announced that Purefoy would playSimon Templar in a new TV series ofThe Saint. The new series was scheduled to start shooting inBerlin andAustralia in April 2008.[7] However, production ultimately did not occur and in August Purefoy was reported as negotiating withNBC to star in another series,[8]The Philanthropist. He starred as Teddy Rist in the summer television series, which aired on NBC beginning in June 2009. His character is a billionaire playboy who decides to use his wealth and power tohelp others in need.
In 2009 Purefoy played the titular character in an adaptation ofRobert E. Howard'sSolomon Kane. In 2013,The Following debuted, starring Purefoy as the lead antagonist of the series. He portrays Joe Carroll, a former professor who becomes a serial killer and leads a cult of followers, all of whom help create Carroll's "story".
It was announced in June 2014 that Purefoy would join the cast of the filmHigh-Rise withTom Hiddleston andJeremy Irons.[9] Later in 2014, Purefoy co-starred in theFormula 1-themed music video forDavid Guetta's song "Dangerous".
From 2016 to 2018 Purefoy starred as Hap Collins inSundance's adaptation ofHap and Leonard, alongsideMichael Kenneth Williams. In 2018 he starred as Laurens Bancroft inAltered Carbon, aNetflix original series. In February 2019,Hybrid (who provided the score toInterlude in Prague) released a short film to accompany their single "Hold Your Breath" from the albumLight of the Fearless. The film starred Purefoy as the brooding "Mr Black".
In 2020, Purefoy joined the cast of thesecond season of theV for Vendetta andGothamprequel television seriesPennyworth in a main role, portrayingCaptain Gulliver "Gully" Troy, a former SAS captain and the leader of a crew of criminals consisting of former soldiers, who later becomes the enhanced super-soldier Captain Blighty in the 2022third season.[10][11][12]
He portrayed the father of the Mitford sisters,‘Farve’, in the 2025 TV seriesOutrageous. He grew a moustache for the role.[13]
Purefoy married actressHolly Aird in 1996, with whom he has a son.[14] They divorced in 2002.
In 2014 he married art historian Jessica Adams with whom he has a daughter and two sons.[15]
Purefoy is a supporter of bothYeovil Town andManchester United.[16][17]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Feast of July | Jedd Wainwright | |
| 1996 | The Tide of Life | Nick Stuart | |
| 1997 | Jilting Joe | Joe | |
| 1998 | Bedrooms and Hallways | Brendan | |
| 1999 | Mansfield Park | Tom Bertram | |
| Women Talking Dirty | Daniel | ||
| 2000 | Lighthouse | Richard Spader | |
| Maybe Baby | Carl Phipps | ||
| The Wedding Tackle | Hal | ||
| 2001 | Tomorrow | Andrew Spender | |
| A Knight's Tale | Edward, the Black Prince of Wales / Sir Thomas Colville | ||
| 2002 | Resident Evil | Spence Parks | |
| 2003 | Photo Finish | James | Jury Award for Best Actor |
| 2004 | George and the Dragon | Saint George | |
| Blessed | Craig Howard | ||
| Vanity Fair | Colonel Rawdon Crawley | ||
| 2005 | V for Vendetta | V | Uncredited; left six weeks into filming; few opening scenes of a masked V are of James Purefoy but are dubbed byHugo Weaving |
| 2006 | Goose on the Loose | Kenneth Donnelly | |
| 2008 | Lena: The Bride of Ice | Dr. Harper | |
| 2009 | Solomon Kane | Solomon Kane | |
| 2011 | Ironclad | Marshall[18] | |
| 2012 | John Carter | Kantos Kan[19] | |
| 2013 | Wicked Blood | Wild Bill | |
| 2015 | Momentum | Mr. Washington | |
| High-Rise | Pangbourne | ||
| 2016 | Equity | Michael Connor | |
| 2017 | Churchill | King George VI | |
| Interlude in Prague | Baron Saloka | ||
