Julian Dodd-photographer
Please Note:
James Murray is often confused with a Scottish Actor - James Scott Murray,(who appeared in Monarch of the Glen, Peak Practise and Dr.Finlay) as well as a puppeteer - James Murray (who worked on Greg the Bunny and Being John Malkovich). The information below is true to the listing sited by his Theatrical Agents. I take the view that if they don't know what their client has been in, then nobody does. All claims otherwise,(eg IMDb etc)are misinformed.
An outrageous, live-action, character-driven show set in an ancient fantasy realm, the series follows reluctant hero Krod Mandoon (Maguire), a thin-skinned and underconfident freedom fighter, who is the last great hope in the struggle against the evil ruler, Chancellor Dongalor (Lucas).
To help fight the great fight, Krod has assembled a band of remarkably ineffectual freedom fighters: Aneka (de Beaufort), the beautiful pagan warrioress whose weapon of choice is sex, Loquasto (Speirs), the oafish servant with bad aim, Zezelryck (Hart), the young warlock whose greatest magical gift is spinning a line, and Bruce (Ray), who's simply fabulous.
Together, they must overcome a myriad of evil obstacles in their quest to save the world, including name-calling, hired assassins and bad hair days.
The series is being co-produced by Hat Trick Productions and MRC for Comedy Central and BBC Television.
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click on the image to go to the latest gallery for season two.(S2 due to start Saturday, 12th January, 7pm, 2008)
The series chronicles the exploits of a rag-tag team of scientists and adventures who have to deal with the incursion of creatures. These creatures all come from the Earth’s past, millions of years ago.
They are dinosaurs, for the most part. Interestingly enough, they have concentrated on more obscure dinosaurs that are not so well known. For example, I have not seen a T-Rex or a Velociraptor anywhere near this series, but strange dinosaurs that hunt and kill, in the water and in the air.
There is a bigger story behind this. The creatures appear through strange anomalies, whose occurrence has not yet been explained. The creatures come through these anomalies and then sometimes will go back through them. There appears to be some kind of a temporal fault line that follows the flow of water in the UK.
To topple this, Dr. Nick Cutter’s wife disappeared years ago. He find her trace again when he makes his way through one of these anomalies. A few episodes into the series, he finds her. She has been living and exploring the strange lands for over 8 years. She has been going in and out of the anomalies at her pace, but has never contacted the good doctor again.
And now, she offered him to explore the anomalies with her. But he refuses, not really knowing why she needs him right now.
After this, she makes sporadic appearances in the series. She even gets captured in one episode, but they were not able to hold her for very long. In the 6th episode, a different sort of creature appears.
Helen Cutter surmises that this creature must have gotten to Earth’s past, the Permian Era, Late Cretaceous period or one of the other Earth’s prehistoric eras (300 to 70 million years ago), through another form of anomalies from the future and then hopped to Earth’s present. (There is also an appearance of the Dodo bird, from our current era.)
The team includes the lead, Dr. Cutter an expert on dinosaurs, his student and helper Stephen Hart, who is the more physically fit of the team. He is an expert at tracking animals. One of Dr. Cutter’s students joins them, Connor Temple, with strange theories about dinosaurs and a zookeeper named Abby, a petite woman with short bleached hair and a hot body.
Claudia Brown, from the Home Office, directs the team and tries to contain the incursions, under the supervision of her boss, James Lester who talks about the big picture a lot.
There is some chemistry between Claudia and Nick, but the reappearance of his ex-wife Helen Cutter complicates the matter.
CLICK HERE to read a story synopsis and other information on this episode.
... aka Agatha Christie - Marple: The Sittaford Mystery (Australia:
DVD title)
James Murray on his role as Charles Burnaby:
'Charles Burnaby is a reporter for a local newspaper. In order to get closer to Trevelyan he bends the truth a little and claims to be a reporter for a much bigger outfit. He wants to get close to Trevelyan as he is likely to succeed Churchill as Prime Minister, so there is a huge public interest in him.
Trevelyan has a very interesting past, so Charles is after the scoop of the century. Charles is very tenacious - he'll stop at nothing to get his story. He is a bit out of his depth with the people around him, but he handles himself well. He has that skill which all good reporters need of being able to tread water very well!
