James Krishna Floyd (born 27 August 1985) is a British actor, director and writer. As an actor he was named a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

Breakthrough Brit and has won a British Independent Film Award. As a director and writer he has been nominated for two British Independent Film Awards. His films include the acclaimed drama '' My Brother the Devil'', the popular

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

refugee epic '' The Swimmers'' (2022) and his filmmaking debut, the romantic drama ''

Unicorns The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unico ...

(2024)''. On television, he is known for starring in the popular UK series ''

The Good Karma Hospital ''The Good Karma Hospital'' is a medical drama series produced by Tiger Aspect Productions for ITV about a disillusioned doctor, Ruby Walker, who travels to South India hoping to make a fresh start. It stars Amanda Redman, Amrita Acharia, Jam ...

'' (2017–2022) and the international hit

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

drama '' No Man's Land'' (2021–2025).

Early life

Floyd was born in Kings Cross, London and grew up in North West London with his parents. His mother is Indian Tamil, and his father is English with

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

ancestry. Floyd's father was a civil servant, working as a probation officer in Tottenham and Holloway, and his mother taught English to refugees and Category A prisoners at

HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs (nicknamed "The Scrubs") is a Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category B men's local prison, located in the White City, London, White City area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West ...

. Floyd grew up attending plays at the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

, which he later credits as his inspiration for his acting career. Floyd won a government

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

to the independent secondary school UCS in London, UK, because his parents' income was low enough, and his state school grades were exceptional. He attended the

London School of Economics and Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the University ...

(LSE) studying

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

and

Scientific Method The scientific method is an Empirical evidence, empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has been referred to while doing science since at least the 17th century. Historically, it was developed through the centuries from the ancient and ...

but left to pursue a career in theatre. He trained at the

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central Lond ...

Youth Summer Program at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

and later became an alumnus of the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...

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 Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, and Soho Theatre Walthamstow in north-east London. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three pe ...

. In 2005, he landed a lead in ''Totally Practically Naked in My Room on a Wednesday Night'' performed at the

Tristan Bates Theatre Sir Alan Arthur Bates (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor who came to prominence in the Cinema of the United Kingdom#The 1960s, 1960s, when he appeared in films ranging from ''Whistle Down the Wind (film), Whistle Down ...

. 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 Laurie Sansom (born 1972) is a British theatre director. He is currently the Artistic Director of Halifax-based theatre company Northern Broadsides. Early life and education Sansom grew up in East Peckham, near Tonbridge, Kent. He attended ...

. And in 2008, he played Ali, a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

student from

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

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 British Pakistanis (; also known as Pakistani British people or Pakistani Britons) are Britons or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in Pakistan. This includes people born in the UK who are of Pakistani descent, Pakis ...

teenager who has a passion for music and DJing. The film played at the

Mumbai Film Festival The Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) is a public trust that organises the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in the city of Mumbai, India. Priyanka Chopra, Priyanka Chopra Jonas is the chairperson of the trust while Shivendra Singh Dungarpur serves ...

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 ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

brothers growing up on a tough council estate in Hackney,

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

. 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 United Talent Agency (UTA) is a global talent agency based in Beverly Hills, California. Established in 1991, it represents artists and other professionals across the entertainment industry. , the company has more than 1,400 global employees. ...

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 Anthony LaPaglia (, ; born 31 January 1959) is an Australian actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen he has received several accolades including three AACTA Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. For his starring role as Jac ...

. In 2017, Floyd co-starred as a rags-to-riches British Indian businessman in British noir '' City of Tiny Lights'' alongside

Riz Ahmed Rizwan Ahmed (; born ) is a British actor and rapper. He has received several awards, including an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award with nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and two British Academy Film Awards. In 2017, he was name ...

Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer who is best known for her portrayal as Rose Tyler in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2006, 2008, 2010). She initially gained recognition as a singer a ...

and

Cush Jumbo Cush Jumbo (born 23 September 1985) is a British actress and writer. She is best known for her leading role as attorney Lucca Quinn in the CBS drama series ''The Good Wife'' (2015–2016) and the Paramount Plus spin-off series ''The Good Figh ...

. The film was directed by Pete Travis and produced by Rebecca O’Brien. In 2021 Floyd starred as a lonely British man seeking online connection in the

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

'' Love in a Bottle'', directed by Oscar nominee

Paula van der Oest Paula van der Oest (born 1965) is a Dutch film director and screenwriter. Her 2001 film ''Zus & Zo'' was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. With her final exam at the Dutch Film and Television Academy, ''Zinderend'', ...

. In 2023 he co-starred as the

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

"Emad" in

's drama '' The Swimmers'', directed by Sally El Hosaini, written by

Jack Thorne Jack Thorne FRSL (born 6 December 1978) is a British playwright, television writer, screenwriter, and producer. A massive fan of hard science fiction, he is best known for writing the stage play '' Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'', the fil ...

and produced by

Working Title Films Working Title Films Limited, formerly Visionensure Limited and Working Title Limited, is a British film and television production company that is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, which is itself a division of Comcast. The company was founded by ...

, it was a big hit on the platform and nominated for the

BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film The BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film is a film award given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at the British Academy Film Awards. The award was first given at the 1st British Academy Film Awards, fi ...

