James Fox | |
|---|---|
 Fox in 2014 | |
| Born | William Fox (1939-05-19)19 May 1939 (age 85) London, England |
| Years active | 1950–1970, 1981–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5, includingJack andLaurence |
| Parent | Robin Fox (father) |
| Relatives |
|
| Family | Fox |
James William Fox (bornWilliam Fox; 19 May 1939) is an English actor known for his work in film and television. Fox's career began in the 1960s through roles in films such asThe Servant andPerformance. He is also known for his roles inA Passage to India in 1984 andThe Remains of the Day in 1993.
In the 1970s, Fox took a break from acting to focus on personal and spiritual matters, returning to acting in the early 1980s. Over time, he built a reputation for playing a variety of roles, including upper-class figures and more serious characters. He is a member of theFox family of actors.
Fox was born on 19 May 1939 inLondon, the second son oftheatrical agentRobin Fox[1] and actress Angela Worthington. His elder brother is actorEdward Fox and his younger brother is film producerRobert Fox. His maternal grandfather was playwrightFrederick Lonsdale.[2] Fox applied successfully to study acting at theCentral School of Speech and Drama.[3]
Fox first appeared on film as eleven-year-old Toby Miniver inThe Miniver Story in 1950.[4] His early screen appearances, both in film and television, were made under his birth name, William Fox.
He appeared in the filmThe Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962).[5] Fox's father purportedly attempted to forbid this, fearing his son would lose his job in the bank; nevertheless, Fox took the part.[6]
In 1964, Fox won aBAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles forThe Servant (1963), working alongsideDirk Bogarde,Sarah Miles, andWendy Craig.[7]
On 16 June 1965,Ken Annakin's period aviation filmThose Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines was released. In this Britishperiodcomedy film, Fox is featured among an internationalensemble cast includingStuart Whitman,Sarah Miles,Robert Morley,Terry-Thomas,Red Skelton,Benny Hill,Jean-Pierre Cassel,Gert Fröbe andAlberto Sordi.[8][9] Some of the other films he acted in during this time areKing Rat (1965),[5]The Chase (1966),[5]Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967),[5]Isadora (1968),[5] andPerformance (1970).[4]
After finishing work onPerformance (released 1970, but shot in 1968),[5] Fox suspended his acting career. The film, which starred Fox andMick Jagger, was deemed so outrageous (at the time) that critics at a preview screening walked out, with one film executive's wife reportedly throwing up in the cinema.[4]
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."[10]
He became an evangelical Christian, working with theNavigators and devoting himself to the ministry.[11] During this time, the only film in which Fox appeared wasNo Longer Alone (1976), the story of Joan Winmill Brown,[12] a suicidal woman who was led to faith inJesus Christ byRuth Bell Graham.[12]
After an absence from acting of several years, in 1981 Fox appeared on television in thePlay for Today "Country" byTrevor Griffiths, a comedy drama set against the 1945 UK parliamentary elections. On film he starred inStephen Poliakoff'sRunners (1983),[5]A Passage to India (1984),[5] andComrades (1986).[5] He playedAnthony Blunt in theBBC play byAlan Bennett,A Question of Attribution (1992).[5] He also portrayed the character of Lord Holmes inPatriot Games (1992), as well as Colonel Ferguson inFarewell to the King (1989) and the Nazi-sympathising aristocrat Lord Darlington inThe Remains of the Day (1993).
He has since appeared in the 2000 filmSexy Beast,[5] the2001 adaptation ofThe Lost World as Prof. Leo Summerlee,[5]Agatha Christie's Poirot –Death on the Nile (2004) asColonel Race,[5] andCharlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005),[5] playingMr. Salt,Veruca Salt's father. He appeared in theDoctor Whoaudio dramaShada,[5] and in 2007, he guest-starred in the British television crime seriesWaking the Dead.[5] He also appeared opposite his sonLaurence Fox in "Allegory of Love", an episode in the third series ofLewis.[5] He was part of the cast ofSherlock Holmes (2009), as Sir Thomas, leading member of afreemason-like secret society.[5]
In 2010, he filmedCleanskin, a terrorist thriller directed by Hadi Hajaig,[13] and in 2011 he playedKing George V in theMadonna written and directed filmW.E.[14]
In 2013, he played a lead role alongsideNatalie Dormer, in the movieA Long Way From Home.[4]
Fox married Mary Elizabeth Piper in September 1973, with whom he has five children, includingLaurence andJack. Piper died at their home on 19 April 2020.[2][15]
Through his daughter Lydia, his son-in-law is actorRichard Ayoade.[16] His former daughter-in-law is actressBillie Piper, who was married to his son Laurence from 2007 to 2016.[17][18]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Armchair Theatre | Jay Minton | Episode:Light from a Star |
| 1981 | Play for Today | Philip Carlion | Episode:Country |
| 1982 | Nancy Astor | Waldorf Astor | TV Mini-series |
| 1983 | Anna Pavlova | Victor Dandré | |
| The Road to 1984 | George Orwell | TV movie[19] | |
| 1989 | She's Been Away | Hugh Ambrose | TV movie |
| 1990 | Never Come Back | Foster | TV Mini-series |
| 1992 | A Question of Attribution | Sir Anthony Blunt | TV movie |
| 1993 | Heart of Darkness | Gosse | TV movie |
| 1994 | The Dwelling Place | Lord Fischel | TV Mini-series, 3 episodes[20] |
| Doomsday Gun | Sir James Whittington | TV movie | |
| The Old Curiosity Shop | The Single Gentleman | TV Mini-series | |
| 1995 | The Choir | The Dean, Hugh Cavendish | TV Mini-series, 5 episodes |
| 1996 | Gulliver's Travels | Dr. Bates | TV Mini-series |
| 2001 | Armadillo | Sir Simon Sherrifmuir | |
| The Lost World | Prof. Leo Summerlee | TV movie | |
| 2002 | The Falklands Play | Lord Carrington KCMG MC PC (Foreign Secretary) | |
| 2003 | Cambridge Spies | Lord Halifax | TV Mini-series |
| 2003 | Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairytale | Jonas Collin | TV movie |
| 2004 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Colonel Race[broken anchor] | Episode:Death on the Nile |
| 2005 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Colonel Arthur Bantry | Episode:The Body in the Library |
| Colditz | Lt. Colonel Jimmy Fordham | TV Mini-series | |
| Absolute Power | Gerald Thurnham | Episode:Identity Crisis | |
| 2006 | Suez: A Very British Crisis | Anthony Eden | TV documentary |
| 2007 | Waking the Dead | Dr Bruno Rivelli | Episode:Mask of Sanity |
| 2008 | New Tricks | Ian Figgis | Episode:Spare Parts |
| 2009 | Lewis | Professor Norman Dearing | Episode:Allegory of Love |
| Margaret | Charles Powell | TV movie | |
| Red Riding 1980 | Philip Evans | TV movie | |
| 2010 | Midsomer Murders | Sir Michael Fielding | Episode:Master Class |
| 2011 | Law & Order: UK | Dr. Edward Austen | Episode:The Wrong Man |
| 2012 | Merlin | King Rodor | Episode:Another's Sorrow |
| 2013 | Utopia | The Assistant | 6 episodes |
| The Great Train Robbery | Henry Brooke | TV movie | |
| Downton Abbey | Lord Aysgarth | Episode:The London Season | |
| 2014 | Unknown Heart [fr] | Ludlow | |
| 1864 | Lord Palmerston | Miniseries | |
| 2015 | Death in Paradise | Martin Goodman | 2 episodes |
| London Spy | James | Episode:Blue |
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