Daniel John-Jules (born 16 September 1960)[1] is a British actor, singer and dancer. He is best known for playing Cat in the sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf, Barrington in the comic children's series Maid Marian and Her Merry Men, and policeman Dwayne Myers in the crime drama Death in Paradise.[2] He was also a protagonist in the hit CBBC children's spy drama M.I. High, in which he portrayed Lenny Bicknall, the caretaker.
John-Jules has played the role of Cat in the science fiction comedy series Red Dwarf since its inception in 1988. He also starred in the children's spy series M.I. High and played Barrington in the children's series Maid Marian and Her Merry Men. In addition to his acting career, he has made various appearances both as a dancer and a singer.[6]
Before his television and film work, he was a dancer in a group called 'second generation'[3] and in many productions in West End theatres. He was a member of the original cast of Starlight Express, playing a boxcar called Rocky I. In 1993, he released a song from Red Dwarf, "Tongue Tied", as a single, which entered the top 20, eventually reaching a high of 17. John-Jules featured his Red Dwarf co-stars and backing singers in the video. For this release, he was billed as simply "The Cat"; a CD-EP release was also issued featuring this song along with a version of the Red Dwarf theme song.
Among other productions, John-Jules was the dancer from the crowd in the Wham!video for "The Edge of Heaven". He gets up partway through the instrumental section and dances alongside George Michael. John-Jules also danced on the Lena Zavaroni TV Series in 1981, and has made a tribute to her on her website.[7]
On television, John-Jules is best known for his portrayal of Cat and Cat's geeky alter egoDwayne Dibbley in the British comedy series Red Dwarf. He got the part of Cat by turning up half an hour late for his audition, dressed in his father's old zoot suit. He was unaware that he was late and hence did not appear at all concerned about it. The producers immediately decided he was cool enough to be "the Cat". Craig Charles said at a Red Dwarf convention that John-Jules was a lot like the Cat in that he had a lot of clothes. He said, "Danny John-Jules could change his clothes every four seconds for a year and he still wouldn't run out of clothes." Along with Charles, John-Jules is the only other cast member to appear in every episode of Red Dwarf to date.
John-Jules and Chloë Annett aka Kristine Kochanski from Red Dwarf in 2009
His first acknowledged television and film roles were in Roy Minton's critically acclaimed Scum, where he played one of the inmates. The TV version, which was part of the Play for Today strand, was banned prior to broadcast.
Between 2002 and 2004 he played Milton Wordsworth in the CBeebies series The Story Makers, an educational children's television programme that was broadcast for four series. He appears in every series except series 2.
He has also appeared in at least one episode of CBBC's sitcom Kerching!, playing Michael's father, Trevor and appeared as Lenny Bicknall in series 1 and 2 of M.I.High, also on CBBC. He has also appeared in The Crouches.
In 2014, he played Nigel Rogers in The Life of Rock with Brian Pern. In May 2015, it was announced that he would, again, be returning to Red Dwarf for the eleventh and twelfth series.[8]
In 2004, Jules played a character on the SF comedy Starhyke, but the series remained in post-production for five years, being shown only privately in 2009, the rights finally being bought by Amazon.com in 2015 and released in 2016.
He appeared in the BBC One series Death in Paradise as policeman Dwayne Myers[2] from its start until 2018. He returned as a guest star for the Christmas Special in 2021.
It was announced that John-Jules plays the lead as Sir Leigh Teabing in the stage version of hit novel The Da Vinci Code's 2022 UK tour.[9]
Film
John-Jules' film career began in 1975 playing Frog in the short film Seven Green Bottles, which was produced in conjunction with the Metropolitan Police and warned of the dangers and consequences of juvenile crime. He supplied the voice for two characters in Labyrinth (1986), then appeared in the 1986 version of Little Shop of Horrors, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), and Blade II (2002). He has also appeared, uncredited, in the 1979 British film Scum, playing a look-out during a fight scene.
He has appeared in the 2008 British films The Grind and Sucker Punch. He has a small role as Rachel Weisz' manager in the Lincoln, Nebraska police force in the 2010 film The Whistleblower.
John-Jules also played one of the dancers in the 1981 movie The Great Muppet Caper, which, like Little Shop Of Horrors, was directed by Frank Oz. He is among the dancers in the restaurant where Kermit and Miss Piggy are dancing.
John-Jules participated in the 16th series of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with professional dancer Amy Dowden. In week 5 he topped the leaderboard with a total of 37 points for his jive. The couple were awarded the first 10 score of the series when Darcey Bussell marked their Jive to "Flip, Flop and Fly" in week 5. The couple were eliminated in Week 8 after losing a dance off to Graeme Swann and Oti Mabuse, their elimination came days after controversial bullying allegations, with tabloids reporting that John-Jules had reduced Dowden to tears.[11]
Personal life
John-Jules is married to Petula Langlais; the couple have two children, both of whom have had minor acting roles alongside their father.[12] He is also an avid motorcyclist and regularly participates in charity rides.[13]
In November 2008 John-Jules was convicted of assaulting two bin men. He was ordered to perform 120 hours of community service. After the court hearing, John-Jules maintained he had a "clear conscience", saying "I've been doing community service for over 30 years, this is just another day."[15]
Red Dwarf is a British science fiction comedy franchise created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, which primarily consists of a television sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave since 2009, gaining a cult following. The series follows low-ranking technician Dave Lister, who awakens after being in suspended animation for three million years to find that he is the last living human, and that he is alone on the mining spacecraft Red Dwarf—save for a hologram of his deceased bunkmate Arnold Rimmer and "Cat", a life form which evolved from Lister's pregnant cat.
