James Fox

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For the British engineer, pioneer machine tool maker, see James Fox (engineer).
For the British singer, pianist, and guitarist, see James Fox (singer).
James Fox

Born William Fox
May 19, 1939 (1939-05-19) (age 69)
London, England
Years active 1950 -
Spouse(s) Mary Elizabeth Piper
(1973 - present)

James Fox OBE (born 19 May 1939) is an English actor.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

James Fox was born in London to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. He is also a paternal half-brother of Daniel Chatto and a brother-in-law of Lady Sarah Chatto. The actress Emilia Fox is his niece and the actor Laurence Fox is his son. His grandfather was playwright Frederick Lonsdale. He, like his brother, served with the Coldstream Guards.

[edit] Acting career

James Fox first appeared on film in the The Miniver Story in 1950. His other early film appearances were made under the name William Fox. During the 1960s he gained popularity and appeared to be heading for stardom. His roles in films such as The Servant (1963), Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965), King Rat (1965), Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), Isadora (1968) and Performance (1970) (alongside Mick Jagger), as well as his relationship with actress Sarah Miles, had made him a media personality.

[edit] Spiritual life and break from acting

After finishing work on Performance, and following his father's death, Fox suspended his acting career. The strain of filming, his father's death and smoking the hallucinogen DMT led to a nervous breakdown.[1] On his break from acting, Fox has commented that:[1]

“ People think Performance blew my mind... my mind was blown long before that. ”

He has also said that:[1]

“ Performance gave me doubts about my way of life. Before that I had been completely involved in the more bawdy side of the film business. But after that everything changed. ”

He became an evangelical Christian, working with The Navigators and devoting himself to the ministry.[2] During this time, the only film in which Fox appeared was No Longer Alone (1978), the story of a suicidal woman saved by Christianity.

[edit] Return to acting

After an absence of almost ten years from mainstream cinema, Fox gradually returned to the screen, appearing in A Passage to India (1984) and playing Anthony Blunt in the acclaimed BBC play by Alan Bennett, A Question of Attribution (1992). More recently, he has appeared in Agatha Christie's Poirot - Death on the Nile (2004) as Colonel Race and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) playing Mr. Salt, Veruca Salt's father. He appeared in the Doctor Who audio drama Shada, and in 2007 he guested on the British television crime series Waking the Dead.

[edit] Personal life

In the 1960s, Fox had a relationship with actress Sarah Miles.[1] James Fox has five children.[1] He is the father of Laurence Fox and is married to Mary Elizabeth Piper (1973 - present).[1]

[edit] Selected film and television appearances

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f IMDB.com, James Fox: Biography.
  2. ^ Biography at British Cinema Greats. Retrieved on 2006-07-31.

[edit] External links