James Fleet

James Edward Fleet (born 11 March 1952) is an English actor of theatre, radio and screen. He is most famous for his roles as the bumbling and well-meaning Tom in the 1994 British romantic comedy film Four Weddings and a Funeral and the dim-witted but kind-hearted Hugo Horton in the BBC sitcom television series The Vicar of Dibley. Since 2020, he has played King George III in the Netflix Bridgerton.

James Fleet
Born	James Edward Fleet (1952-03-11) 11 March 1952 (age 72) Bilston, Staffordshire, England[1]
Alma mater	Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1979–present
Spouse(s)	Jane Booker (m. 1984)
Children	1

Early life

Fleet was born in Bilston, Staffordshire,^[2][3] to a Scottish mother, Christine, and an English father, Jim. He lived in Bilston until he was 10 but, when his father died, he moved to Aberdeenshire with his mother.^[4] He studied engineering at university in Aberdeen, where he joined the university dramatic society.^[5] Afterwards, he studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow.

Career

Stage

Fleet began his career in the RSC, appearing in several plays in the early 1980s.^[6][7][8] He has since appeared in touring productions of, among others, Habeas Corpus^[9] and In the Club,^[10] as well as in Festen and Mary Stuart^[11] and others in the West End. He also played Alderman Fitzwarren in Dick Whittington in 2002.

In 2003 he played Kulygin in Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters alongside Kristin Scott Thomas who played Masha.

In 2009 he portrayed Sir Andrew Aguecheek in the RSC Production of Twelfth Night. In 2011 he was in Richard Bean's The Heretic directed by Jeremy Herrin at the Royal Court Theatre in London. Starting in November 2011 he was in the original line-up of The Ladykillers as Major Courtney at the Gielgud Theatre.

Radio

Between 2000 and 2006, Fleet played the painfully upright and decent Captain Brimshaw in Revolting People, a BBC Radio 4 comedy set in pre-revolutionary America. He also appeared in the radio legal sitcom Chambers, which later moved onto television. As of 2005, he has starred as Duncan Stonebridge MP in the topical radio sitcom The Party Line.^{[citation needed]} He also appeared as the Captain on the BBC Radio 7 series The Spaceship. He also plays the part of Sir John Woodstock in the BBC Radio 4 sitcom The Castle and Inspector Lestrade in the first, third and fourth series of The Rivals. Fleet played John Aubrey in the 2008 BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour production by Nick Warburton of Aubrey's Brief Lives.

Television

In 1999–2001 he was the voice of "Dog" in the children's TV show Dog and Duck.^[12] Probably his most famous role is that of Hugo in The Vicar of Dibley; he appeared in all 20 episodes, broadcast between 1994 and 2007. In 2004 he appeared in an episode of Monarch of the Glen. In 2005 he played a leading role in an episode of the long-running ITV murder mystery series Midsomer Murders. In 2007 he was a guest star in one episode of the sitcom Legit. He appeared as Frederick Dorrit in the BBC's 2008 production of Little Dorrit.^[13] When Fleet appeared on the quiz show School's Out,^[14] it was revealed that one of his teachers at Banff Academy had written in his school report that "[James] is the stupidest boy I have ever had to teach, out of all the stupid boys I have ever had to teach," and that he was the only student in his sixth form not to have been made a prefect. Despite his apparent lack of scholastic ability, he still won the show. In 2009, Fleet appeared in a cameo role in the third series of Skins.

Earlier in his career, Fleet was seen in a 1983 episode of Grange Hill as a teacher at the eponymous school's upmarket rival Rodney Bennett. In 1992 he played Paul Morgan in an episode of The Bill 'Runaway'. In 1999 he starred in the sitcom Brotherly Love.

Fleet appeared in Coronation Street in 2010. He played a character called Robbie Sloan, a recently released convict, helping escaped prisoner Tony Gordon plot revenge on his ex-wife Carla Connor. They intend to kidnap and kill her. Sloan lures Connor into her Underworld factory, and holds her at gunpoint. Leaving her tied to a chair with her mouth taped shut, Sloan also lures Hayley Cropper into the hostage situation. Sloan was eventually shot by Gordon during a siege at the factory.

