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{{short description|English actor (born 1939)}}
:''For the British singer, pianist, and guitarist, see [[James Fox (singer)]].''
{{other uses}}
{{Distinguish|Jamie Foxx}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = James Fox
| image = James Fox 2014.png
| caption = Fox in 2014
| birth_name = William Fox
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1939|5|19}}
| birth_place = [[London]], England
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| resting_place =
| years_active = 1950–1970, 1981–present
| spouse = {{marriage|Mary Elizabeth Piper|1973|2020|end=her death}}
| children = 5, including [[Jack Fox (actor)|Jack]] and [[Laurence Fox|Laurence]]
| parents = [[Robin Fox (theatrical agent)|Robin Fox]] (father)
| relatives = {{ubl|[[Edward Fox (actor)|Edward Fox]] (brother)|[[Robert Fox (producer)|Robert Fox]] (brother)}}
| family = [[Robin Fox family|Fox]]
| website =
}}


'''James William Fox''' (born '''William Fox'''; 19 May 1939) is an English actor. He won a [[BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles]] for ''[[The Servant (1963 film)|The Servant]]'' (1963). Other credits include ''[[The Miniver Story]]'' (1950), ''[[The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (film)|The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner]]'' (1962), ''[[Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines]]'' (1965), ''[[King Rat (film)|King Rat]]'' (1965), ''[[The Chase (1966 film)|The Chase]]'' (1966), ''[[Thoroughly Modern Millie]]'' (1967), ''[[Isadora (film)|Isadora]]'' (1968), and ''[[Performance (film)|Performance]]'' (1970). He quit acting for several years to be an [[evangelicalism|evangelical]] [[Christian]].
'''James Fox''' (born [[19 May]], [[1939]]) is an [[England|English]] [[actor]].


On his return to acting in the 1980s, he starred in ''[[Runners (film)|Runners]]'' (1983), ''[[A Passage to India (film)|A Passage to India]]'' (1984), ''[[Comrades (1986 film)|Comrades]]'' (1986), ''[[A Question of Attribution]]'' (1992), ''[[Patriot Games (film)|Patriot Games]]'' (1992), ''[[Farewell to the King]]'' (1993), ''[[Heart of Darkness (1993 film)|Heart of Darkness]]'' (1993), ''[[The Remains of the Day (film)|The Remains of the Day]]'' (1993), ''[[Gulliver's Travels (miniseries)|Gulliver's Travels]]'' (1996), ''[[Anna Karenina (1997 film)|Anna Karenina]]'' (1997), and ''[[Mickey Blue Eyes]]'' (1999).
He was born in [[London]], the brother of actor [[Edward Fox (actor)|Edward Fox]] and film producer [[Robert Fox]]. His early film appearances were made under the name '''William Fox'''. During the [[1960s]] he gained popularity and appeared to be heading for film stardom. His appearances in films such as ''[[Thoroughly Modern Millie]]'' ([[1967]]) and ''Performance'' ([[1970]]) (alongside [[Mick Jagger]]), as well as his relationship with actress [[Sarah Miles]], had made him a media personality. It was then that he decided to give up acting altogether to devote himself to charitable work.


From 2000 onwards he appeared in ''[[Sexy Beast (film)|Sexy Beast]]'' (2000), [[The Lost World (2001 film)|2001 adaptation of ''The Lost World'']] (2001), ''[[Agatha Christie's Poirot]] – [[Death on the Nile]]'' (2004), ''[[Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005 film)|Charlie and the Chocolate Factory]]'' (2005), ''[[Waking the Dead (TV series)|Waking the Dead]]'' (2007), ''[[Lewis (TV series)|Lewis]]'' (2009), ''[[Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)|Sherlock Holmes]]'' (2009), ''[[Cleanskin (film)|Cleanskin]]'' (2010), ''[[The Double (2013 film)|The Double]]'' (2013), ''[[W.E.]]'' (2010), ''[[Utopia (British TV series)|Utopia]]'' (2013), ''[[The Great Train Robbery (2013 film)|The Great Train Robbery]]'' (2013), ''[[Death in Paradise (TV series)|Death in Paradise]]'' (2015), and ''[[Surviving Christmas with the Relatives]]'' (2018).
After an absence of about ten years, Fox gradually returned to the screen, appearing with his brother Edward in ''[[A Passage to India]]'' ([[1984]]) and playing [[Anthony Blunt]] in the acclaimed [[BBC]] play by [[Alan Bennett]], ''[[A Question of Attribution]]'' ([[1992]]).

