Early work On stage he has costarred in productions of
The Picture of Dorian Gray (2002), ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream (2005) and My Fair Lady (2006), and others, as well as Fangs
in 2007, a comedic telling of a Johannesburg vampire that loses his fangs. He also costarred in Everybody Else (is Fucking Perfect)'', a 2007 comedy about a married couple forced to face the husband's sexuality and infidelity. James has appeared in numerous commercials and corporate promotional materials, including ads and promotions for
Toys 'R Us,
Ford,
Compaq, and Cipler Insurance. He has also guest-starred in many South African television series and
soaps, including roles in
Criminal Minds (2000),
Snitch (2004),
Jozi Street (2004), and the long-running
Isidingo, where from 2004 to 2006 he portrayed a hired
assassin called Mad Dog. To prepare for the role, James took a course of
steroids to put on 10 kg (approx. 22 lbs) of muscle. His actual experience in the military made him comfortable with the various weapons and battle sequences, but he did struggle with the amount of profanity expected of him. While his was only a supporting role, it did still earn the attention of critics;
The Coventry Telegraph (UK) says, "David James is spot on as the merciless Colonel Venter", and Munyaradzi Vomo of
IOL would later refer to it as "almost Oscar-worthy material".
2009–2010 James had a recurring role as Danie Nel, a hired gun, in the series
Binnelanders in 2009. In 2010, in the stage play
Rivonia Trial, James portrayed
Joel Joffe, the attorney who represented
Nelson Mandela in the infamous 1963–64
anti-apartheid trials of the same name. The play was generally well-received critically and described by the State Theatre as being a "complete sell-out". Also in 2010, he portrayed Afrikaner Sergeant Hattingh in a stage production of
Biko: Where the Soul Resides, the story of South African
martyr Steven Bantu Biko. It is widely believed that Biko died at the hands of Hattingh during police interrogations in 1977. The play itself was not typically well-reviewed;
The Times stated, "The talented David James gives a rather cliched portrayal of Afrikaner Sergeant Hattingh. It wouldn't be surprising to learn that the part was perhaps written that way. It's very rare to find a portrayal of a member of the apartheid regime that does not resort to a lacklustre caricature." Later in 2010, he co-starred in
Jock of the Bushveld - the Musical, based on the best-selling book
Jock of the Bushveld by
James Percy FitzPatrick. In this
Lion King-like story of a dog lost in the African bush, James portrayed one of three hungry yet comical
vultures waiting for the animal to become dinner. The large-scale play itself was lauded by critics, as were all the performers. James guest starred in an episode of
Wild at Heart, playing Van Heerden, a ranch owner caught poisoning lions feeding on his cattle. He was also featured in an episode of the South African television series
Solving It, a true-crime re-enactment drama that airs on the
SABC. In this episode he portrayed Jan Gabriel De Wet Kritzinger, who, in 2000, boarded a bus to Mamelodi, shot and killed the bus driver and opened fire on passengers; Kritzinger then fled police and remained in hiding for two years before being caught. In December, James appeared as vicious
vampire Borlak in the South African modern-day vampire film
Eternity. As with '''', James was working with a first-time feature film director,
Chris Dos Santos, who was brought onto the film in its late stage of development when the original director left the production after a disagreement with the film's producer, Anton Ernst. Dos Santos said in one interview that he "hadn't had a chance" to talk to James about his character until after filming began.
Eternity was lambasted by critics.
2011 In 2011 James played Dieter, one of a gang of ruthless kidnappers, in the British miniseries
Kidnap and Ransom, which was produced by and starred actor
Trevor Eve. The three-part miniseries about a hostage negotiator (Eve) was filmed entirely in South Africa and received generally positive reviews. He also had minor roles in
Strike Back, another British series that is shown on
Cinemax, and
Winnie, a film based on the life of
Winnie Mandela which starred
Jennifer Hudson and
Terrence Howard. In April and May, he reprised his role as Joel Joffe in an encore presentation of
Rivonia Trial at the State Theatre in Pretoria. As with its previous showing, the play received generally positive reviews, and would later be nominated for nine
Naledi Theatre Awards, including Best Production of a Play, winning three of those awards. In August 2011, James reunited with director Christopher-lee dos Santos to play the role of Stutze, a German SS officer hunting down the survivors of a Royal Air Force bomber that crash lands in Nazi occupied France. The film,
Angel of the Skies, was released in late 2013.
2012 James appears as Hermanus Meyer, a radio station manager, in the South African television series
Rhythm City. He played biker Danny Boy in the feature film ''
Angus Buchan's Ordinary People'', the story of South African preacher
Angus Buchan, released in April. In May, he had a role in the two-man, short-lived but well-received play
Comrade Babble, a political satire about slain South African businessman
Brett Kebble. He also appeared in the documentary
Saving Rhino Phila, playing a poacher in reenactments of poaching in the South African bush. The film was shown at the
Encounters Festival South Africa in Johannesburg in June, and won a prestigious
Wildscreen Wildlife & Environmental Film Festival Panda award for best film in the Nature Conservancy Environment and Conservation category.
2013 James played a villain called Hermanus Meyer in the TV series
Rhythm City for several years. == Personal life ==