In February 2011, Fleet appeared as George (senior), the father of werewolf George Sands, in Being Human.

In December 2013 the BBC aired one of their major dramas for the Christmas season, Death Comes to Pemberley, a three-part British television drama based on characters created by Jane Austen in her novel Pride and Prejudice. The first episode was broadcast on BBC One at 8.15 pm on Boxing Day 2013. It was based on the best-selling novel by P. D. James, in which the characters of Pride and Prejudice are involved in a new story involving a murder. Fleet played the part of Mr Bennett in the series. In September 2014, Fleet appeared in the BBC Three sitcom Bad Education as Richard, an ex-boyfriend of Rosie Gulliver. He has most recently appeared in an episode of ITVs second series of Plebs, as Stylax's racing patron. In 2013, Fleet was engaged to play Scottish historian, the Reverend Dr. Reginald Wakefield, in seasons 1 and 2 of the Award-winning Starz adaptation of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander, broadcast in 2014–2016.

An April 2021 announcement stated that Fleet would be joining the cast of the second season of All Creatures Great and Small in the role of Colonel Merrick.^[15]

Fleet has recurred as King George III in the Netflix romantic period drama Bridgerton, reprising the role in spin-off series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

Film

Fleet has appeared in numerous films. He played the role of Kevin's father in the 2000 film Kevin & Perry Go Large. He played the roles of Lefevre in the 2004 film adaptation of Phantom of the Opera, John Dashwood in 1995's Sense and Sensibility, and Lytton Strachey in the 2003 film Al Sur de Granada (South from Granada). In 2014, he played John Constable in the Mike Leigh film Mr Turner. In 2016, he played Sir Reginald DeCourcy in Whit Stillman's Love and Friendship.

Personal life

Fleet lives in Sibford Gower, Oxfordshire with his wife, actress Jane Booker, and their son Hamish. ^[4]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Defence of the Realm	Ministry Man
1992	Electric Moon	Simon Lidell
	Blue Black Permanent	Jim Thorburn
1994	Four Weddings and a Funeral	Tom
	Milner	Hugh Bonning
1995	3 Steps to Heaven	Harry Roberts
	Gentlemen Don't Eat Poets	Inspector Limp
	Sense and Sensibility	John Dashwood
	The Butterfly Effect	Oswald
1997	Thursday	Patrick	Short film
	Remember Me?	Donald
1999	Big Dreams and Paper Planes	Son	Short Movie
	Milk	Adrian
2000	Kevin & Perry Go Large	Dad
2001	Charlotte Gray	Richard Cannerly
2002	Two Men Went to War	Major Bates
2003	South from Granada	Lytton Strachey
	Blackball	Alan the Pipe
2005	The Phantom of the Opera	Monsieur Lefevre
	Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story	Simon
2007	Lady Godiva: Back in the Saddle	Alan Jenkins
2011	The Decoy Bride	William
2013	Murder on the Home Front	Professor Stephens
2014	Mr. Turner	John Constable
2016	Love & Friendship	Sir Reginald DeCourcy
	Revolution: New Art For A New World	Wassily Kandinsky (voice)	Documentary
2017	Love of My Life	Tom
2018	The Spy Who Dumped Me	Tom
2019	One Red Nose And A Wedding	Tom	TV Short
	Born a King	George V
2020	Blithe Spirit	Harry Price
2021	Operation Mincemeat	Charles Fraser-Smith
2022	The Lost King	John Ashdown-Hill
	Scream of the Wolf	Oliver

