James Wilson Mackay (born 20 July 1984) is an Australian actor known for The CW television series Dynasty, as well as roles in films and on stage.

James Mackay
Mackay in 2012
Born (1984-07-20) 20 July 1984 (age 39)
OccupationActor
Years active2009–present
RelativesHugh Mackay (father)

Early life edit

Mackay attended Sydney Grammar School in Sydney, Australia, where he first started acting in school plays.[1]

Mackay studied at the University of Sydney, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in history and English literature, before training as an actor at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Perth.[2]

He is the son of Hugh Mackay.[citation needed]

Career edit

Stage edit

In 2013 Mackay played Irwin in the Alan Bennett play The History Boys at the Sydney Opera House,[3] alongside John Wood, Heather Mitchell and Paul Goddard. In 2012 he performed with the Sydney Theatre Company as Danceny in Les Liaisons Dangereuses, with Hugo Weaving and Pamela Rabe.[4]

Mackay was an artistic associate of independent theatre company Cry Havoc.[5] He worked on two shows with the company, William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in 2009 (playing Marc Antony),[6] and Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters in 2010 (playing Andrey), for which he also collaborated on an original music score.[7]

In 2021, he starred as Orlando in the Melbourne Theatre Company's production of As You Like It[8].[9]

Film and television edit

Mackay appeared as William Beaumont in the 2015 Australian film The Dressmaker with Kate Winslet, Sarah Snook, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth and Hugo Weaving.[10]

Other credits include Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, starring Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce,[11] and The Lovers, directed by Palme d'Or winner and Oscar nominee Roland Joffé. Mackay also played roles in the 2012 horror-thriller Redd Inc[12] (released as Inhuman Resources in the US), Matchbox Pictures’ series The Straits, a crime drama filmed in Cairns and the Torres Straits, and the 2012 television comedy Micro Nation.[13] He has had guest starring roles on Love Child, The Tomorrow People and The Leftovers.

In 2014, he starred in and composed the music for the short film Manny Gets Censored, narrated by Hugo Weaving.

In 2016 and 2017, he had roles in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Hacksaw Ridge, and Battle of the Sexes.

From 2017-2019, he played the role of Steven Carrington on The CW's Dynasty reboot.[14][15]

In 2021, he was cast in the film The Girl at the Window.[16] In 2022, it was announced that he had joined the cast of the mini-series Savage River, co-starring with Katherine Langford. The project reunites him with The Dressmaker director Jocelyn Moorhouse.

Awards edit

In June 2013 Mackay was the recipient of the fifth annual Australians in Film Heath Ledger Scholarship.[17]

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Title Role Notes
2008 Misconception Matt Short film
2008 Ace Neally Short film
2009 Don't Be Afraid of the Dark The Librarian
2010 Connection Dan Short film
2011 Hairpin Simon Short film
2012 Redd Inc, aka "Inhuman Resources" Rudy Khan
Being Venice Fireman
2013 The Lovers Charles Stewart Also known as Singularity and Time Traveller (UK)
2014 Manny Gets Censored Manny Short film
2015 Skin Deep Nurse Ben Potter
2015 The Dressmaker William Beaumont
2016 Hacksaw Ridge Prosecutor
2017 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Maddox
Battle of the Sexes Barry Court
2022 The Girl at the Window

Television edit

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Rescue: Special Ops Saxon Blake Episode: "Out of the Ashes"
2012 The Straits Joel Thomson 5 episodes
Micro Nation Lindsay McFadden Episode: "Meet Pullamawang"
2014 The Tomorrow People Julian Masters Episodes: "Enemy of My Enemy", "Rumble"
2017 The Leftovers Bernard Episode: "G'Day Melbourne"
Love Child Lance Episode: "Episode Three" (Season 4)
2017–2019, 2022 Dynasty Steven Carrington Series regular (season 1–2), guest (season 5)
2022 Savage River Simon Series regular

Theatre edit

Year Play Role Venue
2009 Julius Caesar Marc Antony Cry Havoc
2010 Three Sisters Andrey Cry Havoc
2012 Les Liaisons Dangereuses Danceny Sydney Theatre Company
2013 The History Boys Irwin Peach Theatre Company
2021 As You Like It Orlando Melbourne Theatre Company

References edit

  1. ^ "The ten next big names in stage acting". smh.com.au. 19 August 2010.
  2. ^ "Cult Magazine -". Cult Magazine. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  3. ^ "School of thought". smh.com.au. 31 January 2013.
  4. ^ "True Liaisons". TheMusic.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  5. ^ "James Mackay - New Talent".
  6. ^ "Julius Caesar". Sydney.concreteplayground.com.au.
  7. ^ "Overave • Chekhov's THREE SISTERS by CRY HAVOC • atyp Studio 1, The Wharf Sydney • 12 Oct 2010". au.overave.com.
  8. ^ Dowse, Nicola. "★★★★☆: As You Like It is a glorious, golden dawn for Melbourne theatre". Time Out Melbourne. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  9. ^ "As You Like It". www.mtc.com.au. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Toronto Film Review: 'The Dressmaker'". Variety. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  11. ^ "Heath Ledger Scholarship Award Given to Australian Actor James Mackay". The Hollywood Reporter. 13 June 2013.
  12. ^ "Redd Inc. Signs Termination Papers for the Overworked: A Movie Review ~ 28DLA".
  13. ^ "Airdate: Micro Nation". 4 October 2012.
  14. ^ Villarreal, Yvonne (8 September 2017). "The do's and don'ts of reboots: Dynasty edition". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  15. ^ Rice, Lynette (2 August 2017). "Dynasty Reboot Corrects Original Series' Homophobia". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  16. ^ "Radha Mitchell fronts thriller 'The Girl at the Window'". IF Magazine. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  17. ^ "Australians in Film - Heath Ledger Scholarship". Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.

External links edit