==Early life==
Fox was born on 19 May 1939 in [[London]], the second son of [[theatrical agent]] [[Robin Fox (theatrical agent)|Robin Fox]]<ref>[[Robert Morley]], ''Robert Morley: a reluctant autobiography'' (1967), p. 214</ref> and actress Angela Worthington. His elder brother is actor [[Edward Fox (actor)|Edward Fox]] and his younger brother is film producer [[Robert Fox (producer)|Robert Fox]]. His maternal grandfather was playwright [[Frederick Lonsdale]].<ref name="foxes">{{cite news |url= https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/10/14/a-family-of-foxes-edward-james-robert-laurence-emilia-freddie-billie-piper_n_1965596.html |title= A Family Of Foxes: Edward, James, Robert, Laurence, Emilia, Freddie, Even Billie Piper... |work= huffingtonpost.co.uk |date= December 6, 2012}}</ref>

==Career==

===Early career===
Fox first appeared on film as eleven-year-old Toby Miniver in ''[[The Miniver Story]]'' in 1950.<ref name="acid">{{cite news |author=Simon Hattenstone |date=December 2, 2013 |title=James Fox: 'I didn't take that much acid' |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/dec/02/actor-james-fox}}</ref> His early screen appearances, both in film and television, were made under his birth name, William Fox.

He appeared in the film ''[[The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (film)|The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner]]'' (1962).<ref name="tv">{{cite news |url= https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/james-fox/credits/3000387440/ |title= James Fox credits |work= tvguide.com |access-date= July 1, 2023}}</ref> Fox's father purportedly attempted to forbid this, fearing his son would lose his job in the bank; nevertheless, Fox took the part.<ref>James M. Welsh, John C. Tibbetts, ''The Cinema of Tony Richardson: Essays and Interviews'' (1999), p. 119: "It was Richardson who gave James Fox his first part as the public school runner who wins the race, despite the fact that his friend, agent Robin Fox, was bitterly against it: "We only had one quarrel, when he forbade me to offer his son 'Willie' James Fox a small role in ''The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner'', saying that his son had no talent and that for him to quit his job in a bank would be to disrupt his life."</ref>

In 1964, Fox won a [[BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles]] for ''[[The Servant (1963 film)|The Servant]]'' (1963), working alongside [[Dirk Bogarde]], [[Sarah Miles]], and [[Wendy Craig]].<ref name="bafta-1964">{{cite news |url= https://awards.bafta.org/award/1964/film/most-promising-newcomer-to-leading-film-roles |title= BAFTA Film - Most Promising Newcomer To Leading Film Roles in 1964 |work= awards.bafta.org |access-date= July 1, 2023}}</ref>

On 16 June 1965, [[Ken Annakin]]'s period aviation film ''[[Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines]]'' was released. In this British [[Period film|period]] [[comedy film]], Fox is featured among an international [[ensemble cast]] including [[Stuart Whitman]], [[Sarah Miles]], [[Robert Morley]], [[Terry-Thomas]], [[Red Skelton]], [[Benny Hill]], [[Jean-Pierre Cassel]], [[Gert Fröbe]] and [[Alberto Sordi]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0DEEDF173BE13ABC4F52DFB066838E679EDE |title=Movie Review: Those Magnificent Men In their Flying Machines (1965) |last=Crowther |first=Bosley |date=17 June 1965 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/1964/film/reviews/those-magnificent-men-in-their-flying-machines-or-how-i-flew-from-london-to-paris-in-25-hours-11-minutes-1200420712/ |title=Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines – Or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes |date=1 January 1965 |website=Variety |access-date=16 December 2019}}</ref> Some of the other films he acted in during this time are ''[[King Rat (film)|King Rat]]'' (1965),<ref name="tv"/> ''[[The Chase (1966 film)|The Chase]]'' (1966),<ref name="tv"/> ''[[Thoroughly Modern Millie]]'' (1967),<ref name="tv"/> ''[[Isadora (film)|Isadora]]'' (1968),<ref name="tv"/> and ''[[Performance (film)|Performance]]'' (1970).<ref name="acid"/>