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	The Omega Factor	Ian	Episode: "Double Vision"
1983	Grange Hill	Mr Perkins	Episode #6.5
1985	Dempsey and Makepeace	Man in the Office	Episode: "In the Dark"
1987	The Ruth Rendell Mysteries	Neil Fairfax	Episode: "A Sleeping Life"
	Still Crazy Like a Fox	Bellhop	TV movie
1991	Boon	Keith Dawson, Prosecution Barrister	Episode: "Trial and Error"
1991–1996	Screen Two	Prime Minister / Algie / Peter Wentworth
1992	The Advocates	Philip Jackson	Episode 2
	The Bill	Paul Morgan	Episode: "Runaway"
	Screen One	James Grahame	Episode: "Running Late"
1993	A Year in Provence	Hugo Compton	Episode: "Room Service"
	An Exchange of Fire	Michael Shanks	Episode #1.1 & #1.2
1994–2013, 2020	The Vicar of Dibley	Hugo Horton
1994	Headhunters	Alan Spence	Episodes: "Right as Rain" & "Maradona Land"
	Murder Most Horrid	Tom	Episode: "We All Hate Granny"
	Cracker	Michael Trant	Episode: "The Big Crunch"
1996	Lord of Misrule	Prime Minister	TV movie
	The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders	James Bland
	Interview Day	Simon
1997	The Cows	Thor Johnson
	Gobble	Prime Minister (voice)
	Harry Enfield and Chums	Teacher Mr Banks	Episode #2.3
	A Dance to the Music of Time	Moreland	Mini series
	Spark	Ashley Parkerwell
1998	Frenchman's Creek	Sir Harry	TV movie
1999	The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything	William the Conqueror
2000	Brotherly Love	Frank Robertson
2000–2001	Chambers	Hilary Tipping
2002	Young Arthur	Merlin	TV movie
	Dick Whittington	Alderman Fitzwarren
	Fields of Gold	Alan Buckley
2003	Promoted to Glory	Michael Prendergast
2004	Family Business	David	Episode #1.5
	Murder in Suburbia	John Stanton	Episode: "A Good Deal of Attention"
	Monarch of the Glen	Liam	Episode #6.6
	Three Sisters	Kulygin	TV movie
2005	Sea of Souls	Findlay Morrison	Episode: Amulet Part 1 & 2
2005, 2017	Midsomer Murders	Ralph Plummer / Michael Falconer	"Sauce for the Goose", "The Curse of the Ninth"
2007	Legit	Peter	Episode: "Danny, Champion of the World"
2008	Harley Street	Max Rogers	Episode #1.5
	Little Dorrit	Frederick Dorrit
2009	Skins	Martin
	Micro Men	Kenneth Baker	TV movie
	Hotel Babylon	Martin Armstrong
2010	Coronation Street	Robbie Sloan
2011	Being Human	George Senior
2012	Lewis	Dr Alex Falconer	Episode: "The Soul of Genius"
	Comedy Showcase	Arthur Marvin
2013	Death in Paradise	Jeremy Tipping
	Toast Of London	Various	Episodes #2.1,
	Big Bad World	Kevin	Episodes #1.1, #1.2, #1.4, #1.6 & #1.7
	Citizen Khan	Professor Stevens
	Death Comes to Pemberley	Mr Bennett
2014	Father Brown	Dr Adam Crawford
	Bad Education	Richard
	Blandings	Colonel Fanshawe
	Plebs	Gaius Maecenas
2014–2016	Outlander	Reverend Wakefield	6 episodes
2015	Love and Friendship	Sir Reginald DeCourcy	TV movie
	Partners in Crime	Major Anthony Carter	Mini Series; 6 episodes
	Top Coppers	Charles Leatherby	Mini Series, 2 episodes
2016	Indian Summers	Lord Hawthorne	4 episodes
	Houdini and Doyle	Dr Pilsen
	The Hollow Crown	Hastings
	Billionaire Boy	Mr Darrow	TV movie
2017	Tracey Ullman's Show	Various – Archie / Awards Host / Tough Man
	Urban Myths	The Professor
	Hospital People	Neville Burley	Episode: "The Charity Single"
2018	Unforgotten	Chris Lowe	6 episodes
	Patrick Melrose	Sir Victor Eisen	Mini Series, Episode: "Never Mind"
	Death on the Tyne	Jack	TV movie
2019	Thanks for the Memories	Patrick Conway	Episode #1.1 & #1.2
2020	The Watch	Archchancellor of Unseen University
	The Pale Horse	Oscar Venables
	Belgravia	The Reverend Stephen Bellasis
2020-present	Bridgerton	King George III	Recurring character
2021	All Creatures Great and Small	Colonel Merrick	Episode: "Semper Progrediens"
2022-2023	Dodger	Judge Fang	6 episodes
2023	Tom Jones	Squire Allworthy	Mini Series; 3 episodes
	Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story	King George III	Mini Series; Episode: "Crown Jewels"
	Beyond Paradise	Ernest Buchanan	Episode: Christmas Special
2025	The Feud	Derek	Filming [16]

