David James
Height:
180 cm
James grew up on a wine farm in Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa. His parents were very conservative and separatists during the time of apartheid in South Africa, and James was the first liberal in the family. He also clashed with his father, a strict Reformed Dutchman, about his interest in theater. He and his father struck a bargain that if he w...
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James grew up on a wine farm in Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa. His parents were very conservative and separatists during the time of apartheid in South Africa, and James was the first liberal in the family. He also clashed with his father, a strict Reformed Dutchman, about his interest in theater. He and his father struck a bargain that if he were to letter in sports in school, he could choose his own study which he did. After his course in the military, he decided on artsand performance.Studying acting, singing, dance, and even the flute, James quickly made his mark in theater in South Africa. He has appeared in performances of Charlotte's Web, My Fair Lady, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Aladdin, among others. He has also appeared in many commercials and corporate promotional materials, including ads and promos for Ford, Toys 'R Us, and Compaq.His television credits in South Africa are very different from his theater work, where he has often portrayed the menacing and even downright psychotic bad guy. His first big break came when he got the part of the snarling Koobus Venter in the 2009 science fiction hit District 9. Show less «
[on the making of District 9 (2009)]: I'm being paid to be a boy of twelve. As a kid growing up and wanting to shoot aliens and play with my...Show more »
[on the making of District 9 (2009)]: I'm being paid to be a boy of twelve. As a kid growing up and wanting to shoot aliens and play with my mates and my friends, you created all this in the back of your mind. Show less «
[on the release of District 9 (2009), 19 August 2009]: Friends of mine from overseas, who I have not spoken to in six or seven years, sudden...Show more »
[on the release of District 9 (2009), 19 August 2009]: Friends of mine from overseas, who I have not spoken to in six or seven years, suddenly asked me "Are you involved in this?" So when the buzz started, with the level of secrecy [the director and producer] implanted from the start, you knew something was coming. Show less «
[on District 9 (2009)]: I think Neill [Blomkamp] liked the psychopathic edge I gave to Koobus in my audition. He can lie so convincingly to ...Show more »
[on District 9 (2009)]: I think Neill [Blomkamp] liked the psychopathic edge I gave to Koobus in my audition. He can lie so convincingly to everyone around him - he's operating with his own agenda. Whenever I was in doubt about what my character would do in a situation, I went back to that. Show less «
Like so many of us I sometimes give in to [fears] ... sometimes I'm strong enough to shut my eyes and just push through believing ... and so...Show more »
Like so many of us I sometimes give in to [fears] ... sometimes I'm strong enough to shut my eyes and just push through believing ... and sometimes I sit on my friend Carlynn's couch and work through the negative "ego" and dispel the "famous 3" ... DENY DEFEND DISCOUNT ... and then jump off the couch, have a Vodka and go chase that dream. Show less «
[on his definition of happiness] Doing what I love, loving what I do, and being able to look in the mirror and still like myself.
[on his definition of happiness] Doing what I love, loving what I do, and being able to look in the mirror and still like myself.
[on working with first-year students at Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa in 2012] I do a lot of student projects, and I love...Show more »
[on working with first-year students at Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa in 2012] I do a lot of student projects, and I love working with them and to assist in enhancing their competence by developing their skills. Show less «
Musical theatre, for me, is like foreplay. It is that constant interaction of youth and energy, the dancing the singing and the audience tak...Show more »
Musical theatre, for me, is like foreplay. It is that constant interaction of youth and energy, the dancing the singing and the audience taking part. I see straight theatre as a challenge and the hard work in the relationship. There are moments in theatre when you realise that you have the audience in your hands and are crying or laughing. Being able to do that is hard work, because you have to prepare thoroughly outside of the script. Television and film is the fun part, especially if you get to understand the mediums. You have the room to take things to many different levels and play around with a lot of options. Show less «
I still want to play characters that are off the wall. The weirder the better. I would love to play Iago from Othello. I want to play charac...Show more »
I still want to play characters that are off the wall. The weirder the better. I would love to play Iago from Othello. I want to play characters as far removed from myself as much as possible. I would love to do Afrikaans comedy as well. That is something that I want to get into. Show less «
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Koobus Venter
