James Murray - Personal Details

Date of Birth- 22 January 1975, Manchester, Greater Manchester, England, UK

Nickname-Jim

Height-6' 1" (1.85 m)Eyes - Blue Hair - Brown

Status- Married (to Sarah Parish - 15th Dec, 2007 to present day)
- First Child - Ella-Jayne, born May 2008 - died 14th Jan, 2009.
- Second Child - Nell, born 21st November, 2009 - present day.

Talent Agent-Michael Duff of Troika, 3rd fl,74 Clerkenwell Rd, London.(same agent used by Keeley Hawes & Colm Meaney)
also Ruth Young of United Agents, 12-26 Lexington St, London.

Family Trivia- Great-grandfather Richard Hollins Murray invented the reflecting lens in 1927.
More on RHM - from James,(Jim)himself, in 2004.
Quote:-"I am compelled to clarify that, although Percy Shaw thought of putting the relecting lens in the middle of the road(1935), it was in fact Mr. Richard Hollins Murray who invented the reflecting lens itself, in 1927."
(and on the lens themselves) "Next time I'm up in Manchester, where lenses and blueprints are, shall endeavour to get take some and put them out there; literal evidence can be found in the Dinmore Manor program(when the family had the property which was open to public,until its sale in 1999) as well as elsewhere."
 ('Jim' continues)"Mr. Murray of Dinmore Manor, Hereford, sold the patent to the U.S but was never properly recognised financially, or otherwise, in the U.K. I am his great grandson, and my family still have most of the original lenses. Please don't interept this as sanctamonious, it is simply designed to correct what has become a common myth."

Siblings - has a brother, Matthew, and a sister, Victoria with whom he owns a house in Wales.Quote:-"Yes, my brother, sister and I share some property in North Wales - in Abersoch, near Pwllheli. It's right on the coast, and it's absolutely beautiful. When we were growing up in Manchester, if we wanted to go to the seaside, that's where we'd go." also has two step brothers - Edward and Jimmy Cox.

Fun Facts File

James recommends...

* Dever Springs Trout Fishery
Barton Stacey, Winchester 01264 720592; deversprings.freeserve.co.uk.
"A great place to fly-fish for some potentially enormous rainbow and brown trout, along a half-mile stretch of the River Dever, a tributary of the Test, near Andover. " Nearest station: Andover, from where you can catch a taxi from the station.

* Syon Park Fishery
Syon Park (020 8568 6354; alburyestate.com).
"This is the only small still-water trout fishery in London. The lake was built by Capability Brown for the Duke of Northumberland, for his private fishing. When I'm up in town, it's the closest place to fish. It's lovely." From Kew Bridge station, take London Buses (0207 222 1234) routes 237 or 267.

* North Hampshire Downs
"The area surrounding us is absolutely gorgeous. We love discovering new walks with our two dogs, and the Hampshire countryside is so unspoiled."

* James hold both a car and motorcycle license.

* James speaks French, is proficient with a Guitar and plays Football very well.

* James and partner Sarah Parish have just bought an old mill in rural Hampshire. They plan to grow their own food.
Quote:(Wednesday February 21, 2007,The Guardian)
Late last year, Sarah Parish decided to buy a house in the country. It was a relatively momentous resolution for her, she says, but having spent 20 happy, hectic years in London, she suddenly found herself"at that age where you realise you're fed up with all the noise and everything". Parish and her boyfriend, actor James Murray, purchased an old mill in a remote Hampshire village. Hello turnips, geese and rustic peace. Glorious. "Yeah," says Parish, stirring her cappuccino. "That's what we thought. But after we'd bought it, I suddenly thought, 'Fuck me, what have we done?' It needs rewiring, new floors, the lot. It's an absolute heap at the moment. I can't even begin to imagine the work that's involved. It's a disaster."

* Wouldn't mind having the opportunity to make more costume drama's – especially if he gets to win the girl (as in Under the Greenwood Tree)

* A Scottish engineer’s son who grew up in Manchester and Herefordshire, he’s a bit of a tease who once told an interviewer he liked drink and loved sex because they were both good Scottish traits.

* He’s so down to earth that he lives in Balham, Peter Seller’s favourite South London send-up “I like it’s slightly rural feeling – and there aren’t so many actors living there that you fall over them when you buy your packet of fags in the morning,”

* He seems to be cast as a singer in several of his roles:-
Dick Dewy - In his fathers choir -he sings a solo to Keeley Hawes
Liam Carney - ex boy band - he has to sing a solo for the Academy's landlady to keep her sweet
Rick Reid(Urnhardt) - He's a reclusive musician, lead singer of the band Phoenix Blue.

* In the tv series Always & Everyone(2000) James(Dr.Danny Barton) stars alongside Emily Hamilton(Saskia Walker). They later star together again in the movie Phoenix Blue(2001).

* James smokes – as per the quote above and more obviously in the film Nailing Vienna.

* James has no time for “this celebrity culture rubbish”.

* When James was seven, Jimmy Savile fixed it for him to be 007. Instead he got to meet Timothy Dalton, who he later worked with on The Sittaford Mystery. He recently said that Primeval is ‘a great opportunity to fulfil my James Bond fantasies, and run around with guns saving the day.’

* When he’s not working, he loves to fish, although he’s not keen on coarse fishing – ‘which is where you sit and wait; I’d rather watch paint dry.’

* Sarah Parish (Blackpool, Cutting It) has been with James (seven years her junior) for almost two years and is ‘happier than I have ever been’ with a man who shares her love of the country and her aversion to the shallow world of celebrity. ‘I have no interest in premieres and launch parties – I would rather be down the pub with James and the dogs talking fly-fishing,’ she says.

* James Dyed his hair blonde for his role as Sandy Hunter, barman, in Coronation Street.