Radio dramas

Year	Title	Role	Radio	Notes	Ref.
1986	The Vacillations of Poppy Carew	Victor	BBC Radio 4		[17]
1996–1999	Chambers	Hilary Tripping
2000	As You Like It	Touchstone	BBC Radio 3	Sunday Play	[18]
2000–2006	Revolting People	Captain Brimshaw	BBC Radio 4
2005	The Party Line	Duncan Stonebridge MP
	The Spaceship	Captain Gordon "Flashdance" Taylor	BBC Radio 7
2006	Quartermaine's Terms	Mark Sackling	BBC Radio 4
2007–2012	The Castle	Sir John Woodstock
2008	Brief Lives	John Aubrey
	Fortunes of War	Yakimov		Classic Serial
	Max Warp	O'Reilley	BBC Radio 7	Big Finish Productions
2011	Gormenghast	Prunesquallor	BBC Radio 4	Classic Serial
	The History of Titus Groan
	The Rivals	Inspector Lestrade
2013	Greenmantle	Sandy Arbuthnot	BBC Radio 4 Extra
2015	Decline and Fall	Prendergast	BBC Radio 4		[19]
2018–2020	Quanderhorn	Professor Darius Quanderhorn	BBC Radio 4
2019	Coriolanus	Menenius Agrippa	BBC Radio 3		[20]
2023	Henry IV, Part 2	Robert Shallow			[21]

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Director	Venue	Notes	Ref.
1981	The Witch of Edmonton	Somerton	Barry Kyle	The Other Place	Press night
1981-1982	Money	Club Member / Servant	Bill Alexander	Barbican Theatre
	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Francis Flute	Ron Daniels	Royal Shakespeare Theatre		[22]
1982	Henry IV, Part 1	Peto	Trevor Nunn	Barbican Theatre		[23]
	Henry IV, Part 2	Peto / Francis Feeble				[24]
	Within a Word	Performer	Cicely Berry	Gulbenkian Studio
	The Twin Rivals	Subtleman	John Caird	Pit Theatre	Press night
1982-1983	Peter Pan	Slightly	Trevor Nunn & John Caird	Barbican Theatre	World premiere	[25]
1983	The Dillen	Joshua Farr/ Postmaster / Walt Clack	Barry Kyle	The Other Place	Press night
	A New Way to Pay Old Debts	Amble / Creditor	Adrian Noble
	The Time of Your Life	Willie	Howard Davies
	Volpone	Peregrine	Bill Alexander
1984				Gulbenkian Studio
				Pit Theatre
1984-1985	A New Way to Pay Old Debts	Amble / Creditor	Adrian Noble	Barbican Theatre
	Waste		John Barton
1987	The Taming of the Shrew	Hortensio	Jonathan Miller	Royal Shakespeare Theatre		[26]
	Hyde Park		Barry Kyle	Barbican Theatre
1987-1988	The Jew of Malta	Lodowick				[27]
1988	The Churchill Play	Captain Thompson
1989	As You Like It	Oliver	Tim Albery	The Old Vic		[28]
1990	Berenice	Arsace		Royal National Theatre		[29]
1991	The Government Inspector	Bobchinsky	Matthew Francis	Greenwich Theatre
	Just Between Ourselves	Neil	Terry Johnson	Bristol Old Vic		[30]
1999	The Late Middle Classes	Charles Smithers / Holly in 40s	Harold Pinter	Watford Palace Theatre		[31]
2005	Mary Stuart	Sir Amyas Paulet	Phyllida Lloyd	Donmar Warehouse		[32]
2005- 2006				Apollo Theatre		[33]
2009	Cloud 9	Clive	Thea Sharrock	Almeida Theatre		[34]
	Twelfth Night	Sir Andrew Aguecheek	Gregory Doran	Courtyard Theatre		[35]
	The Observer	Saunders	Richard Eyre	Royal National Theatre		[36]
2011	The Heretic	Professor Kevin Maloney	Jeremy Herrin	Royal Court Theatre		[37]
	The Ladykillers	Major Courtney	Sean Foley	Gielgud Theatre		[38]
2016	Les Blancs	Dr. Willy Dekoven	Yaël Farber	Royal National Theatre		[39]
2023	Noises Off	Selsdon Mowbray	Lindsay Posner	Theatre Royal Haymarket		[40]