I think the appeal of Agatha Christie is just that the stories are so well crafted. To adapt her work you have to keep the complexity in order to make the mystery work and be interesting. The stories are so layered and every single character is so well defined, particularly with their backstory and their reason for being there. Everybody has an agenda, which makes everyone a suspect. That is what makes Agatha Christie so brilliant. You don't trust anyone on face value -- a bit like life! Everybody loves a mystery or a thriller. Look at the DaVinci Code, which is, in a sense, a modern day Agatha Christie. It's a page-turner. Everybody has their own inclination as to who did it and why. With Christie you find you are always wrong -- or at least I am when I read them! It's always good to be proven wrong, but proven wrong well is what she does.
I knew I wanted to do this film because a murder mystery is always fun. The cast in all of these films is just top notch. I think Geraldine McEwan is brilliant. She has a sense of modernity, but maintains the unique idiosyncrasies of Miss Marple. She is very, very engaging.'
CLICK HERE for more on this movie.
Meet the Cast & Characters
Fancy Day – Keeley Hawes
Educated and beautiful Fancy Day comes to Mellstock from Exeter to work as the village schoolteacher and be near her ailing father. She stands out among the unsophisticated country women and draws many admirers. Determined to make the best of her situation, she agrees to play the church’s new harmonium, not realising this will upset the traditional men’s choir. She likes Dick Dewy, but her father thinks she should marry the rich farmer Shiner instead.
Dick Dewy – James Murray
Handsome, charming and good-humoured, Dick works as a carrier, transporting items around the village. He’s very popular with the local girls but falls instantly in love with Fancy and longs to marry her, despite the difference in their social status.
This drama series revolves around the lives of two rival hair stylists, Allie and Mia, who quickly learn that business isn't the only source of their competition. Series 4: The salon's thriving, and Allie wants to expand and open her own hairdressing academy, bringing on a new generation of hairdressers. The venture has financial backing from Liam Carney (James Murray), an ex-boy-band member who's trying to shake off the trappings of his past life with mixed success. Allie's dreams are the least of her concern when she finds out that she has ovarian cancer, but how will Gavin react?
- Eddie Loves Baseball (2003) TV Episode .... Colin Kinney
Filmed on-location in London, the FOX cop series Keen Eddie starred Mark Valley as Eddie Arlette, a New York City police detective. Disgraced and nearly dismissed after a spectacularly botched drug bust, Eddie was ordered to transfer to London's Scotland Yard so that he might rebuild his career from the ground up. Despite a daunting series of setbacks and blunders, Eddie managed to do his duty, with both himself and his Scotland Yard colleagues learning a lot more about one another's countries and cultures than they ever imagined.
Sienna Miller co-starred as Eddie's reluctant flatmate, Fiona Bickerton. Others in the cast included Colin Salmon as Eddie's extremely judgmental Yard superior Supt. Johnson; Julian Rhind-Tutt as Eddie's deceptively prim-and-proper partner, Rudy (who, among other things, pretended to by married so he could attend sub-rosa wife-swapping parties); and a pair of animal regulars, Eddie's dog, Pete, and Fiona's cat, Duchess.
Originally slated to debut in January 2003, Keen Eddie was shelved until June of that same year, reportedly to allow the producers to transform what had begun as a straight dramatic-action series into a semi-comedy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Episode #1.1 (2003) TV Episode
.... Glen
In the first episode, Conrad and Shona are drunk and desperate. Conrad fears he's never going to find the nice gay doctor with a loft apartment he's looking for and Shona's just desperate for a meaningless one-night stand. If only Shona was a man. If only Conrad was straight. And before they know it, Conrad and Shona are kissing - and just as quickly declaring the experience revolting, but as Conrad notes, far worse for him because "at least you're used to snogging men, I had to snog a woman." Back at the office, they reveal their drunken kiss to Zoe and Dominic which gets all four friends thinking about the possibility of "turning people" - straight to gay, gay to straight - and they agree that this should definitely be on their list. While Dominic busies himself hunting for lesbians, Shona and Conrad set their sights on Glen, the cute new man in the office. But before either one of them can turn him, they've got to find out what his orientation is in the first place - something that presents its own set of problems and a few awkward moments.
20 Things to Do Before You're 30, a British comedy/drama, where four friends rapidly approaching 30 make a list of unusual ambitions to fulfill before the fateful date.
Thirty is one of life's watersheds - an age where you have to admit that you're an adult, and where what once passed as bad behaviour suddenly looks like very sad behaviour.
Four twenty-something friends decide to see how far they've succeeded in achieving all their lofty teen ambitions: a million in the bank, marriage, kids, fewer spots…
Finding themselves coming up woefully short of achievements valued by society, Shona, Conrad, Zoe and Dominic decide to tick off their own unique list of goals.
But who's ticking quicker - them or the clock?
CLICK HERE for a review of the story and DVD.