| 2019 | Fisherman's Friends | Jim | |
| 2022 | Fisherman's Friends: One and All | Jim | |
| 2026 | Masters of the Universe | King Randor | Post-production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Coasting | Mike Baker | |
| 1991 | Sherlock Holmes | James McCarthy | Episode: "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" |
| Boon | Alan Bridges | Episode: "Houseguests" | |
| 1992 | The Cloning of Joanna May | Oliver | Television film |
| Angels | Victor | ||
| 1993 | Calling the Shots | Brian Summers | Television film |
| Rides | Julian | 4 episodes | |
| Crime Story | Darius Guppy | Episode: "The Prince" | |
| 1995 | Tears Before Bedtime | Jimmy Turner | |
| Sharpe's Sword | Captain Jack Spears | Television film | |
| 1996 | The Tide of Life | Nick Stuart | Television miniseries |
| The Tenant of Wildfell Hall | Mr Lawrence | ||
| The Prince and the Pauper | Miles Hendon | ||
| 1997 | Have Your Cake and Eat It | Ben | Television miniseries |
| Bright Hair | David Miles | Television film | |
| A Dance to the Music of Time | Nicholas Jenkins | Television miniseries | |
| 2000 | Don Quixote | Sansón Carrasco | Television film |
| Metropolis | Nathan | Miniseries | |
| 2001 | Bye Bye Baby | Television film | |
| 2003 | The Mayor of Casterbridge | Donald Farfrae | |
| 2005 | Blackbeard | Edward Teach / Blackbeard | |
| 2005–07 | Rome | Mark Antony | Lead role |
| 2006 | Beau Brummell: This Charming Man | Beau Brummell | Television film |
| 2007 | Manchild | Joe | |
| Frankenstein | Henry Clerval | ||
| 2008–10 | The Summit | Thom Lightstone | Miniseries |
| 2009 | Diamonds | Lucas Denmont | Television film |
| The Philanthropist | Teddy Rist | ||
| 2011 | Camelot | King Lot | Episodes: "Homecoming", "The Sword and the Crown", "Lady of the Lake" |
| Injustice | William Travers[20] | Miniseries | |
| Rev. | Richard | Episode: "#2.6" | |
| Revenge | Dominik Wright | Episodes: "Doubt", "Justice" | |
| 2012 | The Hollow Crown | Thomas Mowbray | Episode: "Richard II" |
| Episodes | Rob | 4 episodes | |
| 2013–15 | The Following | Joe Carroll | 30 episodes |
| 2016–18 | Hap and Leonard | Hap Collins | |
| 2016 | Roots | John Waller | Miniseries |
| 2016–18 | Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia | Kanjigar the Courageous (voice) | |
| 2018 | Altered Carbon | Laurens Bancroft | 10 episodes |
| Urban Myths | Billy Wilder | Episode: "Marilyn Monroe and Billy Wilder: "It's Me, Sugar"" | |
| 2019–2020 | Sex Education | Remi Milburn | 5 episodes |
| 2019 | 3Below: Tales of Arcadia | Kanjigar the Courageous (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2020–2022 | Pennyworth | Captain Gulliver "Gully" Troy / Captain Blighty | Main role;seasons 2–3[10] |
| 2020 | El Candidato | Wayne Addison | 10 episodes |
| 2020 | No Man's Land | Stanley | 8 episodes |
| 2021 | A Discovery of Witches | Philippe de Clermont | |
| 2022 | Marie Antoinette | Louis XV | |
| 2023 | Malpractice | Dr. Leo Harris[21] | |
| 2023 | Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie | Rick Eden | Television film |
| 2024 | The Veil | Sir Michael Althorpe | |
| 2025 | The Recruit | Oliver Bonner-Jones | |
| Outrageous | David Mitford | ||
| The Witcher | Stefan Skellen, Spy Master Advisor to Emhyr Var Emreis | Season 4[22] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Afternoon Play: The Tears of War[23] | Bevil Quiller-Couch | BBC Radio 4 |
| 2014 | Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? | Rick Deckard | |
| 2016 | Le Cid | Don Rodrigue | BBC Radio 3 |
| 2017 | The Scarlet Pimpernel | Sir Percy Blakeney | BBC Radio 4 |
