James Fox

Born on May 19, 1939, in the British capital, William Fox –it is not very clear why he later chose James as his stage name– belongs to a family closely related to cinema, as he has brothers the illustrious actor Edward Fox , and producer Robert Fox, while his grandfather, Frederick Lonsdale , succeeded as a playwright and screenwriter for titles like Devil Pay! , which starred Ronald Colman .

He started out as a child actor, at the age of eleven, with roles in The Miniver Story and The Magnet, where he was credited under his birth name. After receiving a rigid upbringing at Harrow, a London school, he became a member of the Coldstream Guard, protectors of the residences of the royal family, famous for their tall caps. He then went to work at a bank, ready to forget about acting forever. At that time, Tony Richardson offered him a very minor role in The Loneliness of the Long-distance Runner , one of the great titles of Free Cinema. But James Fox ‘s fatherhe tried to prevent her from accepting, claiming that she had no acting talent, and that it was in her best interest to keep a steady job. In the end, the boy chose acting, and took part in the film, along with his brother, Edward.

After playing a young architect in Joseph Losey ‘s valued The Servant , James Fox turned to Ken Annakin ‘ s comedy about the excitement of the early days of aviation The Nuts in Their Crazy Gadgets , bringing to life Richard Mays, fiancé of an heiress ( Sarah Miles ), who tries to win the aerial competition organized by her father. The success of this production shot at Cinerama opened the doors of Hollywood blockbusters, such as Arthur Penn ‘s The Human Pack , in which he played the role of Jane Fonda ‘s lover , and Isadora , byKarel Reisz , where he became a young set designer, the first love of the leading dancer (Vanessa Redgrave).

After playing a psychopathic gangster in 1970, opposite rock idol Mick Jagger , in the psychedelic and unclassifiable Performance , his father passed away, an event that caused James Fox to put aside his acting profession to become an evangelical preacher. For a few years, he was only involved in No Longer Alone  (1978), about a suicidal woman who is saved from her by her Christian faith. “I think it was good for me to spend some time away from acting. I never lost contact with the cinema, because I was watching movies and reading about them. I didn’t think I was wasting time, ”James Fox recalled. He was engaged in fundraising over the phone. “Some would recognize me when he called, but luckily it was in Yorkshire, where there weren’t many moviegoers.”

He returns in the 80s, when he embroiders the roles of a lord, Christopher Lambert ‘s love rival in Greystoke, the legend of Tarzan, King of the Apes , by Hugh Hudson , the British government’s educational superintendent in A Passage to India , by David Lean , the couturier Henley, from Mayfair, in Beginners , by Julien Temple , army colonel in Farewell to the King , by John Milius , a senior secret service official, in The Russian House , by Fred Schepisi , a lord hunted by the IRA in Game of patriots , by Phillip Noyce, and former patron of the butler Stevens ( Anthony Hopkins ), in The Remains of the Day , by James Ivory .

Married to Mary Elizabeth Piper, until she passed away in 2020, the couple had five children. Three are dedicated to acting, Laurence Fox ( Gosford Park ), Jack Fox ( Lobo ) and Lydia Fox ( Submarine ). “My family is my greatest support. They do a lot for me. They also tease me, but I love them because they are very natural”, admits James Fox.

During his last years of his career, he has been relegated to a luxury secondary. He has been seen as a colonel, in The Golden Cup , again under the orders of Ivory, Mr. Salt, father of the girl graced with a visit to Willy Wonka’s factory, in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , by Tim Burton , Sir Thomas, a guy who turns up dead, in  Guy Ritchie ‘s Sherlock Holmes , and a Lord friend of the Granthams in the Downton Abbey series .