Early life

Carter was born in Harrogate, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. His father worked for the Air Ministry and his mother was a land girl and later a school secretary. Carter attended Ashville College, Harrogate, where he was head boy in his final year, and the University of Sussex where he studied law and became a leading light of the fledgling Drama Society, playing the title role in Serjeant Musgrave's Dance, the first student production at the newly built Gardner Arts Centre theatre. He dropped out of university after two years to join a fringe theatre group in Brighton.

Career

Acting

He began acting professionally in "the early 1970s." When asked, "If you hadn't become an actor, what would you have done professionally?" he answered, "I wouldn't have pursued law - I'd actually dropped out of law into English, I'd even changed my course. But when the offer came from this fringe theatre group, the Brighton Combination, to leave university and join them for five quid a week, it was like a door opening, and there wasn't a moment's hesitation. I walked through that door and never looked back. I have never earned a penny from doing anything apart from acting. I have never had another job."

His first paid job for £5 a week with free board and lodging was in a play called Gum and Goo by Howard Brenton for the Brighton Combination. Howard Brenton's Gum and Goo was first produced by the Brighton Combination (in Brighton) in 1969.

He appeared in Howard Brenton's Winter Daddykins in July 1968 for the Brighton Combination. It was directed by Barry Edwards, and Carter performed with Fiona Baker and Lily Sue Todd. This is probably the play referred to in Jenny Harris' website that took place on 9 July 1968 in the Brighton Combination's cafe. Jenny Harris was one of the initiators of the Brighton Combination. Jim Carter mentioned her in one interview as one who started the Brighton Combination. She was then head of the National Theatre's education department.

In 1970, he performed in the show Come Together at London's Royal Court Theatre together with the Brighton Combination and the Ken Campbell Roadshow along with other theatre personalities and groups. The Royal Court's Come Together Festival was on the cover page of Plays and Players magazine issue of December 1970. Scenes from this festival are also featured in this issue. The Come Together festival opened at the Royal Court Theatre on 21 October 1970 and contributed to one of the Royal Court's best years. The festival brought the avante-garde like the Brighton Combination and Ken Campbell into the Court. The Brighton Combination presented "The NAB Show", a politically oriented account of the National Assistance Board.

He first worked at the Combination Theatre Company in Brighton. Later he joined the Newcastle University Theatre where he played, among other parts, Estragon in Waiting for Godot. From 1974 to 1976 he toured America with the Ken Campbell Roadshow and on his return joined the Phoenix Theatre in Leicester. In 1977 he joined the National Theatre Company where he appeared as Dom Fiollo (sic) in The Hunchback of Notre Dame at the Cottesloe Theatre. In 1978 he became a member of the Young Vic Company appearing as Stephano in The Tempest, Buckingham in Richard III and Mephistopheles in Faust. In 1978 he went to America to study in a circus school where he learned juggling, unicycling and tightrope walking. From 21 May to 29 June 1980 he played Trebonius/Marullus/Poet in a Julius Caeasar production of Riverside Studios directed by Peter Gill. He performs magic acts in cabarets. The Young Vic's Richard III production in 1978, which featured James Carter with, among others, Bill Wallis and Michael Attwell, was directed by Michael Bogdanov. He also performed in the Young Vic production of Bartholomew Fair in 1978. It was also directed by Michael Bogdanov.

He was a member of The Madhouse Company of London, a comedy troupe which performed in Boston in the 1970s; together with the late Marcel Steiner (1931-1999), Marc Weil and Tommy Shands. Ken Campbell was also associated with the group. The Madhouse Co. was an offshoot of the Ken Campbell's Roadshow that came to New York City and Boston. It broke up eventually and Steiner and Carter returned to England. The Madhouse Co. was in Cambridge, Massachusetts. in August 1976. The Madhouse Company of London was mentioned and its shows advertised and reviewed in several New York magazine issues from April 1974 to March 1975. Marc Weil created The Madhouse Company of London in 1973.

