Acting · Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England, UK · Born May 15, 1909
James Neville Mason (known as James Mason; May 15, 1909 – July 27, 1984) was an English actor who made a significant impact on both British and American cinema. His acting career began in the 1930s, where he initially gained recognition for his stage performances in London's West End. He made his film debut in 1935 with the British film "Late Extra," marking the start of his illustrious on-screen journey. Throughout his career, Mason showcased his exceptional acting abilities, often portraying complex and morally ambiguous characters. His commanding presence, distinctive voice, and versatile range allowed him to effortlessly transition between genres, from dramas to thrillers and even period pieces. One of Mason's most acclaimed performances came in 1945 when he starred as the troubled and enigmatic Johnny McQueen in the film "Odd Man Out." His portrayal of the wounded Irish nationalist earned him widespread praise and established him as a respected leading man. Mason's notable filmography includes memorable roles in films such as "The Wicked Lady" (1945), "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" (1951), "A Star Is Born" (1954), "North by Northwest" (1959), and "Lolita" (1962). His ability to bring depth, sophistication, and complexity to his characters captivated audiences and garnered critical acclaim. Beyond his film career, Mason also dabbled in producing and directing. He co-produced and starred in the acclaimed film "A Star Is Born," showcasing his multifaceted talent and creative vision. Throughout his life, Mason was recognized with numerous awards and nominations, including three Academy Award nominations for Best Actor. He was highly regarded by his peers and critics alike for his impeccable craft and his ability to elevate any production he was a part of.
MovieKubrick by Kubrick
2020
as Self (archive footage)
MovieSid & Judy
2019
as Self (archive footage)
MovieChurchill and the Movie Mogul
2019
as Self (archive footage)
TVTalking Pictures
2013
as Self (archive footage)
MovieLasseter's Bones
2012
as Archival Footage
MovieHollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1950s: The Golden Era of the Musical
2009
as Self (archive)
MovieSir John Mills' Moving Memories
2000
as Self (archive footage)
MovieRoger Moore: A Matter of Class
1995
as Self (archive footage)
MovieHalloween Monster Bash
1991
as Stephen Deremid (archive footage)
MovieThe Assisi Underground
1985
as Bishop Nicolini
TVA.D.
1985
as Tiberius
MovieThe Shooting Party
1985
as Sir Randolph Nettleby
MovieDr. Fischer of Geneva
1984
as Dr. Fischer
TVGeorge Washington
1984
as Gen. Edward Braddock
MovieJames Mason: The Star They Loved to Hate
1984
as Self
House Without Foundation
1984
as Self - Narrator
MovieDon't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
1983
as Demon
MovieYellowbeard
1983
as Captain Hughes
MovieGroup Madness
1983
as Self
TVUnknown Chaplin
1983
as Narrator (voice)
MovieAlexandre
1983
as The Father
MovieThe Popes and Their Art
1983
as Presentor
MovieThe Verdict
1982
as Ed Concannon
MovieA Dangerous Summer
1982
as George Engels
MovieThe Glory of the Garden
1982
as Narrator
MovieNight of 100 Stars
1982
as Self
MovieEvil Under the Sun
1982
as Odell Gardener
MovieIvanhoe
1982
as Isaac of York
MovieThe Making of Agatha Christie's 'Evil Under the Sun'
1982
as Self / Odell Gardener
TVThe Search for Alexander the Great
1981
as Narrator
MovieNorth Sea Hijack
1980
as Admiral Brindsen
TVHollywood
1980
as Self - Narrator
TVSalem's Lot
1979
as Richard K. Straker
MovieBloodline
1979
as Sir Alec Nichols
MovieThe Passage
1979
as Professor Bergson
MovieMurder by Decree
1979
as Dr. Watson
MovieThe Boys from Brazil
1978
as Eduard Seibert
MovieHeaven Can Wait
1978
as Mr. Jordan
MovieThe Water Babies
1978
as Mr. Grimes / Voice of Killer Shark
MovieHomage to Chagall: The Colours of Love
1977
as Narrator - English version
TVJesus of Nazareth
1977
as Joseph of Arimathea
MovieCross of Iron
1977
as Oberst Brandt
MovieVoyage of the Damned
1976
as Dr. Juan Remos
TVOrigins of the Mafia
1976
as Vianisi
MoviePeople of the Wind
1976
as Jafar Qoli (voice)
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
1976
as Self (archive footage)
MovieFear in the City
1976
as Chief of Police
MovieThe Flower in His Mouth
1975
as Avv. Antonio Bellocampo
MovieInside Out
1975
as Ernst Furben
MovieAutobiography of a Princess
1975
as Cyril Sahib
MovieThe Left Hand of the Law
1975
as Senatore Leandri
MovieKidnap Syndicate
1975
as Filippini
MovieMandingo
1975
as Warren Maxwell
MovieThe Yin and the Yang of Mr. Go
1974
as Y.Y. Go
Movie11 Harrowhouse
1974
as Charles D. Watts
MovieFrankenstein: The True Story
1974
as Dr. John Polidori
MovieThe Marseille Contract
1974
as Jacques Brizard
MovieGreat Expectations
1974
as Magwitch
TVFrankenstein: The True Story
1973
as Dr. John Polidori
MovieThe MacKintosh Man
1973
as Sir George Wheeler
MovieThe Last of Sheila
1973
as Philip Dexter
MovieThe Reformation: Age of Revolt
1973
as Narrator
MovieJohn Keats: His Life and Death
1973
as Narrator
MovieChild's Play
1972
as Jerome Malley
MovieHome, James
1972
as Self
MovieThe Wind in the Wires
1972
as Narrator
MovieKill!
1971
as Alan Hamilton
Appointment With Destiny
1971
as Narrator
Film '72
1971
as Self
MovieBad Man's River
1971
as Francisco Paco Montero
TVThe Search for the Nile
1971
as Narrator
V.I.P. Schaukel
1971
as Self
MovieCold Sweat
1970
as Captain Ross
MovieSpring and Port Wine
1970
as Rafe Crompton
MovieAge of Consent
1969
as Bradley Morahan
MovieThe Sea Gull
1968
as Trigorin
MovieThe London Nobody Knows
1968
as Himself - Narrator
MovieMayerling
1968
as Franz Joseph I of Austria
MovieDuffy
1968
as Charles Calvert
Apropos Film
1967
as Self
MovieStranger in the House
1967
as John Sawyer
TVThe Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
1967
as Self
MovieThe Deadly Affair
1967
as Charles Dobbs
TVABC Stage 67
1966
as Otto Hoffman
MovieGeorgy Girl
1966
as James Leamington
MovieThe Blue Max
1966
as General Count von Klugermann
MovieUncertain Verification
1965
as (archive footage)
MovieThe Uninhibited
1965
as Pascal Regnier
MovieGenghis Khan
1965
as Kam Ling
MovieLord Jim
1965
as Gentleman Brown
MovieThe Pumpkin Eater
1964
as Bob Conway
MovieThe Fall of the Roman Empire
1964
as Timonides
MovieTorpedo Bay
1963
as Captain Blayne
TVThe Merv Griffin Show
1962
as Self
TVStoney Burke
1962
as The Derelict
TVThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
as Self
TVThe Alfred Hitchcock Hour
1962
as Warren Barrow
MovieHero's Island
1962
as Jacob Weber
MovieTiara Tahiti
1962
as Captain Brett Aimsley
MovieLolita
1962
as Prof. Humbert Humbert
MovieEscape from Zahrain
1962
as Johnson
MovieTheatre 62: Rebecca
1962
as Maxim de Winter
TVThe Mike Douglas Show
1961
as Self
TVDr. Kildare
1961
as Dr. Maxwell Becker
MovieThe Marriage-Go-Round
1961
as Paul Delville
MovieJohn Brown's Raid
1960
as John Brown
MovieThe Trials of Oscar Wilde
1960
as Edward Carson
MoviePlayhouse 90: The Hiding Place
1960
as Hans Frick
MovieA Touch of Larceny
1960
as Cmdr. Max Easton
MovieJourney to the Center of the Earth
1959
as Sir Oliver S. Lindenbrook
TVThe DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959
as Henry Chambers
MovieNorth by Northwest
1959
as Phillip Vandamm
MovieThe Decks Ran Red
1958
as Capt. Edwin Rummill
MovieCry Terror!
