James Fox

Early life

Fox was born on 19 May 1939 in London, the second son of theatrical agent Robin Fox 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. Fox applied successfully to study acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Career

Early career

Fox first appeared on film as eleven-year-old Toby Miniver in The Miniver Story in 1950. 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). Fox's father Robin Fox quarrelled bitterly with Tony Richardson over this, having attempted to forbid his friend from giving his son James (known as "Willie") a part in the film. His father claimed Willie had no talent for acting and should not give up his job in a bank.

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.

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. Some of the other films he acted in during this time are King Rat (1965), The Chase (1966), Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), Isadora (1968), and Performance (1970).

Spiritual life and break from acting

After finishing work on Performance (released 1970, but shot in 1968), Fox suspended his acting career. The film, which starred Fox and Mick Jagger, was deemed so outrageous that critics at a preview screening walked out, with one film executive's wife reportedly throwing up in the cinema.

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."

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

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 (1983), A Passage to India (1984), and Comrades (1986). He played Anthony Blunt in the BBC play by Alan Bennett, A Question of Attribution (1992). 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, the 2001 adaptation of The Lost World as Prof. Leo Summerlee, Agatha Christie's Poirot – Death on the Nile (2004) as Colonel Race, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), playing Mr. Salt, Veruca Salt's father. He appeared in the Doctor Who audio drama Shada, and in 2007, he guest-starred in the British television crime series Waking the Dead. He also appeared opposite his son Laurence Fox in "Allegory of Love", an episode in the third series of Lewis. He was part of the cast of Sherlock Holmes (2009), as Sir Thomas, leading member of a freemason-like secret society.

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

In 2013, he played a lead role alongside Natalie Dormer in the movie A Long Way from Home.

Personal life

Fox married Mary Elizabeth Piper in September 1973, with whom he has five children, including Laurence and Jack. Piper died at their home on 19 April 2020.

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

Filmography

Film

Television

References

References

1. [[Robert Morley]], ''Robert Morley: a reluctant autobiography'' (1967), p. 214
2. (December 6, 2012). "A Family Of Foxes: Edward, James, Robert, Laurence, Emilia, Freddie, Even Billie Piper...". huffingtonpost.co.uk.
3. "Central School of Speech and Drama High Profile Alumni". cssd.ac.uk.
4. Simon Hattenstone. (December 2, 2013). "James Fox: 'I didn't take that much acid'". [[The Guardian]].
5. "James Fox credits". tvguide.com.
6. 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."
7. "BAFTA Film - Most Promising Newcomer To Leading Film Roles in 1964". awards.bafta.org.
8. Crowther, Bosley. (17 June 1965). "Movie Review: Those Magnificent Men In their Flying Machines (1965)". [[The New York Times]].
9. (1 January 1965). "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines – Or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes".
10. Jeeves. (22 November 2010). ""Tweedland" The Gentlemen's club: James Fox". Tweedland the Gentlemans Club.
11. "Biography at British Cinema Greats".
12. (20 June 2007). "The Epitome of a Christian Woman". Christianity Today.
13. (2 March 2010). "Bean, Rampling Join Terrorist Thriller "Cleanskin"". Dark Horizons.
14. (18 March 2011). "W./E film Cast". We-movie.com.
15. (20 April 2020). "Telegraph Announcements {{!}} Deaths {{!}} Fox". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
16. White, Adam. (23 June 2017). "The Crystal Maze 2017: everything you need to know about host Richard Ayoade". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
17. (31 December 2007). "Church wedding for Piper and Fox". BBC News.
18. (12 May 2016). "Billie Piper and Laurence Fox divorce". ITV News.
19. "The Road to 1984 (1983)".
20. [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