Divergent star Theo James: I need to escape hunky action hero label

Ambition: Theo James wants to be seen as multi-dimensional
Rokas Darulis
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

His good looks have helped make him a Hollywood star — but Theo James says his image as a “hunky action hero” can be restrictive.

The actor, 32, has become known as a heart-throb with roles in two blockbuster franchises, vampire series Underworld and the Divergent trilogy, based on the teen sci-fi book series.

Asked by ES Magazine if he felt “too perfect-looking”, he replied: “Well, I hope they don’t say [that] because I may as well jump off a cliff.” He added: “It’s a tricky one, right, because I can’t decry it, can I?

“But purely in terms of career progression, if you don’t want to do things that are representative of that image, and if you have half a brain — yes, that’s definitely something you have to escape.

"The aim is to be multidimensional. And being seen as ‘hunky’, whatever that word describes... can be restrictive. Yes.”

He hopes his future projects, including a political thriller with Sir Ben Kingsley called Backstabbing For Beginners, will help him shed the label.

He said: “I’m 32. As fun as those films are, they’re not particularly representative of who I am as a person. I’ve got to get past that.”

James, who grew up near Oxford, has just finished a month-long run opposite Emilia Fox in Sex With Strangers at Hampstead Theatre, where he struggled with the stage-door attention because:

“I’m a little allergic to selfies. So I would say, ‘I’m not going to take a picture, but I’m happy to chat to you.’”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT