From stage to the screens, James Fleet has a noteworthy acting career spanning over four decades. The English actor first captured the hearts of TV audiences as Hugo Horton in BBC One’s The Vicar of Dibley. He has had scores of television roles since then and is probably best known in recent times for playing older King George in Netflix’s Bridgerton and its prequel spin-off series, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Fleet is also a cast member of PBS’ new miniseries, Tom Jones. He portrays Squire Allworthy in the show based on Henry Fielding’s 1749 novel, The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling.
The Vicar of Dibley actor has had a fine film career as well, with roles in prominent films like The Phantom of the Opera (2004), Sense and Sensibility (1995), and Mike Newell’s Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). The latter was once the highest-grossing British film in history and is widely considered to be one of the greatest romantic comedy films ever made. Some of Fleet’s recent feature film roles are in Edward Hall’s Blithe Spirit (2020), John Madden’s Operation Mincemeat (2022), and Stephen Frears’ The Lost King (2022).
1. James Fleet Studied Engineering at Aberdeen University
Though the English actor was born in Bilston, Staffordshire, England, he relocated to Aberdeenshire, Scotland, at age 10 alongside his Scottish mother. Fleet spent his adolescent years in Aberdeenshire and proceeded to study engineering at the University of Aberdeen. However, he then discovered acting and dropped out to take on several jobs as he couldn’t get a grant for drama school. Fleet has had no regrets about abandoning engineering for acting. His career has been illustrious; besides, he never imagined he would thrive as an engineer. He believes he would have been working in a shop or doing something else if he had not opted for acting.
2. He Started Acting to Get a Girlfriend and Build a Social Life
James Fleet didn’t grow up wanting to become an actor. From his early life all through his teenage years, he knew nothing about acting. He got into it as a means of revamping his social life and landing a girlfriend; this was while at the University of Aberdeen. Fleet joined the university’s drama society to socialize but immediately fell in love with acting. Having made up his mind to pursue a career thereof, he enrolled at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland. Thereafter, Fleet devoted his life to the profession and has since cemented his reputation as a prolific actor. He has racked up dozens of acting credits in films, television, and beyond.
3. James Fleet Began His Professional Career with The Royal Shakespeare Company
The English actor began his professional career journey on stage, performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). He considers getting into the RSC as the first big break of his career as he appeared in several plays and had a regular income. It was through RSC that he met a casting director named Sarah Bird who offered him his first major television role. Having seen James Fleet perform at the RSC, Bird approached him to star in an episode of the British television anthology drama series, Screen Two, Season 7. Fleet continues to act on stage albeit not as regular as he did in the early years of his career.
4. He Is Quite a Renowned BBC Radio Actor
Beyond the stage and the screens, James Fleet is also a radio actor. He began acting for radio during the early days of his career, featuring in various BBC Radio 4 shows. James first played Victor in the station’s adaptation of Mary Wesley’s The Vacillations of Poppy Carew in 1986. This was followed by several other roles in subsequent adaptations of BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 7. His most recent radio role had him play Professor Darius Quanderhorn in the science fiction comedy radio series, Quanderhorn (2018 – 2020).
5. James Fleet Is Married to English Actress Jane Booker
The Hugo Horton actor is a married man and a father of one. James has a son named Hamish Fleet with Jane Booker, to whom he has been married since 1984. The couple met when they co-starred in the RSC production of William Saroyan’s The Time of Your Life. Though their characters didn’t speak onstage, Fleet and Booker fell in love behind the scenes and were married by the end of that RSC season. James Fleet’s wife is best known for her roles in A Perfect Spy (1987), Get Back (1992), and Finding Neverland (2004). In 2022, she appeared in two episodes of the BBC period drama series, Call the Midwife.
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