James Mackay (actor)

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James Mackay
James Mackay 2012 Publicity Shot 2.jpg
Mackay in 2012
Born (1984-07-20) 20 July 1984 (age 39)
OccupationActor
Years active2009–present
Relatives Hugh Mackay (father)

James Wilson Mackay (born 20 July 1984) is an Australian actor known for The CW television series Dynasty, as well as roles in films and on stage.

Contents

Early life

Mackay attended Sydney Grammar School in Sydney, Australia, where he first started acting in school plays. [1]

Mackay studied at the University of Sydney, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in history and English literature, before training as an actor at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Perth. [2]

He is the son of Hugh Mackay.[ citation needed ]

Career

Stage

In 2013 Mackay played Irwin in the Alan Bennett play The History Boys at the Sydney Opera House, [3] alongside John Wood, Heather Mitchell and Paul Goddard. In 2012 he performed with the Sydney Theatre Company as Danceny in Les Liaisons Dangereuses , with Hugo Weaving and Pamela Rabe. [4]

Mackay was an artistic associate of independent theatre company Cry Havoc. [5] He worked on two shows with the company, William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in 2009 (playing Marc Antony), [6] and Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters in 2010 (playing Andrey), for which he also collaborated on an original music score. [7]

In 2021, he starred as Orlando in the Melbourne Theatre Company's production of As You Like It [8] . [9]

Film and television

Mackay appeared as William Beaumont in the 2015 Australian film The Dressmaker with Kate Winslet, Sarah Snook, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth and Hugo Weaving. [10]

Other credits include Don't Be Afraid of the Dark , starring Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce, [11] and The Lovers , directed by Palme d'Or winner and Oscar nominee Roland Joffé. Mackay also played roles in the 2012 horror-thriller Redd Inc [12] (released as Inhuman Resources in the US), Matchbox Pictures’ series The Straits , a crime drama filmed in Cairns and the Torres Straits, and the 2012 television comedy Micro Nation . [13] He has had guest starring roles on Love Child , The Tomorrow People and The Leftovers .

In 2014, he starred in and composed the music for the short film Manny Gets Censored, narrated by Hugo Weaving.

In 2016 and 2017, he had roles in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales , Hacksaw Ridge, and Battle of the Sexes .

From 2017-2019, he played the role of Steven Carrington on The CW's Dynasty reboot. [14] [15]

In 2021, he was cast in the film The Girl at the Window. [16] In 2022, it was announced that he had joined the cast of the mini-series Savage River, co-starring with Katherine Langford. The project reunites him with The Dressmaker director Jocelyn Moorhouse.

Awards

In June 2013 Mackay was the recipient of the fifth annual Australians in Film Heath Ledger Scholarship. [17]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2008MisconceptionMattShort film
2008Ace NeallyShort film
2009 Don't Be Afraid of the Dark The Librarian
2010ConnectionDanShort film
2011HairpinSimonShort film
2012Redd Inc, aka "Inhuman Resources"Rudy Khan
Being VeniceFireman
2013 The Lovers Charles StewartAlso known as Singularity and Time Traveller (UK)
2014Manny Gets CensoredMannyShort film
2015Skin DeepNurse Ben Potter
2015 The Dressmaker William Beaumont
2016 Hacksaw Ridge Prosecutor
2017 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Maddox
Battle of the Sexes Barry Court
2022The Girl at the Window

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2010 Rescue: Special Ops Saxon BlakeEpisode: "Out of the Ashes"
2012 The Straits Joel Thomson5 episodes
Micro Nation Lindsay McFaddenEpisode: "Meet Pullamawang"
2014 The Tomorrow People Julian MastersEpisodes: "Enemy of My Enemy", "Rumble"
2017 The Leftovers BernardEpisode: "G'Day Melbourne"
Love Child LanceEpisode: "Episode Three" (Season 4)
2017–2019, 2022 Dynasty Steven Carrington Series regular (season 1–2), guest (season 5)
2022 Savage River SimonSeries regular

Theatre

YearPlayRoleVenue
2009 Julius Caesar Marc AntonyCry Havoc
2010 Three Sisters AndreyCry Havoc
2012 Les Liaisons Dangereuses Danceny Sydney Theatre Company
2013 The History Boys IrwinPeach Theatre Company
2021 As You Like It OrlandoMelbourne Theatre Company

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References

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  6. "Julius Caesar". Sydney.concreteplayground.com.au.
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  8. Dowse, Nicola. "★★★★☆: As You Like It is a glorious, golden dawn for Melbourne theatre". Time Out Melbourne. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  9. "As You Like It". www.mtc.com.au. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  10. "Toronto Film Review: 'The Dressmaker'". Variety. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  11. "Heath Ledger Scholarship Award Given to Australian Actor James Mackay". The Hollywood Reporter . 13 June 2013.
  12. "Redd Inc. Signs Termination Papers for the Overworked: A Movie Review ~ 28DLA".
  13. "Airdate: Micro Nation". 4 October 2012.
  14. Villarreal, Yvonne (8 September 2017). "The do's and don'ts of reboots: Dynasty edition". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  15. Rice, Lynette (2 August 2017). "Dynasty Reboot Corrects Original Series' Homophobia". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  16. "Radha Mitchell fronts thriller 'The Girl at the Window'". IF Magazine. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  17. "Australians in Film - Heath Ledger Scholarship". Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.