In June to August 2005, he appeared in The President of an Empty Room at the National Theatre (written by Stephen Knight and directed by Howard Davies). When he did this he had not done theatre in 14 years. He considers his appearance in Richard Eyre's 1982 National Theatre revival of Guys and Dolls a significant moment. It was when he met his future wife, Imelda Staunton, who also appeared in this play. He considers Richard Eyre and Howard Davies two of his favourite directors. He was with the Brighton Combination still when it moved to London and opened a theatre called the Albany in Deptford. In his own words: "The Brighton Combination moved to London and started a theatre called the Albany in Deptford, and I was with them then."

In the early 1970s, the Brighton Combination, a touring fringe theatre group, became resident in the Albany Institute in Deptford, South East London. This was considered one of the great achievements of the Albany's then director Paul Curno. By fusing community work and the arts, Director Paul Curno and "The Combination" transformed the Albany's fortunes. This fusion still drives the Albany to this day. The Brighton Combination Company moved to become resident at the Albany in SE London in 1972 with a brief to set up community action and arts development projects. It combined artistic and cultural works with social activism.

He performed in the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, London in Jean Cocteau's The Infernal Machine (with Maggie Smith and with Simon Callow directing, 1986-87). Photos and a review of this play appeared in Plays and Players magazine in January 1987.

He also performed in William "Bill" Bryden's The Passion at the National Theatre in 1985. Performed in The Mysteries: The Nativity, The Passion and Doomsday at the Cottesloe Theatre for the National Theatre in 1984 and 1985. Both performances were directed by Bill Bryden.

He appeared in Doug Lucie's Fashion in May-June 1990 at the Tricycle Theatre, directed by Michael Attenborough.

In the Royal Shakespeare Company's (RSC)The Wizard of Oz production, wife Imelda Staunton played Dorothy while he was the Cowardly Lion. Considers playing a baddie dressed in black in the cowboy film Rustlers' Rhapsody filmed in southern Spain one of the top highlights of his career. The Wizard of Oz was directed by Ian Judge; it opened on 17 December 1987 at the RSC's Barbican Theatre. It played in repertory through 27 February 1988.

Other media

Carter narrates the back story for the ride "Hex - The Legend of the Towers", at Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, United Kingdom.

He narrated the six-part series Home Front Britain, a documentary of life in Britain during World War II created and produced by the Discovery Channel and the British Film Institute. Home Front Britain was broadcast on Discovery Channel from 11 September 2009.

In 2013 he could be heard voicing Sky Sports advertisements.

Personal life

Jim Carter and British actress Imelda Staunton met in January 1982 during rehearsals of Richard Eyre's Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre. Carter was 34, Staunton was 26 and she considered him already old. According to Staunton, "we worked together for a year and it was a slow burn rather than a heady rush of passion." Jim Carter and Imelda Staunton married in 1983 and have one daughter, Bessie, born in 1993, when Staunton was 37. Bessie was to enroll at the National Youth Theatre in 2010. Staunton says of Carter's acting: "He has never been the sort of actor who yearns to play Hamlet. Maybe it's because he came to acting from performing in the circus. He has always done just what he wants to do."

Staunton would later proudly claim that after 21 years of marriage, she and Carter had been apart for only three weeks. They have a little dog named Molly.

Carter is a former chairman of Hampstead Cricket Club, whose ground is near his home. On 18 September 2011 he organised the Hampstead Cricket Club (HCC) Celebrity Cricket Match. It was HCC's third annual charity celebrity cricket match.

He has been a keen cyclist for 55 years (as of October 2011), frequently riding for charity causes. On 30 September 2011 Carter travelled with 25 other riders to Ghana for a 10-day trip which included six days of cycling to raise money for clean water in the small impoverished town of Tafo. He has a web page for this event to receive sponsors and donations: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/jimcarter. This was his tenth charity ride. The previous nine (Jordan, Costa Rica, Laos, Vietnam, India, Namibia, Chile, Argentina and London to Paris - twice) were to raise money for the National Deaf Children's Society. He intended to raise a minimum of £2,750 but ended up with £8,670.

