| James Cosmo | |
| Honorific Suffix: | MBE |
| Birth Name: | James Ronald Gordon Copeland |
| Birth Place: | Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire, Scotland |
| Years Active: | 1965–present |
| Children: | 2 |
James Ronald Gordon Copeland (born 1947),[1] known professionally as James Cosmo, is a Scottish actor. Known for his character work,[2] he has played supporting roles in films such as Highlander (1986), Braveheart (1995), Trainspotting (1996), Troy (2004), (2005), Ben-Hur (2016), and Wonder Woman (2017). On television, he appeared as Father Kellan Ashby on the third season of Sons of Anarchy (2010), Jeor Mormont on HBO's Game of Thrones (2011–2013), Farder Coram in the BBC series His Dark Materials (2019), and Luka Gocharov on the third season of Amazon Prime's Jack Ryan (2022). Cosmo appeared as a contestant on the nineteenth series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2017, finishing in fourth place.
Cosmo is the son of actor James Copeland and Helen Goodlet Findlay.[3] He attended Hartfield Primary School in Dumbarton. Through his father, young James played cricket on Hampstead Heath with Sean Connery while his father was in the pub with Peter O'Toole.[4] He has a sister named Laura.[4] When he was 11, he moved back to Glasgow and later he worked for a time at Arnott Young shipbreakers in Dalmuir.[4]
At the start of his career he adopted Cosmo, the middle name of his mother Helen, as his stage surname.[5] Cosmo is best known for his film roles as Angus MacLeod in Highlander, Campbell in Braveheart and as Father Christmas in the adaptation of .[6] Over the years he has also had roles in other films such as Trainspotting, The Last Legion and 2081.[7] He appeared in Troy with future Game of Thrones cast members Sean Bean and Julian Glover.[8] He also appeared in UFO as SHADO operative Lieutenant Anderson, in Take the High Road as Alex Geddes from 1982 until 1983 and in 1984 played Jock McLeish in the Minder episode Senior Citizen Caine.[9] [6] He appeared as Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Drysdale in the seventh series of Soldier Soldier.[9]
From 2011 -2013, Cosmo portrayed Jeor Mormont, Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, and father of Jorah Mormont (played by Iain Glen), in the HBO series Game of Thrones.[10] He was involved in the filming of the thriller Breakdown in which he appeared alongside Craig Fairbrass, Bruce Payne, Emmett Scanlan, Olivia Grant and Tamer Hassan.[11] He played the antagonist in the Indian film, Jagame Thandhiram, which released in 2021.[12] He played a Russian intelligence officer named Luka Gocharov in season 3 of the Amazon show Jack Ryan.[13]
He is a patron of the charity Chance for Childhood.[14]
| Year | Title | Role | class=unsortable | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Splash O.K. | Hamish MacPherson | Television film | |
| 1969 | Battle of Britain | Jamie | ||
| Waller | ||||
| 1971 | Assault | Det. Sgt. Beale | ||
| 1972 | Doomwatch | Bob Gillette | ||
| Young Winston | Officer on Train | |||
| Sutherland's Law | Ian Campbell | Television film | ||
| Cliff Dow | Television film | |||
| 1982 | Living Apart Together | Priest | ||
| 1984 | The Master of Ballantrae | Horseman (uncredited) | Television film | |
| 1985 | Operation Julie | Longfellow | Television film | |
| 1986 | Highlander | Angus MacLeod | ||
| 1988 | Stormy Monday | Tony | ||
| 1989 | James Smithson | Television film | ||
| 1990 | Treasure Island | Redruth | Television film | |
| Mr. Bowring | ||||
| 1995 | Braveheart | Campbell | ||
| Gangster | Short film | |||
| 1996 | Trainspotting | Mr. Renton | ||
