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Hannah James
Born (1993-01-04) January 4, 1993 (age 31)
Virginia
Citizenship
Alma materGuildford School of Acting
OccupationActor

Hannah James is a British–American actress.[1][2] James grew up on a rural farm in Madison County, Virginia, which the Culpeper Star Exponent called an "1830 homestead".[3][4]

Early life

James was home-schooled, until the age of ten.[4] She started taking dance lessons when she was just two years old. As a youth she studied ballet, but describes deciding she would seek out a career as a regular actor, like her heroines Maggie Smith and Judi Dench, because the intense physical requirements dancers put on their bodies meant they had short careers. James attended the Guildford School of Acting in Surrey, England.[5]

Career

Her first major role was a Civil War belle who becomes a volunteer nurse, in the mini-series Mercy Street—set in Virginia.[6][4] The character James plays, Emma Green, was based on a historical figure. As in the miniseries, she was a daughter of the owners of the hotel that the Union seizes to use as a hospital, the Mansion House Hospital. Many Virginian newspapers celebrated that the role of Virginian belle was played by a Virginian.[3][4][7][8] Women's Wear Daily, noting that the series would be broadcast in the same time slot as the very popular costume drama Downton Abbey, suggested James was poised to be the next "Lady Mary," the beautiful and glamorous character central to much of the drama of the earlier series.[9] James's costumes required her to wear a corset, and she described how she almost fainted on one particularly long day on set.[10]

On November 12, 2016, producers announced that she had been cast in a single episode role (3.4) for the third season of Outlander.[11][12]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2014 Winding Lane Beth (short)
2016-2017 Mercy Street Emma Green Main (12 episodes, Seasons 1-2)
2017 Outlander Lady Geneva Dunsany Guest (1 episode, Season 3)
2017 Esther Cora (short) Also Producer
2019, 2021 Supergirl Maeve Nal Guest (2 episodes, Seasons 4 & 6)
2020 Let Them All Talk Salon Receptionist
2021 Chicago Med Megan Guest (1 episode, Season 6)
2022 Westworld Temperance Clementine Guest (1 episode, Season 4)
2023 Two Sinners and a Mule Nora
Holly by Nightfall[13] Holly Main

References

  1. ^ a b "casting non-US citizens - arvold ASK". YouTube. arvold. 2016-05-16. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  2. ^ "Hannah James". Anthea Represents. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  3. ^ a b "Madison-born actress stars in new PBS Civil War drama, 'Mercy Street'". Culpepper Star Exponent. 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2016-01-19. "That's one of the most wonderful parts about this role is that it's so close to home and is so tied in with my childhood and my upbringing and the history that surrounds us here," she said during a recent visit to her family's circa 1830 homestead.
  4. ^ a b c d Marc Tarnanini (2016-01-16). "BWW Interview: Hannah James on Creating an Authentic Southern Belle on PBS's MERCY STREET". Broadway World. Retrieved 2017-01-18. James grew up in Madison County, Va., just an hour and a half from where MERCY STREET filmed in Richmond and Petersburg. She was home-schooled and grew up on a farm, so she came to the project with a tremendous amount of first-hand knowledge of the area and her character.
  5. ^ O'Keefe, Meghan (2 October 2017). "Who's Hannah James? Meet The Scene-Stealing Actress Who Played Geneva On Last Night's 'Outlander'". Decider. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  6. ^ Andrew Stone (2015-12-26). "A Star from the start". New You magazine. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  7. ^ Monique Calello (2015-10-28). "Virginia native brings past to life in 'Mercy Street'". News Leader. Retrieved 2016-01-19. The story in the PBS series picks up when Green is upset at the treatment of the wounded Confederate soldiers. She decides to volunteer as a nurse at the Mansion House Hospital, formerly her family's hotel. She also was in a relationship with Frank Stringfellow, a confederate spy.
  8. ^ Desiré Moses (2017-01-18). "Hannah James steps into the spotlight on 'Mercy Street'". C-ville. Retrieved 2017-01-17. James grew up on a farm in Madison County, not far from where the real-life Emma Green spent her time.
  9. ^ Nordstrom (2016-01-17). "Meet Hannah James, the New Lady Mary". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved 2017-01-17. Poised to be the show's Lady Mary is Hannah James, the 23-year-old Virginia native who booked "Mercy Street" fresh out of drama school.
  10. ^ Jaleesa M. Jones (2016-01-14). "Yikes! This 'Mercy Street' star almost set herself on fire on set". USA Today. Retrieved 2017-01-18. There was one day where I had to be on set at 4 in the morning and I think I was in my corset from about 4 in the morning until 6 at night," she said. "I remember taking it off and it had been so tight that when I took it off, I took a huge breath in and got so much oxygen that I felt really dizzy and almost passed out because I was just sort of shallowly breathing the whole time.
  11. ^ Karen Butler (2016-11-12). "'Outlander' adds Hannah James and Tanya Reynolds to ensemble". Los Angeles: United Press International. Retrieved 2017-01-17. We are verra excited to add two lovely ladies to our ever expanding Outlander family. Welcome Hannah James as Geneva and Tanya Reynolds as Isobel!
  12. ^ Seth Kelley (2016-11-10). "'Outlander' Casts Dunsany Sisters for Season 3". Variety magazine. Retrieved 2017-01-18. Hannah James and Tanya Reynolds will play the Dunsany sisters. James will portray Geneva, while Reynolds will be Isobel.
  13. ^ "Jack Falahee, Eric Nelsen and Hannah James to Star in 'Holly by Nightfall' From Superhawk Films". TheWrap. 2022-10-27. Retrieved 2023-10-30. Jack Falahee, Eric Nelsen and Hannah James are slated to star in indie drama "Holly by Nightfall" from director Andy Delaney and screenwriter Peter James Cooper.
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