As of August 2013, Carter lives in West Hampstead, North London.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1980	Flash Gordon	Azurian Man
1984	Top Secret!	Déjà Vu, Resistance Member
1984	The Company of Wolves	Second Husband	Uncredited
1984	A Private Function	Inspector Noble
1985	Rustlers' Rhapsody	Blackie
1986	The American Way	Castro
1986	Haunted Honeymoon	Montego
1987	A Month in the Country	Ellerbeck
1988	The First Kangaroos	Arthur Hughes
1988	The Tenth Man	Pierre
1988	Soursweet	Mr. Constantinides
1988	The Raggedy Rawney	The Soldier
1989	The Rainbow	Mr. Harby
1989	Erik the Viking	Jennifer the Viking
1989	Duck		Short
1990	The Witches	Head Chef
1990	Crimestrike	The Detective
1990	The Fool	Mr. Blackthorn
1992	Blame It on the Bellboy	Rossi
1993	The Hour of the Pig	Mathieu
1994	Black Beauty	John Manly
1994	The Madness of King George	Fox
1995	Richard III	Lord William Hastings
1995	The Grotesque	George Lecky
1995	Balto	Voice	Uncredited
1996	Brassed Off	Harry
1997	Keep the Aspidistra Flying	Erskine
1998	Bill's New Frock	Mr. Platworthy	Short
1998	Vigo: A Passion for Life	Bonaventure	Uncredited
1998	Legionnaire	Lucien Galgani
1998	Shakespeare in Love	Ralph Bashford	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2000	The Little Vampire	Rookery
2000	102 Dalmatians	Detective Armstrong
2002	Heartlands	Geoff
2003	Bright Young Things	Chief Customs Officer
2003	16 Years of Alcohol	Director
2004	Ella Enchanted	Nish
2004	Casablanca Driver	Joe Mateo, l'agent
2004	Modigliani	Achilles Hébuterne
2004	Out of Season	Michael Philipps
2005	House of 9	The Watcher	Voice
2006	The Thief Lord	Victor
2007	Cassandra's Dream	Garage Boss
2007	The Golden Compass	John Faa
2008	The Oxford Murders	Inspector Petersen
2009	Creation	Joseph Parslow
2009	Wish 143	Priest	Short
2009	Burlesque Fairytales	The Compere
2010	Punk Strut: The Movie	Skippy
2010	Alice in Wonderland	The Executioner	Voice
2011	My Week with Marilyn	Barry

