James Aitken Frecheville (/ˈfrɛʃvɪl/;[1] born 14 April 1991) is an Australian actor. Following his film debut in the crime drama film Animal Kingdom (2010),[1] Frecheville subsequently appeared in films such as Adoration (2013), The Drop (2014), I.T. (2016), Black '47 (2018), The Royal Hotel (2023). He is also known for his roles as Nick on the BBC One supernatural thriller miniseries Requiem (2018) and Major Bill Veal on the Apple TV+ war drama miniseries Masters of the Air (2024).
James Frecheville | |
|---|---|
 Frecheville at the Sydney premiere of Killing Them Softly in September 2012 | |
| Born | James Aitken Frecheville 14 April 1991 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2008–present |
Early life
editFrecheville was born in Melbourne and grew up in the suburb of Malvern East. He attended Lloyd Street Primary School as a child and was educated at McKinnon Secondary College as a teenager. He found a particular interest in drama and the arts at a young age and continued to excel in this field throughout his schooling life. Initially, Frecheville was involved with various youth theatre groups (mostly amateur theatre, including school productions) before starting work as an extra on the Australian television series City Homicide.[2] Prior to his big break, Frecheville took part in a series of acting courses [3] at schools such as The Australian Film & Television Academy (TAFTA).[4]
Film career
editAuditions for Animal Kingdom took place in 2008 with about 500 young men competing for the lead role of "J" Cody. Filming started in 2009, causing some disruption to Frecheville's studies as a Year Twelve high school student. At the 2010 Sundance Film Festival (where the film won the World Cinema Jury Prize, Dramatic), The Hollywood Reporter described Frecheville as "a brilliant casting choice."[2]
In preparation for his role in the 2018 film Black '47, Frecheville had to learn the Irish language. In an interview, he discussed the challenges of playing an Irish character and filming in Connemara, stating "It's hard to say where the challenge was because it was all challenging. It was all very cold. I'm not so good at learning languages so to pick up a language that not a great number of people speak was pretty tough, but apparently, I passed a few tests but I still have to see what the public thinks."[5]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Animal Kingdom | Joshua "J" Cody | |
| 2012 | The First Time | Ronny | |
| 2013 | Adoration | Tom | |
| 2014 | Mall | Mal | |
| The Drop | Fitz | ||
| 2015 | The Stanford Prison Experiment | Matthew Townshend | |
| About Scout | Sam Prescott | ||
| 2016 | I.T. | Ed Porter | |
| 2018 | Black '47 | Feeney | |
| 2021 | The Dry | Sullivan | |
| Creation Stories | Troy | ||
| Zátopek | Ron Clarke | ||
| 2023 | The Royal Hotel | Teeth | |
| 2024 | The Seven Sorrows of Mary | Gabriel |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | New Girl | Buster | 2 episodes |
| Transparent | Patrick | 1 episode[6] | |
| 2018 | Requiem | Nick | Miniseries, 6 episodes |
| 2021 | The Pursuit of Love | Christian Talbot | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 2022 | Peaky Blinders | Jack Nelson | 4 episodes |
| 2024 | Masters of the Air | Major Bill Veal | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
References
edit- ^ a b "James Frecheville's big break into film". Archived from the original on 18 April 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ a b "A 17-year-old's stunning debut". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 May 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
- ^ "Animal Kingdom | In Cinemas June 3, 2010 | Official Film Site | Madman Entertainment". Animalkingdomthefilm.com.au. 3 June 2010. Archived from the original on 18 June 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
- ^ "The Australian Film & Television Academy". tafta.com.au. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
- ^ "Australian actor on learning Irish to star in Black 47 Famine movie". IrishCentral.com. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ ""Transparent" recap (1.8): Best New Girl - AfterEllen". AfterEllen. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
External links
edit