James Mackay (actor) explained

James Mackay
Birth Date:1984 7, df=y
Birth Place:Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Years Active:2009–present
Occupation:Actor
Father:Hugh Mackay

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.

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.

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 , 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
2008 MisconceptionMatt Short film
2008 Ace NeallyShort film
2009 Don't Be Afraid of the DarkThe Librarian
2010 ConnectionDan Short film
2011 HairpinSimon Short film
2012 Redd Inc, aka "Inhuman Resources" Rudy Khan
Being VeniceFireman
2013 The LoversCharles Stewart Also known as Singularity and Time Traveller (UK)
2014 Manny Gets CensoredManny Short film
2015 Skin DeepNurse Ben Potter
2015 The DressmakerWilliam Beaumont
2016Hacksaw RidgeProsecutor
2017Maddox
Battle of the SexesBarry Court
2022The Girl at the Window

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2010Saxon BlakeEpisode: "Out of the Ashes"
2012The StraitsJoel Thomson5 episodes
Micro NationLindsay McFaddenEpisode: "Meet Pullamawang"
2014The Tomorrow PeopleJulian MastersEpisodes: "Enemy of My Enemy", "Rumble"
2017The LeftoversBernardEpisode: "G'Day Melbourne"
Love ChildLanceEpisode: "Episode Three" (Season 4)
2017–2019, 2022DynastySteven CarringtonSeries regular (season 1–2), guest (season 5)
2022Savage RiverSimonSeries regular

Theatre

YearPlayRoleVenue
2009Julius CaesarMarc AntonyCry Havoc
2010Three SistersAndreyCry Havoc
2012Les Liaisons DangereusesDancenySydney Theatre Company
2013The History BoysIrwinPeach Theatre Company
2021As You Like ItOrlandoMelbourne Theatre Company

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The ten next big names in stage acting. 19 August 2010 . The Sydney Morning Herald.
  2. Web site: Cult Magazine -. Cult Magazine. 1 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140221053018/http://cultmagazine.com.au/2013/07/great-expectations/. 21 February 2014. dead.
  3. Web site: School of thought. 31 January 2013 . The Sydney Morning Herald.
  4. Web site: True Liaisons. TheMusic.com.au. 3 June 2013. 23 November 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181123162254/https://themusic.com.au/interviews/all/2012/04/04/les-liaisons-dangereuses/. dead.
  5. Web site: James Mackay – New Talent.
  6. Web site: Julius Caesar. Sydney.concreteplayground.com.au.
  7. Web site: Overave • Chekhov's THREE SISTERS by CRY HAVOC • atyp Studio 1, The Wharf Sydney • 12 Oct 2010. au.overave.com.
  8. Web site: Dowse. Nicola. ★★★★☆: As You Like It is a glorious, golden dawn for Melbourne theatre. 2022-02-15. Time Out Melbourne.
  9. Web site: As You Like It. 2022-02-15. mtc.com.au.
  10. Web site: Toronto Film Review: 'The Dressmaker'. Variety. 15 September 2015 . 2015-11-08.
  11. Web site: Heath Ledger Scholarship Award Given to Australian Actor James Mackay. . 13 June 2013 .
  12. Web site: Redd Inc. Signs Termination Papers for the Overworked: A Movie Review ~ 28DLA.
  13. Web site: Airdate: Micro Nation. 4 October 2012.
  14. Web site: The do's and don'ts of reboots: Dynasty edition. Yvonne. Villarreal. Los Angeles Times. 8 September 2017. 27 August 2018.
  15. Dynasty Reboot Corrects Original Series' Homophobia. Entertainment Weekly. Lynette. Rice. 2 August 2017. 27 August 2018.
  16. Web site: 2021-09-02. Radha Mitchell fronts thriller 'The Girl at the Window'. 2022-02-17. IF Magazine.
  17. Web site: Australians in Film – Heath Ledger Scholarship . 1 February 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140203171416/http://www.australiansinfilm.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1611697 . 3 February 2014 . dead .