Biography

James Pilkington is a 28-year-old jack-of-all-trades born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is one of the past Indigo View advanced academy actors and his craft and technique has been highly influenced by well-known mentors; Steven Feinstein and Louise Saint-Claire. Although new to the industry - young and vibrant talent James has made a pronounced entrance into the South African industry with a constant stream of theatre shows, short films & television jobs. Despite being theatrically trained, his passion lies in film.

He's been acting on SABC 1's Skeem Saam as supporting lead, Francois Swanepoel, for almost a decade since July 2016. His role has supported B & C lead storylines, as well as an A storyline where he led the show for a couple of months; this has seen his character develop from the Polokwane Culinary Academy, into the head chef of Revouwa Cafe, and now the manager & owner of Level Cafe.

James was also cast as Wesley Matthews in Amazon Prime's Obsession, which critics raved to take the industry by storm, and you can also see him in a small featured role in the international TV series starring Tom Welling, The Professionals.

"I'm here to guide you through these intricate experiences in a compassionate way, that provides an empathy for the complexities of the character, and ones being." "I'm here to express the passion that drives me. I have found a love and empathy in humanity that I would love to share with the world. The idea of crafting and resonating with such delicate and intricate, interesting 'everyday' people, and expressing these characters as real as possible. To bring out an idea of empathy, which if controlled properly, will not only change people's "truth" but can change the world forever."

James has a unique take on performance. He articulates acting as the exploration of the world and the discovery of the human condition; all that encompasses being. He's passionate about the vocal, physical and emotional technicalities of the characters he plays, but his real fascination with acting lies behind the character's deeper internal existential intentions - The WHY. Exploring a Method, Meisner & Stanislavsky approach creates a creative and stimulated dynamic that often results in the discovery of the deeper intricacies of the character's everyday life. This often brings out a stronger rapport & intimacy within the audience/character space and can often lead to profound moments.
- IMDb mini biography by: James Pilkington