| Emma | Mr. Weston | |||
| 1997 | Santa/Claws | Santa Claus | Short film | |
| 1998 | Urban Ghost Story | Minister | ||
| Thelonius (voice) | ||||
| 1999 | Sunset Heights | MacDonald | ||
| Billy Bailey | ||||
| Billy and Zorba | Zorba | Short film | ||
| Split Second | Donald Paterson | Television film | ||
| One More Kiss | Frank | |||
| 2000 | Honest | Tommy Chase | ||
| Reflections Upon the Origin of the Pineapple | Narrator (voice) | Short film | ||
| McNab | Television film | |||
| 2001 | To End All Wars | Lt. Col. Stuart McLean | ||
| All the Queen's Men | Archie | |||
| 2002 | Once Upon a Time in the Midlands | Billy | ||
| Col. Sutch | ||||
| 2003 | Skagerrak | Robert | ||
| Man Dancin' | Donnie McGlone | |||
| The Reckoning | Lambert | |||
| Solid Air | Finn | |||
| 2004 | One Last Chance | Big John | ||
| Troy | Glaucus | |||
| 2005 | James Brown | |||
| Father Christmas | ||||
| 2006 | Half Light | Finlay Murray | ||
| Free Jimmy | HudMaSpecs (voice) | AKA Slipp Jimmy fri (Original title) | ||
| Mr. Karva | ||||
| 2007 | Hrothgar | |||
| Dawson | ||||
| Where Have I Been All Your Life? | John | Short film | ||
| Impact Earth | Brenden Kelly | Television film. AKA Comet Impact (Original title) | ||
| 2009 | 2081 | George Bergeron | Short film | |
| The Narnia Code | Narrator (voice) | Television documentary film | ||
| Hector McKinley | ||||
| 2010 | One Night in Emergency | Television film | ||
| Outcast | Laird | |||
| Donkeys | Alfie | |||
| Sutherland | ||||
| Nick | Television film | |||
| 2011 | No Saints for Sinners | Murphy | ||
| Pecco | ||||
| 2012 | Citadel | Priest | ||
| Songs for Amy | Murdo | |||
| 2013 | Get Lucky | Mr. Zigic | ||
| Judge Wellington | ||||
| Hammer of the Gods | King Bagsecg | |||
| Justin and the Knights of Valour | Blucher (voice) | |||
| Herbert Hopewell | ||||
| Sea Out | Old Joe | Short film | ||
| Dying Light | Policeman | |||
| 2014 | Dr. Harper | Short film | ||
| We Still Kill the Old Way | Arthur | |||
| Hole | Cooper | Short film | ||
| 2015 | Moonwalkers | Dawson | ||
| Carried | Henry Hunter | Short film | ||
| James Henderson | ||||
| Ray | ||||
| January | Albert | AKA Estranged (Original title) | ||
| 2016 | Project 12: The Bunker | Brian Balanowsky | ||
| Breakdown | Albert Chapman | |||
| Mikelis | Mikelis | Short film | ||
| Dark Signal | Alan | |||
| Ben-Hur | Quintus | |||
| Whisky Galore! | MacAlister, the Minister | |||
| Monochrome | Roger Daniels | |||
| Eliminators | Cooper | |||
| 2017 | London Heist | Ray Dixon | ||
| T2 Trainspotting | Renton's Father | |||
| Last Respects | Philip Drummond (voice) | Short film | ||
| Wonder Woman | Field Marshal Haig | |||
| 2018 | Rogue Trooper: The Quartz Massacre | Narrator (voice) | Short film | |
| In Darkness | Niall | |||
| Outlaw King | Robert Bruce Senior | |||
| Ashes in the Snow | Mr. Stakas | |||
| Malevolent | Grandpa Sayers | |||
| Tomorrow | Mr. Charles | |||
| 2019 | Des Brady | |||
| Forget Me Not | Benedict | Short film | ||
| Get Duked! | Farmer | |||
| Off Grid | John Tanner | Short film | ||
| Shadow Boxer | Eddie Royce | Short film | ||
| 2020 | Skylines | Grant | ||
| 2021 | Jagame Thanthiram | Peter Sprott | Tamil film | |
| Frank Menzies | ||||
| 2022 | Breath | Nick | ||
| My Sailor, My Love | Howard | |||
| Mr. Fezziwig (voice) | ||||
| 2024 | The Beast Within | Waylon |
| Year | Title | Role | class=unsortable | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Dr. Finlay's Casebook | Peter Randall | Episode: "The Vision" | |
| 1966 | Ransom for a Pretty Girl | Charlie Milne | Mini series, 6 episodes | |