- Episode #3.3 (2002) TV Episode
.... Mark Talbot
Series 3 - Episode 3
Episode Number:16 Season:3 First Aired: Thursday February 14, 2002Prod Code: ICDA359S
Sometimes the reality of who people are is so terrifying, even to themselves, that it must remain hidden. Mark Talbot (James Murray) is one of these people. Someone with darkness in his past and in himself, a darkness from which he cannot escape, however much he wishes that he could. He seems like a nice enough lad, excitedly getting ready for his first day at Mackintosh. He's fit, clean, nice to his Mum - ex-army, Parachute Regiment no less, if his tattoo is anything to go by. He approaches his new workmates with confidence, he's charming, friendly and obviously one for the ladies, as his instant rapport with resident babe Hannah Phillips (Katisha Kenyon) demonstrates. The other blokes can't believe how quickly he's in there!
However, after his first day at work, Mark is picked up by the police. He's obviously known to them and they are giving him some kind of warning now he's back in the area. But what has he been in trouble for? And why would the police be checking up on him if he's just out of the army? Nick Anderson (William Ash) is particularly impressed by Mark. His recent marriage to Kim (Emma Cunniffe) is not going too well, so a new mate to talk to is just what he needs, especially one who's been in the military - Nick's dream career. They quickly become friends, Kim too. Mark seems particularly taken with her, even engineering 'chance' meetings.
But Mark has demons that refuse to stay buried. Over the next few weeks, those close to him will make shocking discoveries about what he is: Hannah, who has a viciously unpleasant brush with his nastier side; Nick, who discovers that, far from being in the army, Mark has stolen his dead brother's military past; and above all Nick's wife Kim, who will bear a terrible, secret cost for welcoming Mark into their home...
Writer: Matt Greenhalgh
Director: Nigel Douglas
Star: Steve Jackson (Barry Sleight), Lesley Sharp (Trudy Graham), Siobhan Finneran (Julie O'Neill), Philip Glenister (James 'Mack' Mackintosh (2000-2002)), Joan Kempson (Freda Wilson (2000-2003)
Guest Star: Katisha Kenyon (Hannah Phillips), Emma Cunniffe (Kim Anderson), James Murray (Mark Talbot)
(season 4-8 episodes - 4/7/02-22/8/02)
... aka A&E (UK)
... aka St Saviours (UK)
CLICK HERE to find episode synopsis and some screen caps for season 4 featuring James(Danny Barton).
With British gangster movies all the rage, petty criminals Peter, Mickey, and Jez conclude that filming their exploits would be more profitable than committing the crimes themselves. They quickly abduct Crystal (played by stunning supermodel Caprice) to play the role of a kidnapped hostage in their bank heist film. Crystal resists until she realizes that she will be the female lead. The boys next enlist local mobster Eddie to play the heavy in their opus. He too is enamored by their offer. All their plans go wildly astray, however, when Eddie blackmails the crew at gunpoint to actually commit a real robbery while filming it! Gritty and believable, NAILING VIENNA chronicles the misguided struggles of London's losers to achieve "Vienna," that mythical state of mind where hopes and dreams are fulfilled.
Review by Rik Rösken
Rick Erhard (James Murray) is a successful musician. He succeeds to conquer the world with his songs under his pseudonym "Phoenix Blue", but his past withholds him to come out in the open. Slowly, he tries to find out who betrayed him in the past, but that does implies he have to defeat the security of his manager, Persha Lovich (Amanda Donohoe).
Music is not Rick´s only passion. Is other activity is free diving. He even sings about free diving and that fact is used by the investigating journalist, Rachel (Emily Hamilton), who is searching for his identity. With the assistance of the freedive magazine "Freediver" and her neighbor Ralph (Jason Hughes), she embarks on a investigation. This brings her to Grand Cayman island, where a certain "Rick Erhard", a known artist from the past, is competing in at a freediving competition.
The movie Phoenix Blue knows several different beautiful scenes, with also few underwater scenes where free diving, or something like that, plays a role. The combination of music and freediving is an intresting one, to try tell people why freediving is such an personality changing sport. It changed Rick from a drugged artists to a world reknown singer.
While the intention of the movie does proof it worthwhile to watch, one might wonder why it haven't got the attention that it should deserve. Perhaps it is to the 'television' serie feeling one might get, or that the just the idea of a unkown world reknown singer is just a bit too much... Any way, while it isn't a top of the hill movie, it might be intresting to see on a saterday afternoon. But be forwarned, you would want to wish your self in those waters who belong to anyone after the movie.
