James Callis mini-bio: Callis grew up in London where he attended Harrow School in North West London.
Callis is Jewish. In 1990, he went on to study for a BA in English and Related
Literature at the University of York, where he was a member of Derwent College. At
university he was a keen student actor, director, and writer, sometimes also
appearing in productions put on by friends at Cambridge University, including a
production of Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party. He graduated from York with a
2.2 in 1993.
Callis went on to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, from
which he graduated in 1996, and in the same year he was awarded the Jack Tinker
Award (Theatre Record Critic of the Year) for Most Promising Newcomer for his
performance in Old Wicked Songs. Callis has appeared in various West End productions and television series as well
as on radio. He has also been involved in writing and directing.
His directional
debut was Beginner's Luck, a co-production of his and writer/director Nick Cohen's
Late Night Pictures and Angel Eye Film & TV, starring Julie Delpy, Steven Berkoff
and Fenella Fielding. Beginner's Luck was critically panned and failed to secure a
UK distributor.
Callis finished filming his first role in a cinema film, Bridget Jones's Diary,
alongside Renée Zellweger & Hugh Grant, in the summer of 2000 and between a few
further film and TV roles went back on stage in the Soho Theatre in December 2002.
In 2003, Callis landed the role of Dr. Gaius Baltar in the re-imagined Battlestar
Galactica miniseries, and has continued the role in the regular series that
followed.
Callis has two sisters. He lives in London with his wife Neha and their son Josh,
who was born in 2003. Apart from acting, directing and writing, he also plays
piano and guitar.