Television

2015

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1980	Fox	Cliff Ryan	2 episodes
1982	Not The Nine O'Clock News	Darts Commentator	1 episode
1984	December Flower	Dentist	TV film
1984	Hiawatha	Narrator	TV film
1985	The Bill	Stan	1 episode: "Death of a Cracksman"
1985	Widows 2	Det. Insp. Frinton	Mini-series (2 episodes)
1986	The Monocled Mutineer	Spencer	1 episode: "A Dead Man on Leave"
1986	Lost Empires	Inspector Crabbe	Mini-series (2 episodes)
1986	The Singing Detective	Mr. Marlow	5 episodes
1987	Harry's Kingdom	Bill	TV film
1988	Star Trap	Dr. Wax	TV film
1988	A Very British Coup	The Cabinet - Newsome	Mini-series (2 episodes)
1988	Christabel	Bausch	TV film
1988	Hallmark Hall of Fame	Pierre	1 episodes: "The Tenth Man"
1988	Thompson		1 episode: "Episode No.1.6"
1989	Precious Bane	Sarn	TV film
1989-1994	Screen Two	Father	2 episodes
1990	A Sense of Guilt	Richard Murray	TV film
1990	Zorro	Colonel Mefisto Palomarez	2 episodes
1990	The Gravy Train	Personip	1 episode: "Episode No.1.3"
1991	Incident in Judaea	Afranius	TV film
1991	Screen One	Ray Galton	1 episode: "Hancock"
1991	Casualty	Matthew Charlton	1 episode: "Dangerous Games"
1991-1999	Murder Most Horrid	Various	3 episodes
1992	Great Performances	Meinertzhagen	1 episode: "A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia"
1992	Between the Lines	D.I. Dick Corbett	1 episode: "Lies and Damned Lies"
1992	Soldier Soldier	Snr. Supt. Derek Tierney, RHKP	1 episode: "Lifelines"
1992	Stalin	Sergo	TV film
1993	Lipstick on Your Collar'	Inspector	Mini-series
1993	A Year in Provence	Ted Hopkins	Mini-series (1 episode: "Room Service")
1993	The Comic Strip Presents...	Commander	1 episode: "Detectives on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown"
1993	Medics	Hugh Buckley	1 episode: "Episode No.3.6"
1993	Resnick: Rough Treatment	Grabianski	TV film
1993-1994	Minder	Tompkins	2 episodes
1994	Pie in the Sky	Alec Bailey	1 episode: "Passion Fruit Fool"
1994	Cracker	Kenneth Trant	3 episodes
1994	Shakespeare: The Animated Tales	Marc Anthony (voice)	1 episode: "Julius Caesar"
1994	Open Fire	Dept. Chief Supt. Young	TV film
1994	Midnight Movie	Henry Harris	TV film
1995	It Could Be You	Wally "Lottery" Whaley	TV film
1995	The Late Show	Albert Knox	Documentary (1 episode: "Sophie's World")
1995	Dangerfield	Stephen Millwood	1 episode: "A Patient's Secret"
1995	Mrs. Hartley and the Growth Centre	Inspector	TV film
1995	Coogan's Run	Fraser	1 episode: "Natural Born Quizzers"
1995	The All New Alexei Sayle Show	various roles	Appeared in all six episodes in the second season
1997	Harpur and Iles	Tenderness Mellick	TV film
1997	The Missing Postman	DS Lawrence Pitman	TV film
1997	The Chest	Roland Blood	TV film
1997	Alas Smith and Jones		1 episode: "Episode No. 9.5"
1997	Ain't Misbehavin'	Maxie Morrell	3 episodes
1997	Bright Hair	Norman Devenish	TV film
1999	Trial By Fire	Geoffrey Bailey	TV film
1999	Tube Tales	Ticket Inspector	TV film
2000	Arabian Nights	Ja'Far	TV film
2000	The Scarlet Pimpernel	General La Forge	TV series (1 episode: "Friends and Enemies")
2001	Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story	Odin, Member of Great Council of Mac Slec	TV film
2001	The Way We Live Now	Mr. Brehgert	TV mini-series (3 episodes)
2002	Inside the Murdoch Dynasty	Narrator	TV film
2002	Dinotopia	Mayor Waldo	Mini-series (3 episodes)
2002	Dalziel and Pascoe	Ted Lowry	1 episode: "The Unwanted"
2003	Hornblower: Duty	Etheridge	TV film
2003	Helen of Troy	Pirithous	TV film
2003	Strange	Inspector Stuart	1 episode: "Asmoth"
2003	Trevor's World of Sport	Sir Frank Luckton	1 episode: "A Man's Game"
2003	Trial & Retribution	Dr. Jenkins	1 episode: "Suspicion: Part 1"
2003	Pompeii: The Last Day	Polybius	TV film
2003	Cromwell: Warts and All	Oliver Cromwell	TV film
2003	Midsomer Murders	Nathan Green	TV series (1 episode: "The Fisher King")
2004	London	Henry Fielding	TV film
2004	Von Trapped	Larry Lavelle	TV film
2004	Blue Murder	Frank Evans	1 episode: "Up in Smoke"
2006	Aberfan: The Untold Story	Lord Robens	TV documentary
2006	The Secret Life of Mrs. Beeton	Henry Dorling	TV film
2006	The Wind in the Willows	Engine Driver	TV film
2007	Recovery	Mr. Lockwood	TV film
2007	Silent Witness	Malcolm Young	2 episodes
2007-2009	Cranford	Captain Brown	Mini-series (7 episodes)
2008	Caught in a Trap	Brian Perkins	TV film
2009	Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1980	Harold Angus	TV film
2009	Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1983	Harold Angus	TV film
2010-2015	Downton Abbey	Mr Carson	52 episodes Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film
2013	Secrets of the Stonehenge Skeletons	Narrator	TV film documentary
2013	Secrets from the Workhouse	Narrator	2 episodes