===Spiritual life and break from acting===
After finishing work on ''[[Performance (film)|Performance]]'' (released 1970, but shot in 1968),<ref name="tv"/> Fox suspended his acting career. The film, which starred Fox and [[Mick 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.<ref name="acid"/>

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."<ref name="tweed">{{cite web|author=Jeeves |url= http://tweedlandthegentlemansclub.blogspot.com/2010/11/james-fox.html |title="Tweedland" The Gentlemen's club: James Fox |publisher= Tweedland the Gentlemans Club |date=22 November 2010 |access-date=13 May 2012}}</ref>

He became an evangelical Christian, working with the [[The Navigators (organization)|Navigators]] and devoting himself to the ministry.<ref name="cinema">{{cite web|url= http://www.britishcinemagreats.com/Actors_page/james_fox/james_fox_page_2.htm |title= Biography at British Cinema Greats |access-date=31 July 2006|url-status= dead |archive-date= July 22, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120722110857/http://www.britishcinemagreats.com/Actors_page/james_fox/james_fox_page_2.htm }}</ref> During this time, the only film in which Fox appeared was ''No Longer Alone'' (1976), the story of Joan Winmill Brown,<ref name="epit">{{cite news|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/juneweb-only/125-32.0.html |title=The Epitome of a Christian Woman |newspaper=Christianitytoday.com |publisher=Christianity Today |date=20 June 2007}}</ref> a suicidal woman who was led to faith in [[Jesus Christ]] by [[Ruth Bell Graham]].<ref name="epit"/>

===Return to acting===
After an absence from acting of several years, in 1981 Fox appeared on television in the ''[[Play for Today]]'' "Country" by [[Trevor Griffiths]], a comedy drama set against the 1945 UK parliamentary elections. On film he starred in [[Stephen Poliakoff]]'s ''[[Runners (film)|Runners]]'' (1983),<ref name="tv"/> ''[[A Passage to India (film)|A Passage to India]]'' (1984),<ref name="tv"/> and ''[[Comrades (1986 film)|Comrades]]'' (1986).<ref name="tv"/> He played [[Anthony Blunt]] in the [[BBC]] play by [[Alan Bennett]], ''[[A Question of Attribution]]'' (1992).<ref name="tv"/> He also portrayed the character of Lord Holmes in ''[[Patriot Games]]'' (1992), as well as Colonel Ferguson in ''[[Farewell to the King]]'' (1989) and the Nazi-sympathising aristocrat Lord Darlington in ''[[The Remains of the Day (film)|The Remains of the Day]]'' (1993).

He has since appeared in the 2000 film ''[[Sexy Beast (film)|Sexy Beast]]'',<ref name="tv"/> the [[The Lost World (2001 film)|2001 adaptation of ''The Lost World'']] as Prof. Leo Summerlee,<ref name="tv"/> ''[[Agatha Christie's Poirot]] – [[Death on the Nile]]'' (2004) as [[Colonel Race]],<ref name="tv"/> and ''[[Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005 film)|Charlie and the Chocolate Factory]]'' (2005),<ref name="tv"/> playing [[Charlie and the Chocolate Factory|Mr. Salt]], [[List of characters in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory#Veruca Salt|Veruca Salt]]'s father. He appeared in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' [[audio drama]] ''[[Shada (Doctor Who)|Shada]]'',<ref name="tv"/> and in 2007, he guest-starred in the British television crime series ''[[Waking the Dead (TV series)|Waking the Dead]]''.<ref name="tv"/> He also appeared opposite his son [[Laurence Fox]] in "Allegory of Love", an episode in the third series of ''[[Lewis (TV series)|Lewis]]''.<ref name="tv"/> He was part of the cast of ''[[Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)|Sherlock Holmes]]'' (2009), as Sir Thomas, leading member of a [[Freemasonry|freemason]]-like secret society.<ref name="tv"/>

In 2010, he filmed ''[[Cleanskin (film)|Cleanskin]]'', a terrorist thriller directed by Hadi Hajaig,<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/16492 |title= Bean, Rampling Join Terrorist Thriller "Cleanskin" |work= Dark Horizons |date= 2 March 2010}}</ref> and in 2011 he played [[George V|King George V]] in the [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] written and directed film ''[[W.E.]]''<ref name="w/e">{{cite web|url= http://we-movie.com/m/cast.html |title=W./E film Cast |publisher=We-movie.com |date=18 March 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140911075557/http://we-movie.com/m/cast.html |archive-date=11 September 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2013, he played a lead role alongside [[Natalie Dormer]], in the movie ''A Long Way From Home''.<ref name="acid"/>

