Mark James Harrison (born 28 March 1977), known professionally as Samuel James, is an English actor and voiceover artist, known for portraying the role of Garth Stubbs in the ITV sitcom '' Birds of a Feather'' from 2014 to 2017. He has also starred in ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' and ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

''.

Career

Theatre

James is an experienced theatre actor and singer, having appeared in the 2002 West End musical production of ''

The Full Monty ''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film is set ...

'' (adapted from the 1997 film of the same name) as Malcolm and as

Houdini Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in ...

in the original London production of the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

musical ''

Ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

''. He also played the cowardly lion in ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

'' at

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

. He has twice performed at The National Theatre: in ''

Women Beware Women ''Women Beware Women'' is a Jacobean tragedy written by Thomas Middleton, and first published in 1657. Date The date of authorship of the play is deeply uncertain. Scholars have estimated its origin anywhere from 1612 to 1627; 1623–24 has ...

'', directed by

Marianne Elliott Marianne Phoebe Elliott (born 27 December 1966) is a British theatre director and producer who works on the West End and Broadway. She has received numerous accolades including two Laurence Olivier Awards and four Tony Awards. Initially de ...

and as Fabian in ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

'' (starring

Rebecca Hall Rebecca Maria Hall (born 3 May 1982) is an English actress and director. She made her first onscreen appearance at the age of 10 in the 1992 The Camomile Lawn (TV serial), television adaptation of ''The Camomile Lawn'', directed by her father, ...

and directed by her father, Sir Peter Hall). In 2007, James starred as Todd in the World premiere of ''Stockholm'', a new play by

Bryony Lavery Bryony Lavery (born 1947) is a British dramatist, known for her successful and award-winning 1998 play '' Frozen''. In addition to her work in theatre, she has also written for television and radio. She has written books including the biography ...

. The production opened at The Drum Theatre,

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

before embarking on a critically acclaimed UK tour, eventually garnering a Best Touring Production nomination at the 2008

TMA Awards The UK Theatre Awards, established in 1991 and known before 2011 as the TMA Awards, are presented annually by UK Theatre (formerly the Theatrical Management Association) in recognition of creative excellence and outstanding work in regional thea ...

. James returned to The Drum Theatre in 2009 to play the part of Ratineau in Carl Grose's new play, ''Grand Guignol'', directed by Simon Stokes. In 2011 he appeared in

Headlong Theatre Headlong Theatre Limited (commonly just Headlong) is a British touring theatre company, formed in 1974 and named until 2006 as the Oxford Stage Company. Its artistic directors have included Rupert Goold Rupert Goold (born 18 February 1972) i ...

's ''Decade'', a site specific production marking the 10th anniversary of the

11 September 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. Directed by

Rupert Goold Rupert Goold (born 18 February 1972) is an English director who works primarily in theatre. He is the artistic director of the Almeida Theatre, and was the artistic director of Headlong Theatre Company (2005–2013). Since 2010, Goold has be ...

and featuring a 20 strong writing team including

Abi Morgan Abigail Louise Morgan (born December 1968) is a Welsh playwright and screenwriter known for her works for television, such as '' Sex Traffic'' and '' The Hour'', and the films ''Brick Lane'', '' The Iron Lady'', ''Shame'' and ''Suffragette''. ...

, John Logan and Mike Bartlett; the "brilliant theatrical installation" ran from 1 September to 11 October at the former site of London's World Trade Centre,

St Katherine Dock St Katharine Docks is a former dock in the St Katherine and Wapping ward of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies in the East End on the north bank of the River Thames, immediately downstream of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Fro ...

. In 2013 James played Tony in

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English screenwriter, producer, director and former actor with a film, theatre, and television career spanning more than 60 years. His accolades include prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, the Berlin In ...

's ''

Abigail's Party ''Abigail's Party'' is a play for stage and television, devised and directed in 1977 by Mike Leigh. It is a suburban situation comedy of manners, and a satire on the aspirations and tastes of the new middle class that emerged in Britain in the ...

'', with former Eastenders star

Hannah Waterman Hannah Elizabeth Waterman (born 22 July 1975) is an English actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Laura Beale in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2000–2004). She is based in Sydney in Australia. Early life Waterman was born on ...

as Beverly and

Martin Marquez Martin Joseph Marquez (born 8 October 1964) is an English actor. He is best known on television for his role as Gino Primirola, the head barman, in the British television comedy drama '' Hotel Babylon''. He also played Danny Pearce in ''The Bi ...

as Lawrence. Later in 2013 he played Nick in ''Fault Lines'', a new comedy written by Ali Taylor. Set in the offices of a fictional disaster relief charity, the play opened on 5 December at

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. History The original ''Hampstead Theatre Clu ...

and was directed by Lisa Spirling.

