Lennie James was born in Nottingham to Trinidadian parents, and grew up in South London. His mother, Phyllis Mary James, died when he was 12. Lennie and his older brother went into a council children’s home. When he was 16 he was fostered with a social worker who had two older children, and they remain very close. Within a year Lennie began writing plays (Storm Damage was broadcast by the BBC in 2000 and won a Royal Television Society (RTS) award in 2001). Lennie received his training at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama from which he graduated in 1988.
Lennie James
Movies
Sahara
Retired US admiral Sandecker’s foundation finances various projects worldwide, including high tech marine salvage by brilliant Dirk Pitt’s US Navy Seal veterans team including buddy Al Giordino, which dreams of finding the mysteriously missing Confederal gold aboard the ironclad battleship ‘of Death’. Pitts bumps into evidence for his theory it…
Fun Facts
Graduated from Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1988.
Long term partner of Giselle Glasman with whom he has three daughters: Romy, and twins Celine and Georgia.
Quotes
If you look in real life, it is very hard to describe people as good people, bad people, heroes or villains. People aren't bad people. They all have their justifications.
When I was growing up and watching 'The Sweeney,' the notion of police officers being an inch away from the villains that they're chasing was commonplace.
I was dreading all of the ghost stories of working on American television, not in the least, the length. In Britain, a series is six episodes of an hour drama, maybe sometimes eight, but never twenty-two, so I was petrified of that.
My favorite television show of all time is 'Hill Street Blues.' I think it's the show that is to television what Pele was to football or Muhammad Ali was to boxing.
I've worked in the theater, television, and films. A five-hour TV series is certainly more time than a character I'd be playing in a film.
One of the things I liked about playing Tony Gates in 'Line of Duty' was that I don't think he gave much thought to justifying his actions until he was under investigation.
I'm not a broad comic, but I think I can be funny and I think I make people laugh.
I'm not setting 'Jericho' up to be anything other than what it is, which is, you know, a piece of good, well thought-out, well put-together TV and entertainment.
I'm part of that generation that grew up watching TV, and being an actor was all about being on TV or being in films.
I owe 'Jericho' my whole time in America, really. It was a fantastic group of people to work with.
One of the things I learnt over the years is that there is a craft to writing, like there is a craft to acting. I hadn't done my apprenticeship as a writer. I did try to be a writer for hire but I'm not any good at it.
I went to an all boys' school in South London and the only god was sport.
I don't usually like talking about acting or what my process is, and all those kinds of things, because I don't necessarily think it's helpful to talk about how I do my job.
I will say that when I first came out to the States to work on 'Jericho,' that was the only time that I've ever been frightened about a job, because in America they tell stories over such a long time, and I was petrified that I'd get bored.
My thing is, I like playing guys who have a really interesting internal monologue.
I've written virtually as long as I've acted, it wasn't a sudden transition. I acted in my first play when I was 16 and I wrote my first play when I was 17.