1958
as Jim Molner
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
1957
as Self
MovieIsland in the Sun
1957
as Maxwell Fleury
TVPanic!
1957
MovieBigger Than Life
1956
as Ed Avery
TVThe Steve Allen Show
1956
as Self - Guest
MovieForever, Darling
1956
as The Guardian Angel
Movie20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1954
as Captain Nemo
MovieThe Star of Bethlehem
1954
as Himself
MovieA Star Is Born
1954
as Norman Maine
MoviePrince Valiant
1954
as Sir Brack
MovieThe Tell-Tale Heart
1953
as Narrator
MovieThe Man Between
1953
as Ivo Kern
MovieCharade
1953
as The Murderer / Maj. Linden / Jonah Watson
MovieJulius Caesar
1953
as Brutus
MovieThe Desert Rats
1953
as Field Marshal Erwin von Rommel
MovieThe Story of Three Loves
1953
as Charles Coutray
TVGeneral Electric Theater
1953
as Wayne Sebastian
MovieBotany Bay
1952
as Capt. Paul Gilbert
MovieThe Prisoner of Zenda
1952
as Rupert of Hentzau
MovieFace to Face
1952
as The Captain
MovieEllis in Freedomland
1952
as The Refrigerator (voice)
Movie5 Fingers
1952
as Ulysses Diello
MovieLady Possessed
1952
as Jimmy Del Palma
MovieThe Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel
1951
as Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
TVSchlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Captain Vialez
MoviePandora and the Flying Dutchman
1951
as Hendrick van der Zee
Lux Video Theatre
1950
as Self - Host
TVThe Bob Hope Show
1950
as Self
MovieOne Way Street
1950
as Dr. Frank Matson
TVWhat's My Line?
1950
as Self
MovieEast Side, West Side
1949
as Brandon Bourne
MovieThe Reckless Moment
1949
as Martin Donnelly
MovieMadame Bovary
1949
as Gustave Flaubert
MovieCaught
1949
as Larry Quinada
TVThe Ed Sullivan Show
1948
as Self
MovieThe Upturned Glass
1947
as Michael Joyce
MovieOdd Man Out
1947
as Johnny McQueen
MovieThe Wicked Lady
1945
as Captain Jerry Jackson
MovieThe Seventh Veil
1945
as Nicholas Cunningham
MovieThey Were Sisters
1945
as Geoffrey Lee
MovieA Place of One's Own
1945
as Henry Smedhurst
MovieHotel Reserve
1944
as Peter Vadassy
MovieFanny by Gaslight
1944
as Lord Manderstoke
MovieCandlelight in Algeria
1944
as Alan Thurston
MovieThey Met in the Dark
1943
as Richard Francis Heritage
MovieThe Man in Grey
1943
as Lord Rohan
MovieThe Bells Go Down
1943
as Ted Robbins
MovieThunder Rock
1942
as Streeter
MovieSecret Mission
1942
as Raoul de Carnot
MovieAlibi
1942
as Andre Laurent
MovieThe Night Has Eyes
1942
as Stephen Deremid
MovieHatter's Castle
1942
as Dr. Renwick
MovieThe Patient Vanishes
1941
as Mick Cardby
The Circle
1939
as Edward Luton
MovieThe Miser
1939
as Valere - In love with Elise
MovieI Met a Murderer
1939
as Mark Warrow
Bees on the Boat-Deck
1939
as Robert Patch
The Moon in the Yellow River
1938
as Darrell Blake
Cyrano de Bergerac
1938
as Christian de Neuvillette
MovieReturn of the Scarlet Pimpernel
1937
as Jean Tallien
MovieThe High Command
1937
as Capt. Heverell
Catch as Catch Can
1937
as Robert Leyland
MovieFire Over England
1937
as Hillary Vane
MovieThe Mill on the Floss
1937
as Tom Tulliver
MovieThe Secret of Stamboul
1936
as Larry
MovieTwice Branded
1936
as Henry Hamilton
Blind Man's Bluff
1936
as Stephen Neville
Troubled Waters
1936
as John Merriman
MoviePrison Breaker
1936
as 'Bunny' Barnes
MovieLate Extra
1935
as Jim Martin
