Theo James

James in 2012, photo by Joe Seer/Bigstock.com

Birth Name: Theodore Peter James Kinnaird Taptiklis

Place of Birth: Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, U.K.

Date of Birth: 16 December, 1984

Ethnicity: Greek (one quarter), English, Scottish, as well as 1/16th German

Theo James is a British actor. His roles include the films You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, The Inbetweeners Movie, Underworld: Awakening, and its sequel; the Divergent/Insurgent/Allegiant trilogy, The Benefactor, War on Everyone, The Secret Scripture, Backstabbing for Beginners, Zoe, How It Ends (2018), London Fields, Lying and Stealing, Archive (2020), The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, Dual (2022), and Mr. Malcolm’s List, and television’s Bedlam, Golden Boy, Castlevania, Sanditon, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, The Time Traveler’s Wife, and The White Lotus. He has been brand ambassador for Hugo Boss fragrances for men.

Theo is the son of Jane, who worked at the NHS, and Philip Taptiklis, a business consultant. He was raised in Askett, Buckinghamshire. He is married to Irish actress Ruth Kearney, with whom he has two children.

Theo’s paternal grandfather was of Greek descent. The remainder of Theo’s ancestry is English, Scottish, and one sixteenth German. Theo’s paternal grandparents moved to New Zealand, where his father was raised. A picture of Theo with two of his siblings can be seen here. A picture of Theo’s paternal grandfather can be seen here (scroll down to the second page).

Theo’s paternal grandfather was named Nicholas Theodore Taptiklis. Nicholas was Greek, originally from the Peloponnese.

Theo’s paternal grandmother was Barbara Jean Dorothy Keech (the daughter of William Neale Keech and Gertrude Violet Beard). Barbara was English, born in West Derby, Lancashire. William was the son of James Neale Keech and Emily Ingram Willis. Gertrude was the daughter of Charles Albert Beard and Supheme Louisa Florentina Hedwig, who was from Prussia, Germany.

Theo’s maternal grandfather was surnamed Martin. He was likely of English or Scottish ancestry.

Theo’s maternal grandmother was named Jean Dreghorn Kinnaird (the daughter of Robert Kinnaird and Jennie/Jeanie). Theo’s grandmother Jean was born in Glasgow, Scotland.

Sources: Obituary of Theo’s paternal grandmother, Barbara Jean Dorothy (Keech) Taptiklis – http://announcements.thetimes.co.uk

Toronto Star article about Theo James – http://www.thestar.com