==Personal life==
Fox married Mary Elizabeth Piper in September 1973, with whom he has five children: four sons, Robin, Thomas, [[Laurence Fox|Laurence]], [[Jack Fox (actor)|Jack]], and a daughter, Lydia. Piper died at their home on 19 April 2020.<ref name="foxes"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Telegraph Announcements {{!}} Deaths {{!}} Fox |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=20 April 2020 |url=http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/deaths/241195/fox |access-date=4 December 2021}}</ref>

Through his daughter Lydia, his son-in-law is actor [[Richard Ayoade]].<ref>{{cite news |last=White |first=Adam |date=23 June 2017 |title=The Crystal Maze 2017: everything you need to know about host Richard Ayoade |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/crystal-maze-2017-everything-need-know-host-richard-ayoade/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/crystal-maze-2017-everything-need-know-host-richard-ayoade/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> His former daughter-in-law is actress [[Billie Piper]], who was married to his son Laurence from 2007 to 2016.<ref name="BBC News">{{citation|title=Church wedding for Piper and Fox|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7165825.stm|publisher=BBC News|date=31 December 2007}}.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.itv.com/news/2016-05-12/actress-billie-piper-and-actor-laurence-fox-divorce/|title=Billie Piper and Laurence Fox divorce|publisher=ITV News|date=12 May 2016|access-date=12 May 2016}}</ref>

==Filmography==

===Film===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1950
| ''[[The Miniver Story]]''
| Toby Miniver
|
|-
| ''[[The Magnet (film)|The Magnet]]''
| Johnny Brent
|
|-
| 1962
| ''[[The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (film)|The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner]]''
| Gunthorpe
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1963
| ''[[Tamahine]]''
| Oliver
|
|-
| ''[[The Servant (1963 film)|The Servant]]''
| Tony
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1965
| ''[[King Rat (1965 film)|King Rat]]''
| Flight Lieutenant Peter Marlowe
|
|-
| ''[[Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines]]''
| Richard Mays
|
|-
| 1966
| ''[[The Chase (1966 film)|The Chase]]''
| Jason 'Jake' Rogers
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1967
| ''[[Thoroughly Modern Millie]]''
| Jimmy Smith
|
|-
| ''[[Arabella (1967 film)|Arabella]]''
| Giorgio
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1968
| ''[[Duffy (film)|Duffy]]''
| Stephane Calvert
|
|-
| ''[[Isadora (film)|Isadora]]''
| Gordon Craig
|
|-
| 1970
| ''[[Performance (film)|Performance]]''
| Chas Devlin
|
|-
| 1983
| ''[[Runners (film)|Runners]]''
| Tom Lindsay
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1984
| ''[[Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes]]''
| Lord Charles Esker
|
|-
| ''[[A Passage to India (film)|A Passage to India]]''
| Cyril Fielding
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1986
| ''[[Absolute Beginners (film)|Absolute Beginners]]''
| Henley of Mayfair, Dressmaker to the Queen
|
|-
| ''[[The Whistle Blower]]''
| Lord
|
|-
| ''[[Comrades (1986 film)|Comrades]]''
| Governor William Norfolk
|
|-
| 1987
| ''[[High Season (film)|High Season]]''
| Patrick
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1989
| ''[[Farewell to the King]]''
| Colonel Ferguson
|
|-
| ''[[The Mighty Quinn (film)|The Mighty Quinn]]''
| Thomas Elgin
|
|-
| 1990
| ''[[The Russia House (film)|The Russia House]]''
| Ned
|
|-
| 1991
| ''[[Afraid of the Dark]]''
| Frank
|
|-
| 1992
| ''[[Patriot Games (film)|Patriot Games]]''
| Lord William Holmes
|
|-
| 1993
| ''[[The Remains of the Day (film)|The Remains of the Day]]''
| Lord Darlington
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1997
| ''[[Anna Karenina (1997 film)|Anna Karenina]]''
| Aleksei Aleksandrovich Karenin
|
|-
| ''[[Never Ever (1996 film)|Never Ever]]''
| Arthur Trevane
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1998
| ''[[Shadow Run (film)|Shadow Run]]''
| Landon-Higgins
|
|-
| ''[[Jinnah (film)|Jinnah]]''
| [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|Mountbatten]]
|
|-
| 1999
| ''[[Mickey Blue Eyes]]''
| Philip Cromwell
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2000
| ''[[Up at the Villa (film)|Up at the Villa]]''
| Sir Edgar Swift
|
|-
| ''[[Sexy Beast]]''
| Harry
|
|-
| ''[[The Golden Bowl (film)|The Golden Bowl]]''
| Colonel Bob Assingham
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2001
| ''Lover's Prayer''
| Old Vladimir
| Voice
|-
| ''[[The Mystic Masseur]]''
| Mr. Stewart
|
|-
| 2004
| ''[[The Prince and Me]]''
| King Haraald
|
|-
| 2005
| ''[[Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film)|Charlie and the Chocolate Factory]]''
| [[List of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory characters#Other characters|Mr. Salt]]
|
|-
| 2007
| ''[[Mister Lonely]]''
| The Pope
|
|-
| 2009
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)|Sherlock Holmes]]''
| Sir Thomas Rotheram
|
|-
| 2010
| ''[[Wide Blue Yonder (film)|Wide Blue Yonder]]''
| George
|
|-
| 2011
| ''[[W.E.]]''
| [[King George V]]
|
|-
| 2012
| ''[[Cleanskin (film)|Cleanskin]]''
| Scott Catesby
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2013
| ''A Long Way From Home'' <ref name="acid"/>
| Joseph
|
|-
| ''[[The Double (2013 film)|The Double]]''
| The Colonel
|
|-
| ''[[Effie Gray (film)|Effie Gray]]''
| [[Charles Eastlake|Sir Charles Eastlake]]
|
|-

