Creator / Bradley James

An English actor (born 11 October 1983 in Exeter, England). He is best known for playing Prince (later King) Arthur in the BBC series Merlin, who grows from an impulsive and Innocently Insensitive Royal Brat to The Good King.

James has a reputation for being Mr. Fanservice with countless shirtless scenes, but has soundly proved his acting abilities in dramatic scenes (like this (spoiler!) one). Amusingly, his roles tend to be involved in Love Triangle. He seems to have a tendency to play athletic characters too.

He's an enthusiastic amateur footballer.

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Selected Filmography

• 2008: Dis/Connected — Ben
• 2008: Lewis — Jack Roth, episode "Music to Die For"
• 2008-12: Merlin — Arthur Pendragon
• 2012: Fast Girls — Carl
• 2014: Homeland — J.G. Edgars
• 2015: iZombie — Lowell Tracey
• 2016: Damien — Damien Thorn
• 2017: Underworld: Blood Wars — Varga
• 2018: Medici — Giuliano de' Medici
• 2020: The Liberator — Felix Sparks
• 2023: Vikings: Valhalla — Lord Harekr

This actor provides examples of:

• Big Brother Instinct / Nice Guy: His aversion to hitting his co-star in the face in one episode of Merlin, even asking the director if he could just grab him by the shirt.
  ...I don’t really… I’m not sure if I should whack him round the face... I kind of held back. Because he’s only tiny.
  • Also:
  I didn’t like throwing things at Colin, he’s only a little lad. I’d ask the director, do I really need to throw this at him? And he’d say, yes, throw it as hard as you can.
• Boisterous Bruiser: He appears to be extroverted and fun-loving in behind-the-scene materials.
• Deadpan Snarker: He has perfect deadpan delivery in comedic scenes and snarks quite a bit in real life too.
• Forceful Kiss: He seems to be the victim of this in everything he has acted in. Most prominently on Merlin.
• Mr. Fanservice: He is often utilized as eye candy due to his looks.
• The Prankster: Often pulls jokes and pranks on his fellow co-stars alongside Colin Morgan.
• Puppy-Dog Eyes: He's an expert at it.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Bradley is the Red to Colin's Blue. While Bradley is more extroverted, fun-loving and attention seeking, Colin is more introverted, quiet and shy.
• Romance on the Set: Began dating Georgia King after filming Merlin 3x06, in which she played the princess Arthur's father wanted him to marry.
• Shirtless Scene: Rather infamous for this.
  • Though he himself mocks it in the Merlin commentaries, along with Colin Morgan.
  As opposed to the gratuitous top shots that I had in ep one where I was putting keys away on numerous occasions with no top on.
• Star-Making Role: Prince Arthur in Merlin
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Apparently, Bradley's relationship with Colin is slightly similar to the relationship between Arthur and Merlin on Merlin (2008) with all of the teasing and bickering.