And on a side note for
those who are searching for the music of the movie. The "real"
Phoenix Blue of the movie exists of Jeremy Randall, Stephen W.
Parsons and Francis Haines. Many of the songs are written and
performed by the band formed around Jeremy Randall. Their band,
Widescreen gives regular performances in the region of London. The
song Tailspin, which is also heard during the movie, is released on
CD and can be found at Amazon.co.uk.
There is a you tube of the song on the Phoenix Blue screen cap page
Music from the soundtrack can also be found at the site of Stephen W. Parsons.
Courtesy of Channel Four Television
The intertwined relationships of three families, all with stepchildren and with all the partners having been involved with one of the three families.
Plot Synopsis: Kevin and Perry are two 15-year-old boys whose desperation to lose their virginity is so great that it inspires a sort of awe. In the rare moments when they're not thinking about girls, Kevin dreams of being a singer, and Perry has ambitions toward becoming a dance music DJ. When Kevin and Perry manage to stop a bank robbery, they're given a sizable cash reward, and they decide to go on a holiday in Ibiza, which is supposedly populated with thousands of beautiful women willing to sleep with anyone. However, after the boys pack plenty of sunscreen and condoms, Kevin's parents announce that they're tagging along. Undeterred, Kevin and Perry make the trip and meet superstar DJ Eyeball Paul , who may or may not listen to their demo tape. The boys also encounter Gemma and Candice, two scruffy teenage girls who are nearly as eager as Kevin and Perry to get horizontal.
A world-weary boss attempts to control his motley crew of employees in the office of Cresta Cabs, along with his right-hand woman, without whom the business would have sunk without a trace in this popular comedy series. But can even she knock the business into shape given the inefficiency of the staff?
CLICK HERE for more information about this movie.
'The Things We Do For Love' was a 4 x 1 hour drama series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network. It was shot between September and October 1997 and was based on true love stories from the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's.
... aka Corrie (UK: informal title)
character:-Sandy Hunter
Company Pictures for Channel 4, tx. 18/10-20/12/2000
10 x 60 min eps, colour
Directors Nigel Douglas
Tim Fywell
Producer Alison Davis
Creator Peter Moffat
Cast: Philp Davis (Peter McLeish); Sasha Behar (Stevie Goode); Rupert Penry-Jones (Alex Hay); Kevin McKidd (Billy Guthrie); Helen McRory (Rose Fitzgerald)
The resourceful and Machiavellian senior clerk of a new law firm in Leeds guides the professional and private lives of his young, talented and aggressive barristers, all of whom are eager to make their mark.
Peter Moffat's ten-part serial North Square is a workplace drama about young and sexy lawyers connected by a single location, in this case the titular chambers. Stylistically however, with its fast pace, whip pans and glossy look (although set in Leeds, it never seems to rain there), it is much more reminiscent of such American series as Ally McBeal (1997-2002), which is not only referred to directly in one episode but which was also scheduled directly after North Square when initially broadcast on Channel 4. The strong language, anti-authoritarian stance and lashings of sex and nudity, however, are very much typical of the post-watershed dramas made by the channel to appeal to its target audience of young, middle-income earners.
Other People's Children
(2000) TV Series .... Lucas(appeared in all 4 episodes)
Status: Ended Premiered: September 10, 2000 Last Aired: October 1, 2000
Show Category: Drama
Kevin & Perry Go Large
(2000) .... Candice's Adonis
Roger, Roger
(TV)pilot(1996)Season1 & 2 (1998-99)17 episodes....Jason, The Gardener.
(spec ep- "Too much wine, too many stars" 1999)
This very underrated and often unheard of series is an absolute gem. The scenairio is centred on a private minicab firm, the main focus being manager Sam and his very complicated love life. Sam is played superbly by the fantastic Robert Daws whose character has women chasing him but whose relationships
always seem to go wrong. Other characters include Sam's long suffering receptionist Rene who is still in love with him despite all previous disappointments, and Sam's partner Dexter, a villanous and tempremental character whose actions in series 1 shaped the rest of the series. Overall, Roger Roger is brilliantly written, highly witty and contains some superb performances. If only the BBC would repeat it one day!
All the King's Men
(1999) (TV) .... Pvt. Will Needham
Heart
(1999) (film)....Patrick.
Synopsis
Gary's(christopher eccleston) obsession with his wife triggers a heart attack. His only option now is to opt for a heart transplant. The donated organ is gifted from a mother whose seventeen year old son is killed in an accident. Thinking that his life is back to normal Gary soon realises that someone is obsessed with him......