| 2018
| ''[[Surviving Christmas with the Relatives]]''
| Uncle John
|
|-

|}

===Television===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! 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 (TV series)|Nancy Astor]]''
| Waldorf Astor
|TV Mini-series
|-
| rowspan=2|1983
| ''[[Anna Pavlova (film)|Anna Pavlova]]''
| Victor Dandré
|
|-
| ''The Road to 1984''
| [[George Orwell]]
| TV movie<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b76372cf4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707162848/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b76372cf4|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 July 2023|title = The Road to 1984 (1983)}}</ref>
|-
| 1989
| ''[[She's Been Away]]''
| Hugh Ambrose
| TV movie
|-
| 1990
| ''[[Never Come Back]]''
| Foster
| TV Mini-series
|-
| 1992
| ''[[A Question of Attribution]]''
| [[Anthony Blunt|Sir Anthony Blunt]]
| TV movie
|-
| 1993
| ''[[Heart of Darkness (1993 film)|Heart of Darkness]]''
| Gosse
| TV movie
|-
| rowspan=3|1994
| ''The Dwelling Place''
| Lord Fischel
| TV Mini-series, 3 episodes<ref>[https://archive.today/20130201044512/http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/cqnz5/catherine-cookson's-the-dwelling-place--28122011 Catherine Cookson's The Dwelling Place] at radiotimes.com</ref>
|-
| ''[[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 (miniseries)|Gulliver's Travels]]''
| Dr. Bates
| TV Mini-series
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2001
| ''[[Armadillo (miniseries)|Armadillo]]''
| Sir Simon Sherrifmuir
|
|-
| ''[[The Lost World (2001 film)|The Lost World]]''
| Prof. Leo Summerlee
| TV movie
|-
| 2002
| ''[[The Falklands Play]]''
| [[Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington|Lord Carrington]] KCMG MC PC (Foreign Secretary)||
|-
| 2003
| ''[[Cambridge Spies]]''
| [[E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax|Lord Halifax]]
| TV Mini-series
|-
| 2003
| ''[[Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairytale]]''
| [[Jonas Collin]]
| TV movie
|-
| 2004
| ''[[Agatha Christie's Poirot]]''
| [[Recurring characters in the Hercule Poirot stories#Colonel Race|Colonel Race]]{{Broken anchor|date=2024-07-23|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=Recurring characters in the Hercule Poirot stories#Colonel Race|reason= The anchor (Colonel Race) [[Special:Diff/1236114975|has been deleted]].}}
| Episode: ''[[Death on the Nile]]''
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2005
| ''[[Agatha Christie's Marple]]''
| Colonel Arthur Bantry
| Episode: ''[[The Body in the Library]]''
|-
| ''[[Colditz (2005 TV series)|Colditz]]''
| Lt. Colonel Jimmy Fordham
| TV Mini-series
|-
| ''[[Absolute Power (comedy)|Absolute Power]]''
| Gerald Thurnham
| Episode: ''Identity Crisis''
|-
| 2006
| ''[[Suez Crisis|Suez: A Very British Crisis]]''
| [[Anthony Eden]]
| TV documentary
|-
| 2007
| ''[[Waking the Dead (TV series)|Waking the Dead]]''
| Dr Bruno Rivelli
| Episode: ''Mask of Sanity''
|-
| 2008
| ''[[New Tricks]]''
| Ian Figgis
| Episode: ''Spare Parts''
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2009
| ''[[Lewis (TV series)|Lewis]]''
| Professor Norman Dearing
| Episode: ''Allegory of Love''
|-
| ''[[Margaret (2009 film)|Margaret]]''
| [[Charles Powell, Baron Powell of Bayswater|Charles Powell]]
| TV movie
|-
| ''[[Red Riding#Red Riding 1980|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 (2008 TV series)|Merlin]]''
| [[List of Merlin characters#King Rodor|King Rodor]]
| Episode: ''Another's Sorrow''
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2013
| ''[[Utopia (British TV series)|Utopia]]''
| The Assistant
| 6 episodes
|-
