James Floyd (actor)

James Krishna Floyd (born 27 August 1985) is a British actor. He was named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit and won a British Independent Film Award for his role in ''My Brother the Devil'' (2013). His other films include ''Everywhere and Nowhere'' (2011) and ''The Swimmers'' (2022). On television, he is known for his role in the series ''The Good Karma Hospital'' (2017–2019).

Early life

Floyd was born in Kings Cross, London and grew up in North West London with his parents. His mother is an Indian Tamil, and his father is English with Scottish ancestry. Floyd's father was a civil servant, working as a probation officer in such areas as Tottenham and Holloway, and his mother taught English to refugees and Category A prisoners at HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs. Floyd grew up attending plays at the Royal Shakespeare Company, which he later credits as inspiration for his acting career.

Floyd attended the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) studying Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method but left to pursue a career in theatre. He trained at the RADA Youth Summer Program at the Old Vic and later became an alumnus of the National Youth Theatre.

Career

Theatre

Floyd began his career attending open auditions through the National Youth Theatre in London making his stage debut as one of the chorus in ''Antigone at Hell’s Mouth'' performed at the Soho Theatre. In 2005, he landed a lead in ''Totally Practically Naked in My Room on a Wednesday Night'' performed at the Tristan Bates Theatre. Despite this, he struggled for many years to make ends meet, working as an usher at the Strand Theatre and teaching maths to young students while auditioning.

In 2007, Floyd starred as a young alcoholic indigenous Canadian in J.B. Priestley’s play ''The Glass Cage'' at the Royal & Derngate theatre, directed by Laurie Sansom. And in 2008, he played Ali, a Pakistani student from Detroit in Anna Ziegler’s ''Dov and Ali'' at Theatre503.

Film

Floyd’s first starring film role was the 2011 coming-of-age drama ''Everywhere and Nowhere'', in which he played a British Pakistani teenager who has a passion for music and DJing. The film played to stellar reviews at the Mumbai Film Festival and Dinard Film Festival, and was released in the UK, Europe, and the Middle East.

In 2012, Floyd starred in the 2013 drama ''My Brother the Devil'', a tale of two British-Egyptian brothers growing up on a tough council estate in Hackney, East London. It was Sally El Hosaini’s debut film as a writer/director, and Floyd starred as "Rash", a young drug-dealing boxer with a secret. To prepare for the role, Floyd spent five months living with Hackney gang members and training as a boxer in order to “to get my head around how these guys really think and feel.” After his performance, Time Out reported that Floyd “be on every director’s must-cast list.” Later that year, he signed with United Talent Agency in Los Angeles.

In 2015, Floyd played the lead role of Alex Harks, an American orphan caught up in a private spy ring in the thriller ''Rogue Agent'', executive produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and co-starring Anthony LaPaglia. In 2017, Floyd co-starred as a rags-to-riches British Indian businessman in British noir ''City of Tiny Lights'' along- side Riz Ahmed, Billie Piper and Cush Jumbo. The film was directed by Pete Travis and produced by Rebecca O’Brien.

Television

In 2007 Floyd played the role of footballer Miguel Lopez in the British TV series ''Dream Team''. In 2009 he appeared in the TV Film ''Compulsion'' (based on Jacobean tragedy '' The Changeling''), alongside Ray Winstone and Parminder Nagra. In 2012 he appeared as a Spanish bullfighter in Seville set crime series ''Falcón'' for Sky Atlantic. He portrayed Freddie Mercury in the 2013 BAFTA-winning BBC
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