Oscar James

Oscar James (born 25 July 1942) is a Trinidadian actor who is based in the United Kingdom. He has had a long and varied career, but is best known for appearing on British television, in particular the BBC soap opera EastEnders, in which he was one of the original 23 cast members as Tony Carpenter, a role he played for over two years. He also made an appearance in the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as the shopkeeper.

Early life Oscar James was born on 25 July 1942 in Trinidad, and had a poor upbringing. He came to the United Kingdom in the 1950s. He initially worked as a taxi driver, a dish-washer and also a gymnast, but he always had aspirations to be an entertainer and followed his dream by becoming an actor.

Career Roles for black actors were sparse during James' early career, but he persevered to become the fourth black actor to join the Royal Shakespeare Company and the first black actor to play Macbeth. Temba staged the first British production of Athol Fugard's play Sizwe Bansi is Dead.

James had early roles in television programmes such as Softly, Softly (1966); Love Thy Neighbour (1975);

Partial filmography A Matter of Choice (1963) – Dancing man at club (uncredited) Man in the Middle (1964) – Court Martial stenographer (uncredited) Never Mention Murder (1965) – Hospital Orderly (uncredited) Naked Evil (1966) – Dupree Carry On Up the Jungle (1970) – Nosha Warrior (uncredited) The Breaking of Bumbo (1970) – Second Student All the Right Noises (1971) – Guard Gumshoe (1971) – Azinge Peter Pan (1976) – Pirate Pressure (1976) – Colin Black Joy (1977) – Jomo Jaguar Lives! (1979) – Collins Gloo Joo (1979) - Meadowlark Student Bodies (1981) – Football Coach Last Night at the Alamo (1983) – Dub Water (1985) – Miguel Three Kinds of Heat (1987) – Unle Joe Hardware (1990) – Chief My Kingdom (2001) – Desmond If Only (2004) – Superintendent Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) – Shopkeeper Shoot the Messenger (2006) – Rodney Pascale Oh Happy Day (2007) – Storekeeper Deadmeat (2007) – Detective Peters