James Laurenson

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James Laurenson (born February 17, 1940) is a New Zealand actor, who has performed many classical roles on stage and television.

Laurenson was born in Marton, New Zealand, and made his film debut in 1969 with a small part in Women in Love. He has appeared in numerous Shakespearean productions, notably Richard II, as Rosencrantz in Hamlet, and on radio in the marathon series, Vivat Rex. He also appeared as Piers Gaveston in the 1970 production of Christopher Marlowe's Edward II, opposite Ian McKellen who later recalled that kissing Laurenson "was a bonus throughout the run".^[1] Other costume roles included a French courtier in Elizabeth R and the Earl of Lincoln in Shadow of the Tower (1972). In the same year, he took on a more modern role as Boney, an Aboriginal detective, which would be his most high-profile part, and in 1974 he took the lead role in the TV film The Prison, based on the novel by Georges Simenon, the first instalment in the Thames Television/Euston Films spin-off of Armchair Theatre, entitled Armchair Cinema.

In later years, Laurenson has had secondary roles in numerous popular TV series such as Prime Suspect, Sharpe, A Touch of Frost, Heartbeat, Silent Witness and State of Play.