Theatre

His National Theatre performances (as James Carter):

• 1. as Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Cottesloe Theatre, 20 December 1977 - 14 January 1978)
• 2. as Daui a fugitive/Guard/Second Cook in The Romans in Britain (Olivier Theatre, 10 October 1980 - 24 March 1981)
• 3. as Nawadaha the storyteller in Hiawatha (Olivier Theatre, 25 November 1980 - December 1983)
• 4. as Henry Straker in Man and Superman (Olivier Theatre, 17 January-October 1981)
• 5. as Rebolledo a soldier in The Mayor of Zalamea (Cottesloe and Olivier Theatre, 4 August 1981(opening night at Cottesloe), Jim Carter performed at the Olivier, December 1981 - July 1982)
• 6. as Chorus in The Oresteia (Olivier Theatre, 20 November 1981- )
• 7. as Big Julie in Guys and Dolls (Olivier Theatre, 26 February 1982 - October 1983)
• 8. as Hitler/SS Man Muller in Schewyk in the Second World War (Olivier Theatre, 16 September 1982 - March 1983)
• 9. as Don Jose, the cigar taster in The President of an Empty Room (Cottesloe Theatre, 28 June 2005 - 27 August 2005)
• He was magic adviser, not one of the performers, in The Cherry Orchard (Cottesloe Theatre, 3 December 1985- )

His Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) performances include:

• 1. as the Judge in The Balcony (Barbican Theatre, 15 July 1987- )
• 2. as Zekel, Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz (Barbican Theatre, 17 December 1987 - 27 February 1988)

Summary of James "Jim" Carter's stage works:

• 1. Winter Daddykins (for the Brighton Combination, July 1968)
• 2. Gum and Goo (for the Brighton Combination, 1969)
• 3. Come Together festival (for the Brighton Combination, Royal Court Theatre, October 1970- )

• 4. Waiting for Godot (for Newcastle University Theatre, ???)
• 5. The Madhouse Company of London shows (offshoot of the Ken Campbell Roadshow) in New York and Massachusetts, 1974-76
• 6. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (for the National Theatre, Cottesloe Theatre, December 1977 - January 1978)
• 7. The Tempest (for the Young Vic Company, 1978)
• 8. Richard III (for the Young Vic Company, 1978)
• 9. Faust (for the Young Vic Company, 1978)
• 10. Bartholomew Fair (for the Young Vic Company, 1978)
• 11. Julius Caesar (Riverside Studios, May-June 1980)
• 12. The Romans in Britain (for the National Theatre, Olivier Theatre, October 1980 - March 1981)
• 13. Hiawatha (for the National Theatre, Olivier Theatre, November 1980 - December 1983)
• 14. Man and Superman (for the National Theatre, Olivier Theatre, January-October 1981)
• 15. The Mayor of Zalamea (for the National Theatre, Olivier Theatre, December 1981 - July 1982)
• 16. The Oresteia (for the National Theatre, Olivier Theatre, November 1981)
• 17. Guys and Dolls (for the National Theatre, Olivier Theatre, February 1982 - October 1983)
• 18. Schweyk in the Second World War (for the National Theatre, Olivier Theatre, September 1982 - March 1983)
• 19. The Mysteries: The Nativity, The Passion, and Doomsday (for the National Theatre, Cottesloe Theatre, 1984-85)
• 20. The Infernal Machine (Lyric Hammersmith, 1986-87)
• 21. The Balcony (for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Barbican Theatre, July 1987)
• 22. The Wizard of Oz (for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Barbican Theatre, December 1987 - February 1988)
• 23. Fashion (Tricycle Theatre, May-June 1990)
• 24. The President of an Empty Room (for the National Theatre, Cottesloe Theatre, June-August 2005)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]