References

1. BFI biodata
2. Archived 12 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
3. James Fleet – Questions and Answers – Interview
4. James Fleet 'in his own words' http://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester/content/articles/2008/05/15/james_fleet_interview_feature.shtml
5. 20 questions at whatsonstage.com"20 Questions with ... James Fleet - - Interviews - Whatsonstage.com". Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
6. Cast list of RSC productions of The Taming of the Shrew www.rscshakespeare.co.uk/tamingOfTheShrew.html
7. Cast list of RSC productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream www.rscshakespeare.co.uk/midSummerNightsDream.html
8. Cast list of RSC productions of Henry IV, Part Two www.rscshakespeare.co.uk/Henry4th_part2.html
9. Review in The Stage http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/13225/habeas-corpus
10. Cast list in The Stage http://www.thestage.co.uk/listings/production.php/22083/in-the-club-tour
11. Review in The Stage www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/8761/mary-stuart
12. Mike Joyce. "Dog and Duck". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2013. (Press Release)
13. BBC Press Pack for Little Dorrit http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/10 october/13/dorrit7.shtml
14. Series Two, Episode Seven, originally broadcast 25 August 2007
15. "Patricia Hodge Replaces The Late Diana Rigg On Channel 5/PBS Series 'All Creatures Great & Small'". Deadline Hollywood. 8 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
16. Duke, Simon (12 May 2024). "Channel 5 drama The Feud takes over Jarrow as Jill Halfpenny and Derry Girls star spotted". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
17. Mary Wesley - The Vacillations of Poppy Carew. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
18. "As You Like It · British Universities Film & Video Council". bufvc.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
19. "Decline and Fall". Retrieved 5 July 2024.
20. "Coriolanus · British Universities Film & Video Council". bufvc.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
21. "Henry IV, Part 2 Radio · British Universities Film & Video Council". bufvc.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
22. "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
23. "Henry IV. Part 1 · British Universities Film & Video Council". bufvc.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
24. "Henry IV. Part 2 · British Universities Film & Video Council". bufvc.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
25. "Peter Pan |". johncaird.com. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
26. "Taming of the Shrew, The · British Universities Film & Video Council". bufvc.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
27. "The Jew of Malta". Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
28. "As You Like It · British Universities Film & Video Council". bufvc.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
29. "Berenice". National Theatre Archive. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
30. "James Fleet". www.agathachristie.com. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
31. "The Late Middle Classes". Simon Gray. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
32. Inverne, James (20 July 2005). "Mary Stuart Opens at London's Donmar July 20". Playbill. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
33. Simonson, Robert (7 October 2005). "A Pair of Queens: Donmar's Mary Stuart Begins in London Oct. 7". Playbill. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
34. Billington, Michael (2 November 2007). "Cloud Nine". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
35. "Twelfth Night · British Universities Film & Video Council". bufvc.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
36. Billington, Michael (20 May 2009). "The Observer". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
37. "The Heretic". Royal Court. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
38. Shenton, Mark (7 December 2011). "The Ladykillers Opens at West End's Gielgud Theatre Dec. 7". Playbill. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
39. Billington, Michael (31 March 2016). "Les Blancs review – a near-perfect production of an imperfect play". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
40. "Photos & Video: Noises Off in rehearsals including Mathew Horne, Tamzin Outhwaite & Felicity Kendal | West End Theatre". www.westendtheatre.com. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2024.

External links

• James Fleet at IMDb