. It achieved no.1 in 15 countries and top 10 in 85 countries on

, and in its second week it increased its viewership even more and climbed to no.2 globally on the platform. In 2024 he directed and wrote the romance film ''

'' which was nominated for seven

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports, and promotes British independent cinema and film-making talent in the United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early Nov ...

, including Best Debut Director and Best Debut Screenwriter for Floyd.

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 Compulsion, Compulsive, Compelling, or Compulsory may refer to: Psychology * Compulsive behavior, a psychological condition in which a person does a behavior compulsively, having an overwhelming feeling that they must do so. * Obsessive–compul ...

'' (based on Jacobean

tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...

'' The Changeling''), alongside

Ray Winstone Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage, and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is known ...

and

Parminder Nagra Parminder Kaur Nagra (born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. She is known for portraying Jess Bhamra in the film ''Bend It Like Beckham'' (2002) and Dr. Neela Rasgotra in the NBC medical drama '' ER'' (2003–2009). Her other television r ...

. In 2012 he appeared as a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

bullfighter A bullfighter or matador () is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter, and describe all the performers in the activ ...

in Seville set crime series ''

Falcón Falcón State (, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. The state capital is Coro, Venezuela, Coro. The state was named after Juan Crisóstomo Falcón. History Early history Present day Falcón State was first explored ...

'' for

Sky Atlantic Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group, Sky Group Limited that launched in 2011 and broadcasts in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel airs original British-produced dramas like ''Fortitude (TV series), F ...

. He portrayed

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter who achieved global fame as the lead vocalist and pianist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. Regarded as one of the gre ...

in the 2013

-winning

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

biopic ''The Best Possible Taste''. In 2016, he starred as Ishbaal, prince of the

Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

, in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

drama '' Of Kings and Prophets''. From 2017 to 2022, Floyd starred as the enigmatic Indian doctor Gabriel Varma in the ITV series ''

'', which was very popular on the Sunday evening primetime slot, peaking at 8.13 million viewers. From 2021 to 2025 Floyd stars as a lead role in the drama thriller series '' No Man's Land'' for

, alongside Souheila Yacoub and

James Purefoy James Brian Mark Purefoy (born 3 June 1964) is an English actor. He played Marcus Antonius in the HBO series ''Rome'', Nick Jenkins in '' A Dance to the Music of Time'', college professor turned serial killer Joe Carroll in the series '' The Fo ...

. Floyd plays "Nasser Yassin", an ex-

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

who goes undercover in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. Arte-tv in Germany gave it the title ''Kampf um den Halbmond'' and released it as Web-stream. Series 2 of will premiere on

and

Arte Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...

in 2025 with James reprising his lead role. The first season was an international hit across 114 territories.

Commercial

Floyd starred in the popular

Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

commercial 'Best Friends', directed by

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

nominee

Justin Chadwick Justin Chadwick (born 6 December 1968) is an English actor and television and film director. He directed episodes of ''EastEnders'', ''Byker Grove'', ''The Bill'', ''Spooks (TV series), Spooks'' and ''Red Cap (TV series), Red Cap'' before dire ...

and shot by Camerimage winning cinematographer, Mátyás Erdély. It received almost 4 million views on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Personal life

Floyd lives in London. He has a son, who was born in 2016. In October 2017, Floyd added his middle name Krishna to his official stage name James Floyd. Floyd supports a number of charities, including

Kiva A kiva (also ''estufa'') is a space used by Puebloans for rites and political meetings, many of them associated with the kachina belief system. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, "kiva" means a large room that is circula ...

It Gets Better Project It Gets Better is an Internet-based 501(c)3 nonprofit with a mission to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth around the globe. It was founded in the United States by gay activist, author, m ...

and the Disasters Emergency Committee. In October 2020, he raised money for a girls

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

in Sri Lanka, that shut down during the

Coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Awards

* Best Debut Director nomination, British Independent Film Award (2024) * Best Debut Screenwriter nomination, British Independent Film Award (2024) * Audience Award winner, Dinard Film Festival (2024) * Special Jury Prize winner, Dinard Film Festival (2024) *

Breakthrough Brit (2013) * Most Promising Newcomer winner, British Independent Film Award (2012) * Best Male Actor winner, Milan Film Festival (2012) * Most Promising Newcomer nomination,

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

Film Award (2013) * Screen International Star of Tomorrow (2012)

Filmography

Theatre

*''The Glass Cage'' at the

Royal & Derngate Royal & Derngate is a theatre complex in the Cultural Quarter, Northampton, Cultural Quarter of Northampton, England, consisting of the Royal Theatre, Derngate Theatre and the Northampton Filmhouse. The Royal was built by theatre architect Cha ...

*''Dov & Ali'' at Theatre503 *''Totally Practically Naked...'' at the

*''Antigone at Hell's Mouth'' at the

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Floyd, James Living people 1985 births 21st-century English male actors Actors from the London Borough of Camden Alumni of the London School of Economics English people of Indian Tamil descent English people of Scottish descent English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors Male actors from London National Youth Theatre members People educated at University College School People from Kings Cross, London