Nichola McAuliffe Nichola McAuliffe (born 27 August 1955) is an English television and stage actress and writer, best known for her role as Sheila Sabatini in the ITV hospital sitcom '' Surgical Spirit'' (1989–1995). She has also starred in several stage musi ...

and

Alex Lawther Alexander Jonathan Lawther (born 4 May 1995) is an English actor, writer, and director. He made his professional acting debut originating the role of John Blakemore in Sir David Hare's ''South Downs'' in the West End. He made his feature film ...

also starred.

Television

James' television credits include ''Battle of Britain'', ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'', ''

Rose and Maloney ''Rose and Maloney'' is a British television crime drama series, produced by All3 Media, and broadcast on ITV between 29 September 2002 and 26 September 2005. The series stars Sarah Lancashire and Phil Davis as the principal characters, Rose ...

'', ''

Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by the English writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is Christie's most famous and longest-running character, appearing in 33 novels, two plays (''Black Coffee (play), Black Coffee'' and '' ...

'' and ''New Worlds.'' In 2007 he played Russ Golden in two episodes of ''

'' before returning to the show in 2012 to play Pat Paddon for a further two episodes. He played Marshall in

Hugo Blick Hugo Edgar Maxwell Blick (born 7 December 1964) is a British filmmaker and actor. He has his own production company, called Eight Rooks. Early life Hugo Blick studied in Cardiff at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Career He ha ...

's ''

The Shadow Line The Shadow Line or Shadowline may refer to: * ''The Shadow Line'' (novel), a 1917 novel by Joseph Conrad * ''The Shadow Line'' (album), an album by Godhead * ''The Shadow Line'' (TV series), a UK TV series * Smuga cienia or The Shadow Line, a 1 ...

'', a

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

mini-series aired in 2011. From May 2011 to December 2012, he played

Phil Mitchell Phil Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Steve McFadden. He was introduced on 20 February 1990 and was followed by his brother, Grant ( Ross Kemp), sister, Sam ( Danniella Westbrook/ Kim Medca ...

's (

Steve McFadden Steve Robert McFadden (né Reid; born 20 March 1959) is an English actor whose career has spanned three decades. He rose to prominence for his role as longstanding character Phil Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'', which he has ...

's) lawyer Jimmie Broome in the

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 ...

soap opera ''

''. Since December 2014, James has played the role of Garth Stubbs in the revived ITV sitcom '' Birds of a Feather'', replacing

Matt Willis Matt Willis (born 8 May 1983) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, television personality and actor. He is known as co-founder, bassist and co-vocalist of the pop-punk band Busted (band), Busted. Willis released his debut solo album ''Do ...

. He currently stars alongside

Linda Robson Linda Patricia Mary Robson Dunford (' Robson; born 13 March 1958) is an English actress and television presenter. She is best known for playing Tracey Stubbs in the sitcom '' Birds of a Feather'' (1989–1998, 2014–2020), and her appearances ...

Pauline Quirke Pauline Perpetua Sheen (née Quirke; born 8 July 1959) is a retired English actress. She began her career with roles on various television series, before fronting her own comedy sketch show, ''Pauline's Quirkes'', in 1976. She later starred as ...

Lesley Joseph Lesley Diana Joseph (born 14 October 1945) is an English actress and broadcaster, whose career on stage and screen spans over fifty years. She is best known for playing Dorien Green in the television sitcom ''Birds of a Feather (TV series), Bir ...

and

Charlie Quirke ''Birds of a Feather'' is an English sitcom originally broadcast on BBC One from 16 October 1989 to 24 December 1998, then revived on ITV from 2 January 2014 to 24 December 2020. The series stars Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson, with Lesley Jose ...

. He also starred in the 2014 ''

Text Santa ''Text Santa'' was a charity initiative set up in 2011 by ITV to support UK-based charities during the Christmas period. The appeal to the public is to donate money mainly via text donation and profits from merchandise. The telethons have been h ...

'' special which guest starred

Paul O'Grady Paul James O'Grady (14 June 1955 – 28 March 2023) was an English comedian, broadcaster, drag queen, actor, and writer. He achieved notability in the London gay scene during the 1980s with his drag persona Lily Savage, through which he gained ...

. A third revived series was announced in March 2015, and began airing in January 2016 for eight episodes. In 2025 James played Steven Poyser the head of prosecution in the Lauren Bolton case on ITV Coronation Street.

Filmography

References

External links

Twitter page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Samuel 1977 births English male television actors Living people Male actors from Portsmouth