| ''[[The Great Train Robbery (2013 TV series)|The Great Train Robbery]]''
| Henry Brooke
| TV movie
|-
| ''[[Downton Abbey]]''
| [[List of Downton Abbey characters#Recurring cast|Lord Aysgarth]]
| Episode: ''The London Season''
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2014
| ''{{ill|Unknown Heart|fr|De cœur inconnu}}''
| Ludlow
|
|-
| ''[[1864 (TV series)|1864]]''
| [[Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston|Lord Palmerston]]
| Miniseries
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2015
| ''[[Death in Paradise (TV series)|Death in Paradise]]''
| Martin Goodman
| 2 episodes
|-
| ''[[London Spy]]''
| James
| Episode: ''Blue''
|-
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
*{{imdb name|id=0289038|name=James Fox}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{AllMovie name}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{Discogs artist}}
* {{Screenonline name|id=450381}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160311164928/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f14a889 James Fox] at the [[British Film Institute]]{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}}
* ''[[The Guardian (newspaper)|The Guardian]]'' – [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/mar/13/1 "'Acting ... ? It paid for a bicycle, I seem to remember'"]
* James Fox Cast Photograph with [[Sophie Marceau]] and [[Petr Shelokhonov]] filming [[Anna Karenina (1997 film)|Anna Karenina]] in [[Russia]]: [http://www.petr-shelokhonov-en.narod.ru/HTML/Annakarenina/fotoannakarenina2.html]

{{Morice family tree}}
{{Robin Fox family tree}}
{{Hanbury Neilson family tree}}
{{Bafta Award for Most Promising Newcomer}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:1939 births|Fox, James]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, James}}
[[Category:Cinema actors|Fox, James]]
[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:English actors|Fox, James]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century evangelicals]]
[[Category:21st-century English male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century evangelicals]]
[[Category:BAFTA Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles winners]]
[[Category:Converts to evangelical Christianity]]
[[Category:English evangelicals]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from London]]
[[Category:People educated at Harrow School]]
[[Category:Robin Fox family]]

Latest revision as of 09:57, 2 November 2024

For other uses, see James Fox (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Jamie Foxx.

James Fox
Fox in 2014
Born
William Fox

(1939-05-19) 19 May 1939 (age 85)
London, England
Years active1950–1970, 1981–present
Spouse
Mary Elizabeth Piper
​
​
(m. 1973; died 2020)​
Children5, including Jack and Laurence
ParentRobin Fox (father)
Relatives
FamilyFox

James William Fox (born William Fox; 19 May 1939) is an English actor. He won a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles for The Servant (1963). Other credits include The Miniver Story (1950), The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962), Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965), King Rat (1965), The Chase (1966), Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), Isadora (1968), and Performance (1970). He quit acting for several years to be an evangelical Christian.

On his return to acting in the 1980s, he starred in Runners (1983), A Passage to India (1984), Comrades (1986), A Question of Attribution (1992), Patriot Games (1992), Farewell to the King (1993), Heart of Darkness (1993), The Remains of the Day (1993), Gulliver's Travels (1996), Anna Karenina (1997), and Mickey Blue Eyes (1999).