Things We Do For Love
(1998) ....(character unknown)
As well as location shoots in the Wigan and Leigh areas of Manchester, and days in Granada's Manchester studios, the production had hired Mere Hall near Knutsford in South Manchester. Sets had been constructed in many rooms of the old run down hall, and it was easy to get lost in the 29 bedroom suites it once comprised.
THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE
(4 x 1hr)
Ken Horn
Granada
Coronation Street
.... Sandy Hunter (4 episodes - #1.4427/4429/4430/4431 - 1998)
Full name: Alexander Hunter
Played by: James Murray
Appeared: 26 June - 3 July 1998
A 'barmaid' in the Rovers that Vera Duckworth recruited from Maisie Bullman at the Coach & Horses. Jack and Alec were looking forward to the young, blonde, tall, attractive new member of staff - until they found out he was male !
Sandy seemed as keen to work for Alec's Golden Years escort agency as he did to work behind the bar - but Vera disapproved and gave him his cards.
- Listen to Me (1979) TV Episode
.... Charlie(at four years old)
Series synopsis
Crime drama with a difference! Trevor Eve stars as Eddie Shoestring, the Bristol private detective with his own radio show, also featuring Michael Medwin, Doran Godwin and Liz Crowther. Created by Robert Banks Stewart, 21 episodes ran in two series from 30/09/79 - 21/12/80, graced by Sid Sutton's eye-catching title sequence.
Sunday 28 October 1979 on BBC-1
The wife of a convict threatens to throw herself off the roof of the Radio West building unless Eddie investigates her claim of a miscarriage of justice. Her husband was jailed for killing a shop assistant while robbing a local jeweller's shop - but did he do it? Eddie accepts the challenge.
THEATRE:AN IDEAL HUSBAND: Oscar Wilde
Leicester Haymarket
Runs: 2h 45m, one interval, till Saturday 12 April
Review: Rod Dungate, 6 April 2002
A hard, shiny, powerful production of stark contrasts.
Paul Kerryson, with designer Kate Unwin and lighting designer Jenny Cane, puts his characters very much on show. Brightly lit extended entrances and exits and a stylish mirrored set: Kerryson shows no mercy as Wilde (despite his 'happy' ending) does not either. Kerryson's hard edged production dissects the late 19th Century's mores before our eyes. And just the 19th Century's?
A 'loathsome capitalist age', an age where money equals power and ambition apparently drives all. The temporal context of An Ideal Husband may have changed but this production of it examines our 21st Century world too.
Kerryson unfurls his banner form the outset. Characters parade and preen themselves at Sir Robert and Lady Chiltern's ball the characters all knowingly speak their epigrams, full of self-congratulation and self-admiration. The falseness is unsettling. Public and private personas are starkly contrasted.
Enter super-baddie Mrs Cheveley out to save her own bank balance at the expense of anyone she deems necessary.
Geraldine Fitzgerald's creation is plausible and charming. She stands out from the other women in her smooth ruthlessness, playing the men at their own game. It's true Cheveley is a strong woman, but Fitzgerald allows no ounce of sentiment into her performance: we may admire the actor but despise the character.
An interesting conundrum: she may be bad but what of the others? We are left with a bunch, variously, sanctimonious, self-centred, stupid, conceited, arrogant or spoilt. It says much for Wilde's considerable skill that we are hooked by the drama in this production as robust as ever.
James Murray brings cool distance to Lord Goring. Looking like OW (a bit but not too much), he is a disinterested observer: one who appears even to be looking on at his own good deeds as if they are scientific experiments.
Some fine performances in the company but of particular joy is Dilys Laye's Lady Markby. Her Act II appearance is magnificent as she sits distributing verbal comfits that turn to acid as soon as you taste them. You don't know whether to laugh or wince best do both.
The Earl of Caversham: Claude Close
Mrs Marchmont: Andrea Davy
Mrs Cheveley: Geraldine Fitzgerald
Lady Basildon: Paddy Glynn
Sir Robert Chiltern: Iqbal Khan
Lady Markby: Dilys Laye
Mabel Chiltern: Veronica Leer
Lady Chiltern: Aislinn Mangan
Lord Goring: James Murray
Vicomte de Nanjac/ Mason: Azeem Nathoo
Mr Montford/ Phipps: Gary Pillai
The Shape of Things (17 May 2004 - 12 June 2005) by Neil LaBute
Review by Ian Shuttleworth(may 18th 2004 for FT)
Cast Interview-The Times(2004)
James Murray Interview-The Independant(2004)
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