Theo James Tells The NY Times How He Prepared For His Role In "Golden Boy"

Theo James Tells The NY Times How He Prepared For His Role In "Golden Boy"



Viewers who wonder why the clean-cut star of the new CBS police drama “Golden Boy,” beginning Feb. 26, looks familiar might want to picture him instead in a flowing wig. And dead.

Theo James, a British actor, is probably best known on these shores as Kemal Pamuk, the dashing Turkish diplomat who died in Lady Mary Crawley’s bed in the first season of “Downton Abbey.” Though the role amounted to only a few minutes of screen time, its impact was outsize, setting off nearly two seasons’ worth of intrigue surrounding the “Downton” daughter’s soiled reputation.

Though it “feels like years ago” that he did the part, Mr. James said he lately gets recognized for it more than ever, at least in the United States. “It’s only recently that people have been going: ‘It’s massive! Mr. Pamuk!’ ” he said.



Mr. James, 28, was born in Oxford and owes his chiseled Mediterranean looks to his grandfather, who was from Greece. (The actor was born Theodore Taptiklis — James is a middle name.) He has appeared in British series like “Bedlam” and films like “Underworld: Awakening” and auditioned for “Golden Boy” from Britain. “Not that long ago you had to be in L.A.” to be considered for big network roles, he said. “Now you can send a tape from London and it arrives in 15 minutes.”

As the titular “Golden Boy” Mr. James portrays a striving young detective early in what will be a rapid rise through the New York Police Department. Episodes are book-ended by scenes set seven years in the future, when the character, at 34, has become the department’s youngest commissioner ever. The flashback narrative is grounded by the veteran character actor Chi McBride as the partner and voice of weary wisdom, a sage counterpoint to Mr. James’s hotheaded upstart.

Mr. James called Jeremy Egner recently from London to discuss playing two characters in one and embracing cop clichés. These are excerpts from the conversation.

Q. What about this concept appealed to you?

A. I like the story of a person’s rise and everything that goes along with that journey, everything that they lose and gain. Secondly because of that I get this great chance to play two differing personalities. You have this young, naïve, cocksure guy who’s kind of willing to do anything to get what he wants, and then you flash forward to a man who feels older than his age.

How did you prepare for the role? 

Just by being in the city and, as clichéd as that sounds, hanging out with the people. New York cops are very specific in terms of the way they talk and the way they handle themselves. All these clichés that, as an Englishman, I thought were from a bygone era or were a bit of poetic license with cop shows — the more you hang out with them, the more you realize how real that jargon is.

So you spent time with police officers?

We would go on ride-alongs, and I would sit in on interviews. I would wear a suit and try to be as inconspicuous as possible, although at one point someone, as we left, said, “Aren’t you a bit young to be a cop?” Which is kind of a good symmetry with the story.

Do you have a favorite TV cop?

I watched “The Shield.” That was a big show for me. But for me it was more about the reading. I read [Bernard] Kerik’s autobiography, “Clockers,” “Blue Blood.”

Your “Downton” role was brief. Was it odd to keep seeing it as a plot point?

To be honest I didn’t watch the rest of Season 1 — I watched some of it — so I didn’t really know how much [of a role] he plays. You tell me. [Laughs.]

It doesn’t sound as if you’re all that thrilled to talk about it.

I feel slightly fraudulent reflecting on it too much because I was only in one episode, you know what I mean? 

Source nytimes