James Babson
Nominated by Nancy Bishop: I met James in Prague in the late 1990s when he was performing in Hamlet at the Globe Theatre. He was strictly a theatre actor back then, and a very well trained one from Carnegie Mellon. Because there were a lot of blockbuster studio films shooting in Prague at the time, he began his film career there and I was able to witness him grow his onscreen skills. He projects a warm feeling on screen, but can also be quirky. I’m happy that he’s been able to carry forward his career in the much more competitive Los Angeles.
1) Has there been a Casting Director that has encouraged and/or supported you in your career?
I’ve had the pleasure of developing strong relationships with many wonderful casting directors over the years. One example is Eyde Belasco. She created a very calm and supportive environment when I read for a role on ‘Transparent’. She allowed me to just play around with the material . No choice was incorrect. I booked it and it went on to become a recurring role! Leslie Woo at Jeanne McCarthy’s office cast me in my first film in Los Angeles and 2 additional projects since. Her humor and levity always put me at ease and her encouragement still inspires me .Tricia Wood has also become a supportive friend and mentor after being cast in the feature film ‘Last Knights’. But the most influential and supportive casting director I have worked with in my career has been you, Nancy Bishop! After meeting in Prague in 2000 while I was working on a production of Hamlet. I was a newbie to the city and you took me under your wing and introduced me to the film industry in the Czech Republic (to which I was totally unaware). During the six years I lived in Prague, you cast me in over half a dozen films. I had only worked in the theatre and so these experiences were essential building blocks to learning the nuanced and technical fundamentals of on-camera acting. Your belief in me gave me the confidence to further pursue a film acting career in Los Angeles.
2) What work are you most proud of?
Hard to narrow down as every role is different.Recently I got cast in an episode of ‘Agents of Shield’ , cast by Sara Finn and Hannah
Cooper. It was a tough 6 days of shooting with a ton of stunts, explosives and a very emotional undercurrent of desperation to tackle . All thrown at me LAST minute , as they don't release full scripts in advance . I just had to be available and ready to take what was thrown at me . A great challenge.
3) How did you get your SAG-AFTRA card?
After working in Europe for many years non union, I had collected a handful of high profile credits that had I hoped would help me join SAG outright. I was naive as to how the process worked, however. If it wasn't for being in Actor's Equity, I would have had to go through the whole voucher system , starting from scratch. Luckily I was in good standing with AEA, and since it's a sister union I was able to join. My first SAG job was playing a shopkeeper in a film called 'Fragments' in a scene opposite Forest Whittaker . A very cool day of work.
4) Any funny casting room stories?
Ah! Where to start! When I lived in NYC, I was called in to audition for the role of Mysterious Man for an untitled low budget feature . I went to this ABANDONED warehouse in mid town Manhattan. As I signed in, I soon realized I was totally alone. No one was in sight . Just a table and a pad and paper . Then I hear a woman's voice from behind a curtain asking me to enter the adjoining room ....as a CAT. On all fours. I was young and naive so I attempted to humor her . As I entered the space, the director was standing under a light bulb in a see-through dress and started growling and barking at me . I got up and got the F#$K outta there .It was my first audition out of college . Hilarious !
5) Tell us a fun fact about you outside of acting:
I'm a twin ! Fraternal and we look nothing a like but still... a fun fact . I'm passionate about photography and enjoy zipping around the globe if and when time and money allows.
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