James MacPherson (actor)
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James MacPherson (born 1959 in Hamilton, Scotland) is a Scottish actor, best known for his role as Michael Jardine in the ITV drama, Taggart.
James was raised in Hamilton. He left Hamilton Grammar at 17 and got a job as a laboratory technician at Glasgow's Institute of Neurological Studies. Part of his job was to go and collect the brains for pickling! Nice! James worked in the lab for 5 years and met his future wife Jacqui whilst there.
James went for an interview to be a police officer but soon realised that he was too much of a softie to do a job like that. It was now that his thoughts turned to acting. He joined an amateur dramatics group in Motherwell before moving onto a repertory theatre in East Kilbride and a place in drama school.
It was after James landed the part in Radio 4's Citizens that his TV career began to take off. While based in London James auditioned for a part in the children's series Dramarama but was un-successful. Then in 1986 his agent told him about the part that had come up in Taggart and having regained his Glasgow accent, something that had been diluted by working in London he was offered the part.
Initially the character of Jardine was to be a foil to Livingstone but when Neil Duncan left the show shortly after James joined he felt sure his own time with the show would be short lived. In reality he was already being lined up as Jim Taggart's permanent right hand man.
2001 saw James' last appearance as DCI Michael Jardine. James was forced to leave the show due to ill health. He had a collapsed lung and underwent life saving surgery which resulted in the lung being stapled to the inside of his chest. Thus preventing him from doing many of the activities that life as Jardine required.
When James' final episode (Death Trap) was shown there was hardly a dry eye amongst Taggart fans and the character is widely missed.
Since Taggart, James has taken a back seat from TV work and has concentrated on theatre and providing the voice for Ian Rankin's Rebus in the talking book series. It was even reported in a Scottish newspaper in 2003 that James wanted to become an astronomer!
July 2002: James set up an acting company with Emma Currie called Acting Up.
Dec 2003: James appeared as Abananzar in Aladdin at His Majesty's, Aberdeen.
Oct 2003: James formed a Rock&Roll band called The Cams with ex Wet Wet Wet drummer Tommy Cunningham.
