James Dreyfus

James Dreyfus (born 9 October 1968) is an English actor most notable for his roles on television sitcoms The Thin Blue Line as Constable Kevin Goody, and Gimme Gimme Gimme as Tom Farrell. Dreyfus is most recently known for his role as Reverend Roger in Mount Pleasant.

James Dreyfus
Born (1968-10-09) 9 October 1968
France
NationalityBritish
OccupationActor
Years active1993–present
Notable work
The Thin Blue Line (1995–96)
Absolutely Fabulous (1995–96)
Gimme Gimme Gimme (1999–2001)
The Sarah Jane Adventures (2011)
Mount Pleasant (2012–17)

Early life

He was born in France but moved to England at an early age and was educated at Harrow School[1] and then trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.[2] His parents divorced when he was very young.[3][4]

Career

In 1998, Dreyfus won the Best Supporting Performance in a Musical Olivier Award for his work in The Lady In The Dark at the National Theatre. In the same year, he was nominated for the Ian Charleson Award for his performance as Cassius in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar at the Birmingham Rep.

Dreyfus's first television break came with the BBC comedy series Absolutely Fabulous.[5] followed by roles as Constable Kevin Goody in Ben Elton's sitcom The Thin Blue Line and Tom Farrell, the gay flatmate of Linda (Kathy Burke) in Gimme Gimme Gimme. Dreyfus played opposite Bette Midler in the short-lived American sitcom Bette.

Known for portraying "camp, endearing characters," Dreyfus (in a Sheengate Publishing interview) compared the character Frank Spencer from Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, whom he described as a campy but married heterosexual, to Dreyfus's character Kevin Goody from The Thin Blue Line. Regarding his character Tom Farrell from Gimme Gimme Gimme, Dreyfus hypothesized that, even if the character were heterosexual, the actor would still portray Tom as camp and flamboyant.[6] Furthermore, Dreyfus said that he felt that he became typecast due to his portrayals of "flamboyant" characters.[6]

He played Thermoman in the BBC One comedy My Hero, a role he took over in the sixth series from Ardal O'Hanlon. Although the same character, he used the name George Monday, as opposed to Ardal O'Hanlon's character's name, George Sunday. After disappointing ratings, the show was cancelled.

Dreyfus also starred as Mr Teasy-Weasy in the 2004 comedy film Churchill: The Hollywood Years.

From 2012 to 2017, Dreyfus appeared as Reverend Roger in the Sky Living series Mount Pleasant.

In 2017 he voiced an incarnation of The Master from Doctor Who in the Big Finish Productions release The First Doctor Adventures Volume One[7], going on to appear as the character in 2019's 'The Home Guard'[8] and 2020's 'The Psychic Circus'.[9].

Selected works
Year Title Role Notes
1995Thin IceGreg
1995–96The Thin Blue LineConstable Kevin GoodyTV series (14 episodes)
1995–96Absolutely FabulousChristopherTV series (2 episodes)
1996BoyfriendsPaul
1999Notting HillMartin
1999–2001Gimme Gimme GimmeTom FarrellTV series (19 episodes)
2000GormenghastProfessor FlukeTV
2000–2001BetteOscarU.S. TV series (18 episodes)
2004Fat SlagsFidor KonstantinTV
2004Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination LondonGordon
2004The ProducersCarmen GhiaTheatre Royal, Drury Lane
2004Waking the DeadRaymond Carstairs
2005Willo the WispAll voicesRevival to original 1981 series
2006Colour Me KubrickMelvyn Prescott
2006My HeroGeorge Monday / ThermomanTV series (8 episodes)
2006-7CabaretEmceeLyric Theatre, London
2007Double TimeLawrence Nixon/George McCabe
2007Nina and the NeuronsFelix (voice)
2009CasualtyRoryTV
2011The Sarah Jane AdventuresHarrisonTV
2012Midsomer MurdersRalph FordTV
2012Holby CityFelixTV
2012WhitechapelCharlie CrossTV
2012–2017Mount PleasantReverend RogerTV
2013Dandelion & BurdockDandelionTV
2013-14 Candide Dr Pangloss Menier Chocolate Factory, London
2013ShamelessSchool InspectorTV
2015Father BrownBinkie CadwallerEpisode 3.10 "The Judgment of Man"
2015Scottish MusselHeadmaster
2020SupernovaTim
gollark: If you have a universe entirely without human values, it isn't going to be pleasantly alien and diverse or something, but just horrible and/or boring to us.
gollark: I don't see why you'd trust "the universe" to do anything but execute physics.
gollark: Solution: mirrors.
gollark: But for e.g. cancer you really just want none.
gollark: Also², I don't like this "balance" thing; it is the case for many things that too much and too little are both bad.

References
  1. "How We Met: James Dreyfus & Robert Portal". The Independent. 11 May 2008.
  2. Wylie, Ian. "Double trouble for James". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
  3. Fletcher, Mary, Why life's looking Goody for James, TV Times, pg 31.
  4. Thomas Quinn. "Interview: James Dreyfus". thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  5. "Our interview with James Dreyfus". sheengate.co.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  6. Our interview with James Dreyfus. Interviewed by Rob Edwards. Sheengate Publishing. 31 January 2013.
  7. "1. Doctor Who: The First Doctor Adventures Volume 01 - Doctor Who - The First Doctor Adventures - Big Finish". www.bigfinish.com. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  8. "6.1. Doctor Who: The Home Guard - Doctor Who - The Early Adventures - Big Finish". www.bigfinish.com. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  9. "261. Doctor Who: The Psychic Circus - Doctor Who - The Monthly Adventures - Big Finish". www.bigfinish.com. Retrieved 18 May 2020.


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