| This Man Craig | Douglas McGrath | Episode: "Nurinder" | ||
| 1967 | St. Ives | Dalmahoy | 2 episodes: "The Assembly Ball" and "Journey's End" | |
| Andrew | Episode: "A Pretty Flat Kind of Existence" | |||
| 1968 | Detective | Det. Sgt. MacGregor | Episode: "Dover and the Deadly Poison Pen Letters" | |
| 1969 | Dr. Finlay's Casebook | Private Davidson | Episode: "Single or Return" | |
| Softly Softly | McBride | Episode: "In at the Death" | ||
| 1970 | Hector | Episode: "A Woman or an Epitaph" | ||
| Senior Under Officer Patterson | Episode: "Sovereign's Company" | |||
| 1971 | Long Voyage Out of War | Thorpe | Episode: "Battle at Tematangi" | |
| UFO | Lt. Anderson | Episode: "Reflections in the Water" | ||
| Inspector Williams | Episode: "Element of Risk" | |||
| Det. Con. Sanderson | Episode: "A Tale of Two Cities" | |||
| 1973 | ITV Playhouse | Sgt. Robbins | Episode: "Professional" | |
| Sutherland's Law | Ian Campbell | Episode: "The Sea" | ||
| 1973 - 1977 | Warship | Leading Regulator ("Sheriff") Pat Fuller | 21 episodes | |
| 1974 | Play for Today | Loch | Episode: "The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil" | |
| 1975 | Churchill's People | Robert Bruce | Episode: "The Wallace" | |
| Quiller | Hamilton | Episode: "Target North" | ||
| 1976 | Survivors | Lenny Carter | Episode: "The Chosen" | |
| Orde Wingate | Brigadier Calvert | 3 episodes | ||
| 1977 | George & Mildred | Keith | Episode: "The Dorothy Letters" | |
| James Mackenzie | Mini series, 5 episodes | |||
| 1977 - 1978 | Midnight Is a Place | Davey Scatcherd | 3 episodes | |
| 1978 | Harry Bray | Episode: "New Standards" | ||
| Det. Sgt. Davy Freeth | Episode: "Hard Men" | |||
| Kidnapped | Beggar | Mini series, episode: "Uncle Ebenezer" | ||
| 1979 | Dick Barton: Special Agent | Jock Anderson | 29 episodes | |
| Thundercloud | CPO Hawkins | 13 episodes | ||
| Glasgow McDade | Episode: "To Honour and Obey" | |||
| Glover | Episode: "Runner" | |||
| 1980 | Hammer House of Horror | Willis | Episode: "The Thirteenth Reunion" | |
| 1981 | Sergeant Carch | 4 episodes | ||
| Bonfield | Episode: "Semper Fidelis" | |||
| Strangers | Det. Sgt. Galbraith | Episode: "A Dear Green Place" | ||
| 1982 | King's Royal | Colin Lindsay | 4 episodes | |
| 1982 - 1984 | Take the High Road | Alex Geddes | 42 episodes | |
| 1984 | Minder | Jock McLeish | Episode: "Senior Citizen Caine" | |
| Murder Not Proven? | Sergeant Munro | Episode: "Death on the Mountain" | ||
| Scarecrow and Mrs. King | Dr. Ian McCarran | Episode: "The Legend of Das Geisterschloss" | ||
| Fairly Secret Army | Crazy Colin Carstairs | 2 episodes: "Romance Plughole" and "The Pulses Quicken" | ||
| 1985 | Lytton's Diary | Harry Owen | Episode: "Daddy's Girls" | |
| Big Deal | McFee | Episode: "Down and Under" | ||
| 1985 & 1986 | C.A.T.S. Eyes | McNeill / Howard | 2 episodes: "Under Plain Cover" and "Fit" | |
| 1986 | Running Scared | Detective Inspector McNeill | 6 episodes | |
| Lost Empires | Inspector Furness | Mini series, episode: "#1.6" | ||
| 1987 | Super Gran | Mr. McBigg | Episode: "Supergran Snookered" | |
| Brond | Primo | 3 episodes | ||
| 1988 | Bonham | Mini series, episode: "#1.1" | ||
| Taggart | Victor Baird | 3 episodes: "Dead Giveaway: Parts 1, 2 & 3" | ||
| 1989 | William Tell | Anton | AKA Crossbow (Original title). Episode: "Silver Rider" | |
| Winners and Losers | Frank Kerr | Mini series, 3 episodes | ||
| Glen | 4 episodes | |||
| Saracen | Miekera | Episode: "Into Africa" | ||
| Casualty | John Breckman | Episode: "A Grand in the Hand" | ||
| D.C.I. Cameron | Episode: "Seen to Be Done" | |||
| 1990 | Sgt. Henderson | Episode: "Old Ways and New" | ||
