1. His real name isn’t Theo James. Theodore Peter James Kinnaird Taptiklis was born in Oxford on December 16, 1984. His exotic name derives from his Greek grandfather who lived in New Zealand, and he also has English and Scottish heritage. The youngest of five children, he changed his name since ‘Theo James’ is a little easier to spell.
2. He’s well educated. He actually became an actor by accident. After graduating from the University of Nottingham with a degree in philosophy, his girlfriend at the time planned to audition for drama school, so he tried out too. He was successful, and she didn’t get in!
3. He’s a musician. Theo was a singer and guitarist in a London band called Shere Khan.
4. The boy can beat box! During a Divergent event in Atlanta, he showed off his skills on the mic for the crowd.
5. He had a small but memorable role on Downton Abbey, where his character died while having sex with Lady Mary Crawley.
6. He looks really good shirtless. The tattoos are fake but those guns are real.
7. He’s a good kisser. “He’s an incredibly masculine man with a beautiful soulful heart – and he was a great kisser,” Shailene says of her costar. Swoon!
8. His name literally means God in Greek.
9. Just when you didn’t think Theo could look any hotter, he goes and plays David a vampire in Underworld: Awakening
10. James is extremely accomplished at accents and can talk in a range of voices, from Southern Irish to Scottish and New York American. When filming, he likes to retain his character’s accent throughout, even between takes.
David Letterman jokingly asked him on his show why they didn’t just get an American for his role in Divergent, and perhaps the Americans who love a British accent were dismayed when James uses a US accent in the film.