From 2000 onwards he appeared in Sexy Beast (2000), 2001 adaptation of The Lost World (2001), Agatha Christie's Poirot – Death on the Nile (2004), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Waking the Dead (2007), Lewis (2009), Sherlock Holmes (2009), Cleanskin (2010), The Double (2013), W.E. (2010), Utopia (2013), The Great Train Robbery (2013), Death in Paradise (2015), and Surviving Christmas with the Relatives (2018).

Early life

[edit]

Fox was born on 19 May 1939 in London, the second son of theatrical agent Robin Fox[1] and actress Angela Worthington. His elder brother is actor Edward Fox and his younger brother is film producer Robert Fox. His maternal grandfather was playwright Frederick Lonsdale.[2]

Career

[edit]

Early career

[edit]

Fox first appeared on film as eleven-year-old Toby Miniver in The Miniver Story in 1950.[3] His early screen appearances, both in film and television, were made under his birth name, William Fox.

He appeared in the film The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962).[4] Fox's father purportedly attempted to forbid this, fearing his son would lose his job in the bank; nevertheless, Fox took the part.[5]

In 1964, Fox won a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles for The Servant (1963), working alongside Dirk Bogarde, Sarah Miles, and Wendy Craig.[6]

On 16 June 1965, Ken Annakin's period aviation film Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines was released. In this British period comedy film, Fox is featured among an international ensemble cast including Stuart Whitman, Sarah Miles, Robert Morley, Terry-Thomas, Red Skelton, Benny Hill, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Gert Fröbe and Alberto Sordi.[7][8] Some of the other films he acted in during this time are King Rat (1965),[4] The Chase (1966),[4] Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967),[4] Isadora (1968),[4] and Performance (1970).[3]

Spiritual life and break from acting

[edit]

After finishing work on Performance (released 1970, but shot in 1968),[4] Fox suspended his acting career. The film, which starred Fox and Mick 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.[3]

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."[9]

He became an evangelical Christian, working with the Navigators and devoting himself to the ministry.[10] During this time, the only film in which Fox appeared was No Longer Alone (1976), the story of Joan Winmill Brown,[11] a suicidal woman who was led to faith in Jesus Christ by Ruth Bell Graham.[11]

Return to acting

[edit]

After an absence from acting of several years, in 1981 Fox appeared on television in the Play for Today "Country" by Trevor Griffiths, a comedy drama set against the 1945 UK parliamentary elections. On film he starred in Stephen Poliakoff's Runners (1983),[4] A Passage to India (1984),[4] and Comrades (1986).[4] He played Anthony Blunt in the BBC play by Alan Bennett, A Question of Attribution (1992).[4] He also portrayed the character of Lord Holmes in Patriot Games (1992), as well as Colonel Ferguson in Farewell to the King (1989) and the Nazi-sympathising aristocrat Lord Darlington in The Remains of the Day (1993).

He has since appeared in the 2000 film Sexy Beast,[4] the 2001 adaptation of The Lost World as Prof. Leo Summerlee,[4] Agatha Christie's Poirot – Death on the Nile (2004) as Colonel Race,[4] and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005),[4] playing Mr. Salt, Veruca Salt's father. He appeared in the Doctor Who audio drama Shada,[4] and in 2007, he guest-starred in the British television crime series Waking the Dead.[4] He also appeared opposite his son Laurence Fox in "Allegory of Love", an episode in the third series of Lewis.[4] He was part of the cast of Sherlock Holmes (2009), as Sir Thomas, leading member of a freemason-like secret society.[4]

In 2010, he filmed Cleanskin, a terrorist thriller directed by Hadi Hajaig,[12] and in 2011 he played King George V in the Madonna written and directed film W.E.[13]

In 2013, he played a lead role alongside Natalie Dormer, in the movie A Long Way From Home.[3]

Personal life

[edit]

Fox married Mary Elizabeth Piper in September 1973, with whom he has five children: four sons, Robin, Thomas, Laurence, Jack, and a daughter, Lydia. Piper died at their home on 19 April 2020.[2][14]

Through his daughter Lydia, his son-in-law is actor Richard Ayoade.[15] His former daughter-in-law is actress Billie Piper, who was married to his son Laurence from 2007 to 2016.[16][17]

Filmography

[edit]

Film

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1950 The Miniver Story Toby Miniver
The Magnet Johnny Brent
1962 The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Gunthorpe
1963 Tamahine Oliver
The Servant Tony
1965 King Rat Flight Lieutenant Peter Marlowe
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines Richard Mays
1966 The Chase Jason 'Jake' Rogers
1967 Thoroughly Modern Millie Jimmy Smith
Arabella Giorgio
1968 Duffy Stephane Calvert
Isadora Gordon Craig
1970 Performance Chas Devlin
1983 Runners Tom Lindsay
1984 Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes Lord Charles Esker
A Passage to India Cyril Fielding
1986 Absolute Beginners Henley of Mayfair, Dressmaker to the Queen
The Whistle Blower Lord
Comrades Governor William Norfolk
1987 High Season Patrick
1989 Farewell to the King Colonel Ferguson
The Mighty Quinn Thomas Elgin
1990 The Russia House Ned
1991 Afraid of the Dark Frank
1992 Patriot Games Lord William Holmes
1993 The Remains of the Day Lord Darlington
1997 Anna Karenina Aleksei Aleksandrovich Karenin
Never Ever Arthur Trevane
1998 Shadow Run Landon-Higgins
Jinnah Mountbatten
1999 Mickey Blue Eyes Philip Cromwell
2000 Up at the Villa Sir Edgar Swift
Sexy Beast Harry
The Golden Bowl Colonel Bob Assingham
2001 Lover's Prayer Old Vladimir Voice
The Mystic Masseur Mr. Stewart
2004 The Prince and Me King Haraald
2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Mr. Salt
2007 Mister Lonely The Pope
2009 Sherlock Holmes Sir Thomas Rotheram
2010 Wide Blue Yonder George
2011 W.E. King George V
2012 Cleanskin Scott Catesby
2013 A Long Way From Home [3] Joseph
The Double The Colonel
Effie Gray Sir Charles Eastlake
2018 Surviving Christmas with the Relatives Uncle John

Television

[edit]
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[18]
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[19]
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

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Robert Morley, Robert Morley: a reluctant autobiography (1967), p. 214
  2. ^ a b "A Family Of Foxes: Edward, James, Robert, Laurence, Emilia, Freddie, Even Billie Piper..." huffingtonpost.co.uk. 6 December 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e Simon Hattenstone (2 December 2013). "James Fox: 'I didn't take that much acid'". The Guardian.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "James Fox credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  5. ^ James M. Welsh, John C. Tibbetts, The Cinema of Tony Richardson: Essays and Interviews (1999), p. 119: "It was Richardson who gave James Fox his first part as the public school runner who wins the race, despite the fact that his friend, agent Robin Fox, was bitterly against it: "We only had one quarrel, when he forbade me to offer his son 'Willie' James Fox a small role in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, saying that his son had no talent and that for him to quit his job in a bank would be to disrupt his life."
  6. ^ "BAFTA Film - Most Promising Newcomer To Leading Film Roles in 1964". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  7. ^ Crowther, Bosley (17 June 1965). "Movie Review: Those Magnificent Men In their Flying Machines (1965)". The New York Times.
  8. ^ "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines – Or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes". Variety. 1 January 1965. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  9. ^ Jeeves (22 November 2010). ""Tweedland" The Gentlemen's club: James Fox". Tweedland the Gentlemans Club. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  10. ^ "Biography at British Cinema Greats". Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2006.
  11. ^ a b "The Epitome of a Christian Woman". Christianitytoday.com. Christianity Today. 20 June 2007.
  12. ^ "Bean, Rampling Join Terrorist Thriller "Cleanskin"". Dark Horizons. 2 March 2010.
  13. ^ "W./E film Cast". We-movie.com. 18 March 2011. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014.
  14. ^ "Telegraph Announcements | Deaths | Fox". The Daily Telegraph. 20 April 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  15. ^ White, Adam (23 June 2017). "The Crystal Maze 2017: everything you need to know about host Richard Ayoade". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  16. ^ Church wedding for Piper and Fox, BBC News, 31 December 2007.
  17. ^ "Billie Piper and Laurence Fox divorce". ITV News. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  18. ^ "The Road to 1984 (1983)". Archived from the original on 7 July 2023.
  19. ^ Catherine Cookson's The Dwelling Place at radiotimes.com
[edit]
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