| El C.I.D. | Sands | Episode: "Getting Even" | ||
| 1991 | Carmichael | Mini series, 8 episodes | ||
| Stay Lucky | Bigmac | Episode: "Hard Times, Hard Men" | ||
| 1992 | Screaming | |||
| Medics | Harry Liverege | Episode: "#2.4" | ||
| Heartbeat | Matthew Chapman | Episode: "Nowt But a Prank" | ||
| Rab C. Nesbitt | Teacher | Episode: "Lesson" | ||
| 1993 | Scene | Reception Officer | Episode: "Pig Boy" | |
| Between the Lines | D.C.C. Birman | Episode: "Manoeuvre 11" | ||
| Casualty | Tony | Episode: "Cat in Hell" | ||
| 1994 | James Maxton | Episode: "#3.5" | ||
| Alleyn Mysteries | Major Keith Ballantyne | Episode: "Dead Water" | ||
| Screen Two | Jerry | Episode: "Sin Bin" | ||
| 1994 - 1995 | Roughnecks | Tom | 13 episodes | |
| 1996 | Bad Boys | Tam Devlin | Episode: "Dead Men Don't Wear Bunnets" | |
| 1997 | Ivanhoe | Cedric | Mini series, 5 episodes | |
| Ain't Misbehavin | Malky Fraser | Mini series, 3 episodes | ||
| Soldier Soldier | Lt. Col. Philip Drysdale | 9 episodes | ||
| 1998 | Two Lives | Eddie | Episode: "Golden Wedding" | |
| 1999 | Cleopatra | Agrippa | Mini series, 2 episodes: "Parts 1 & 2" | |
| Comedy Lab | David (voice) | Episode: "Heart and Sole" | ||
| Patrick Grainger: Lennox's Story | Episode: "Haunted" | |||
| 2000 | Blind Woodsman | Mini series, 2 episodes: "#1.4" and "#1.10" | ||
| Tales from the Madhouse | The Centurion | Mini series, episode: "The Centurion" | ||
| Badger | Charlie Maddox | Episode: "Predators" | ||
| 2000 - 2001 | Rebus | Morris Gerald Cafferty | 2 episodes: "The Hanging Garden" and "Mortal Causes" | |
| 2001 | Best of Both Worlds | William Landucci | ||
| 2004 | Biography | Narrator (voice) | Documentary series, episode: "Tchaikovsky" | |
| 2005 | Little House on the Prairie | Mr. Scott | Mini series, 4 episodes | |
| 2007 | Midsomer Murders | Jack 'Axeman' McKinley | Episode: "The Axeman Cometh" | |
| 2008 | Galder Weatherwax | Mini series, episode: "Part 1: The Colour of Magic" | ||
| 2009 | Merlin | Hengist | Episode: "Lancelot and Guinevere" | |
| 2010 | Castle | Finn Rourke | Episode: "Sucker Punch" | |
| FlashForward | Philip | Episode: "Revelation Zero: Part 2" | ||
| Sons of Anarchy | Father Kellan Ashby | 8 episodes | ||
| 2011 - 2013 | Game of Thrones | Jeor Mormont | 12 episodes | |
| 2012 | Silent Witness | Arnold Mears | Episode: "Paradise Lost: Parts 1 & 2" | |
| 2013 | Death in Paradise | Roger Seymour | Episode: "Murder on the Plantation" | |
| Case Histories | Len Lomax | Episode: "Started Early, Took My Dog" | ||
| 2014 | New Worlds | Goffe | Mini series, episode: "#1.1" | |
| 2015 | Magnum Opus | Moshe Navon | Episode: "Fuck Da Babylon" (Pilot) | |
| 2016 | Shetland | Arthur McCall | 4 episodes | |
| Stag | The Gamekeeper | Mini series, episodes 1 & 2 | ||
| Jules Trouvier | 4 episodes | |||
| 2016, 2018 & 2019 | Captain Creech | 4 episodes | ||
| 2017 | Celebrity Big Brother | Himself | Series 19 finalist and third runner-up, 19 episodes | |
| SS-GB | Harry Woods | Mini series, 5 episodes | ||
| 2018 | Mystery of the Lost Paintings | Narrator (voice) | Documentary series, 8 episodes | |
| 2018 - 2019 | Hold the Sunset | Bob | 9 episodes | |
| 2019 | Jorge da Burgos | 8 episodes | ||
| Chernobyl | Miner | Episode: 'Open Wide, O Earth' | ||
| His Dark Materials | Farder Coram | 6 episodes | ||
| 2020 | Bill Bradwell | 6 episodes | ||
| 2022 | Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan | Luka Gocharov | 8 episodes | |
| 2023 | Highland Cops | Narrator (voice) | Documentary series, 5 episodes | |
| Six Four | Jim Mackie | Mini series, 4 episodes | ||
| 2024 | Nightsleeper | Fraser Warren | 6 episodes |