Chris Barrie is a British actor and comedian. He worked as a vocal impressionist on the ITV sketch show Spitting Image (1984–1996) and as Lara Croft's butler Hillary in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003). Barrie starred as Arnold Rimmer in 13 series of the sci-fi space comedy Red Dwarf between 1988 and 2020, and as Gordon Brittas in seven series of the BBC leisure centre sitcom The Brittas Empire (1991–1997).
Maid Marian and her Merry Men is a British children's television series created and written by Tony Robinson and directed by David Bell. It began in 1989 on BBC1 and ran for four series, with the last episode shown in 1994. The show was a partially musical comedy retelling of the legend of Robin Hood, placing Maid Marian in the role of leader of the Merry Men, and reducing Robin to an 'incompetent' ex-tailor.
The Cat, or simply Cat, is a fictional character in the British science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf. He is played by Danny John-Jules. He is a descendant of Dave Lister's pregnant pet house cat Frankenstein, whose descendants evolved into a humanoid form over three million years while Lister was in stasis. As a character, he is vain and aloof, and loves to dress in extravagant clothing. He is simply referred to as "Cat" in lieu of a real name.
Kristine Z. Kochanski is a fictional character from the British science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf. Kochanski was the first console officer in the navigation chamber on board the spaceship Red Dwarf. As well as appearing in the television series, she is also a major character in the Red Dwarf novel Last Human. In series 1, 2, and 6 she was played by Clare Grogan and was then played by Chloë Annett for series 7 and 8, and the 2009 special Back to Earth.
Gex is a platformer video game series, developed by Crystal Dynamics, that details the adventures of an anthropomorphic gecko named Gex. He has served as the mascot of Crystal Dynamics, appearing on their company logo for several years up until the year 2000. In the North American version, Gex is voiced by the comedian Dana Gould; the United Kingdom version features Gould as well as Leslie Phillips and Danny John-Jules as the voice of Gex. Gex was voiced by Mitsuo Senda in the Japanese release of the second game.
"The End" is the first episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, which was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 15 February 1988. The episode introduces the main characters and sets up the story backbone of the series. On the mining ship Red Dwarf, Dave Lister is placed in stasis for refusing to give up the whereabouts of his forbidden pet cat. When he emerges from stasis, three million years later, he discovers that everybody has died from a radiation leak.
"Balance of Power" is the third episode of science fiction comedy Red Dwarf series one. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 29 February 1988. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye. The story revolves around Lister's desire to bring his one true love, Kristine Kochanski, back as a hologram.
"Better Than Life" is the second episode from Red Dwarf series two, and the eighth in the series run. It was first broadcast on BBC2 on 13 September 1988. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye, this episode introduces the total immersion video game "Better Than Life", which features in both the first and second Red Dwarf novels.
John Wesley Holder, known professionally as Ram John Holder, is a Guyanese-British actor and musician, who began his professional career as a singer in New York City, before moving to England in 1962. He has performed on stage, in both film and television and, is best known for playing Augustus "Porkpie" Grant in the Channel 4 sitcom Desmond's, and its spin-off series Porkpie.
"Parallel Universe" is the sixth episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf series two, and the twelfth in the show's run. It premiered on the British television channel BBC2 on 11 October 1988. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye, the plot involves the Red Dwarf crew travelling to a parallel universe where they meet alternative versions of themselves. This marked the final appearance of Norman Lovett as Holly, although he would return years later at the end of Series VII and then for the whole of Series VIII. The episode was remastered, along with the rest of the first three series, in 1998.
"Beyond a Joke" is the sixth episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf Series VII and the 42nd in the series' run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 21 February 1997. The script was written by Robert Llewellyn and Doug Naylor, and was directed by Ed Bye.
"Epideme" is the seventh episode of science fiction comedy series Red Dwarf VII and the 43rd in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 28 February 1997. Written by Paul Alexander and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye, the episode involves Lister contracting an intelligent, but deadly, virus.
Lindzi James Tyger Drew-Honey is an English actor and television presenter. He is best known for his role as Jake Brockman in the British sitcom Outnumbered, in Citizen Khan as Richard Scab before later appearing in Horrid Henry: The Movie and the television series Cuckoo.
Steven Wickham is a British actor known largely for his roles in Big Finish Productions' audio dramas as well as guest appearances in Red Dwarf, Mrs Brown's Boys, Casualty, The Bill, EastEnders and Doctor Who in a career which began in 1984.
Death in Paradise is a British–French crime comedy drama television series created by Robert Thorogood, starring Ben Miller, Kris Marshall, Ardal O'Hanlon and Ralf Little.
"Tongue Tied" is a song by Danny John-Jules featured in the 1988 Red Dwarf episode "Parallel Universe" and released as a single in 1993.
Tyreece Romayo John-Jules is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Derby County, on loan from Arsenal. He has previously played for Lincoln City, Doncaster Rovers, Blackpool, Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich Town.
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1 2 3 "Danny John Jules (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. 16 September 1960. Retrieved 3 June 2019. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
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