Date of Birth- 22 January 1975, Manchester, Greater Manchester, England, UK

Height-6' 1" (1.85 m)Eyes - Blue Hair - Brown

Talent Agent-United Agents-Ruth Young.
Also handled by the United Talent Agency in California. As at July, 2011 James is being represented by UTA. James has a degree in Scriptwriting and his work, including the subversive Wall St. Drama On the O, is represented by literary agent James Degus at UTA(Sept, 2011).

From JM's UA talent CV:-
ACCENTS AND DIALECTS
(* = native) American Californian, American - Southern States, American-West Coast, Cheshire*, Cockney, Manchester, West Midlands, Yorkshire
LANGUAGES
(* = mother tongue) English*, French
MUSIC AND DANCE
(* = highly skilled) Guitar *
SPORTS
(* = highly skilled) Football*
VEHICLE LICENCES
Car and motorbike licence

QUOTES:

(About filming Primeval)I never thought I'd get to shoot a Gorgonopsid between the eyes in a forest. But then I never thought I'd be wading up to my waist in an East End reservoir, there are pros and cons.
It was fun, that's what attracted me personally to Primeval, because I've never really done too much hands-on-shameless boy's own gun-toting stuff before.
I don't care what anybody says, in every man there is an itching to fire a gun; it's the old boys and their toys cliche and I'm clearly no exception to the general rule. It was a great opportunity to be able to fulfil my James Bond boyhood fantasies, and run around with guns saving the day. Who isn't going to enjoy that?
(On his character Stephen) He’s a bit David Attenborough and Ray Mears all rolled into one.

(About the Sittaford Mystery)I think the appeal of Agatha Christie is just that the stories are so well crafted. To adapt her work you have to keep the complexity in order to make the mystery work and be interesting. The stories are so layered and every single character is so well defined, particularly with their back-story and their reason for being there. Everybody has an agenda, which makes everyone a suspect.

(On being a celebrity) Being from the North, I can't stand being over-serviced and over-looked after. Twenty years ago, if an actor went missing on set, you were likely to find him down the local pub, but these days it's probably going to be in the local gym. Me, I try to balance the two locations – or maybe they should have a bar in every gym.

(on being a heart-throb) Maybe I'm being incredibly ignorant, but I don't get a massive amount of female attention. I don't get jumped upon in the street, which I know some actors do. Maybe when I get the role of [James] Bond!

(About the Shape of Things) It's always interesting to tour through seaside theatres because you get a real mix of reactions. One or two people walked out in disgust; there is a fair amount of swearing. But the play's purpose is not to make an audience feel better. It is rather about getting a reaction and this play, if we do it properly, will certainly provoke people.

On Acting

James performed 90% of his stunts for Primeval himself, only relying on a stuntman for the insurance mandated scenes.

In order to prepare for the physicality of the role of Stephen Hart in Primeval James spent three weeks in Belize trekking before filming began.

Supposedly James' portrayal of Liam (ex boy-band member with a rehab problem) in Cutting It earned the ire of Liam Gallagher who believed it was a reference to himself and wrote a letter to the BBC to complain.

James dislocated his shoulder during filming of episode one of Primeval, much to his disgust the scene where he was hurt was eventually cut from the episode.

After his falling into the river scene in Under the Greenwood Tree James states his fan mail increased, especially in regard to requests for a signed photo of him from that scene.

* Dever Springs Trout Fishery
Barton Stacey, Winchester 01264 720592; deversprings.freeserve.co.uk.
"A great place to fly-fish for some potentially enormous rainbow and brown trout, along a half-mile stretch of the River Dever, a tributary of the Test, near Andover. " Nearest station: Andover, from where you can catch a taxi from the station.

* Syon Park Fishery
Syon Park (020 8568 6354; alburyestate.com).
"This is the only small still-water trout fishery in London. The lake was built by Capability Brown for the Duke of Northumberland, for his private fishing. When I'm up in town, it's the closest place to fish. It's lovely." From Kew Bridge station, take London Buses (0207 222 1234) routes 237 or 267.

* North Hampshire Downs
"The area surrounding us is absolutely gorgeous. We love discovering new walks with our two dogs, and the Hampshire countryside is so unspoiled."

Miscellaneous FACTS

* James hold both a car and motorcycle license.

* James speaks French, is proficient with a Guitar and plays Football very well. He also likes Folk Songs.

* James and partner Sarah Parish have just bought an old mill in rural Hampshire. They plan to grow their own food.
Quote:(Wednesday February 21, 2007,The Guardian)
Late last year, Sarah Parish decided to buy a house in the country. It was a relatively momentous resolution for her, she says, but having spent 20 happy, hectic years in London, she suddenly found herself"at that age where you realise you're fed up with all the noise and everything". Parish and her boyfriend, actor James Murray, purchased an old mill in a remote Hampshire village. Hello turnips, geese and rustic peace. Glorious. "Yeah," says Parish, stirring her cappuccino. "That's what we thought. But after we'd bought it, I suddenly thought, 'Fuck me, what have we done?' It needs rewiring, new floors, the lot. It's an absolute heap at the moment. I can't even begin to imagine the work that's involved. It's a disaster."

* Wouldn't mind having the opportunity to make more costume drama's – especially if he gets to win the girl (as in Under the Greenwood Tree)

* A Scottish engineer’s son who grew up in Manchester and Herefordshire, he’s a bit of a tease who once told an interviewer he liked drink and loved sex because they were both good Scottish traits.

* He’s so down to earth that he used to live in Balham, Peter Seller’s favourite South London send-up “I like it’s slightly rural feeling – and there aren’t so many actors living there that you fall over them when you buy your packet of fags in the morning,”

* He has been cast as a singer in several of his roles:-
Dick Dewy - In his fathers choir -he sings a solo to Keeley Hawes
Liam Carney - ex boy band - he has to sing a solo for the Academy's landlady to keep her sweet
Rick Reid(Urnhardt) - He's a reclusive musician, lead singer of the band Phoenix Blue.

* In the tv series Always & Everyone(2000) James(Dr.Danny Barton) stars alongside Emily Hamilton(Saskia Walker). They later star together again in the movie Phoenix Blue(2001).

* James smokes – as per the quote above and more obviously in the film Nailing Vienna.

* James has no time for “this celebrity culture rubbish”.

* When James was seven, Jimmy Savile fixed it for him to be 007. Instead he got to meet Timothy Dalton, who he later worked with on The Sittaford Mystery. He recently said that Primeval is ‘a great opportunity to fulfil my James Bond fantasies, and run around with guns saving the day.’

* When he’s not working, he loves to fish, although he’s not keen on coarse fishing – ‘which is where you sit and wait; I’d rather watch paint dry.’

* Sarah Parish (Blackpool, Cutting It) has been with James (seven years her junior) for almost two years and is ‘happier than I have ever been’ with a man who shares her love of the country and her aversion to the shallow world of celebrity. ‘I have no interest in premieres and launch parties – I would rather be down the pub with James and the dogs talking fly-fishing,’ she says.

* James Dyed his hair blonde for his role as Sandy Hunter, barman, in Coronation Street.