James D'Arcy (born Simon Richard D'Arcy; 24 August 1975) is an English actor, screenwriter, and film director. He is known for his portrayals of Howard Stark's butler, Edwin Jarvis, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series Agent Carter (2015–16) and the 2019 film Avengers: Endgame, and murder suspect Lee Ashworth in the second season of the series Broadchurch (2015). D'Arcy also co-starred in Christopher Nolan's war movies Dunkirk (2017) and Oppenheimer (2023). He wrote and directed Made in Italy (2020).
Early life
Simon D'Arcy was born on 24 August 1975 in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. His father, Richard, died when he was a child. His mother, Caroline, was a nurse. She raised D'Arcy and his sister Charlotte in Fulham, London. The Canterville Ghost, and the leading role in The Ice House The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (2001, Nicholas Nickleby) and Revelation (2001, Jake Martel). He also gained wider recognition when he portrayed 1st Lt. Tom Pullings in Peter Weir's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003). and Winifred Holtby's The Crowded Street. He played the role of Duncan Atwood in Secret Diary of a Call Girl. In 2012, he played Rufus Sixsmith (young and old) in addition to two other minor roles in the independent film Cloud Atlas,
D'Arcy was a series regular in the television series Agent Carter from 2015 to 2016. In the series, he played Edwin Jarvis, the loyal butler of Howard Stark, which shares continuity with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was his first comedic role. He reprised his role of Edwin Jarvis in Avengers: Endgame, making D'Arcy the first to have portrayed the same character originally from an MCU TV series into an MCU film. In 2017, he appeared in the film The Snowman.
D'Arcy made his directorial debut with Made in Italy in 2020.
In 2024 he played the character of Mr Greed in the music video "HAHAHA" by American rapper Lil Dicky.
Personal life
From 2002 to 2005, D'Arcy was in a relationship with Lucy Punch after they met during filming of the TV movie Come Together.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1997
| Wilde
| Friend
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1998
| Norman Ormal: A Very Political Turtle
| Crap Actor Man 2
|
|-
| Hiccup
| Barry
| Short
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1999
| The Trench
| Pte. Colin Daventry
|
|-
| Guest House Paradiso
| Young Groom
|
|-
| 2001
| Revelation
| Jake Martell
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2003
| dot the i
| Barnaby F. Caspian
|
|-
| Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
| Lt. Tom Pullings
|
|-
| 2004
| Exorcist: The Beginning
| Father Francis
|
|-
| 2005
| '
| Richard Powell
|
|-
| 2007
| Rise: Blood Hunter
| Bishop
|
|-
| 2008
| Flashbacks of a Fool
| Jack Adams
|
|-
| 2010
| Natural Selection
| John Henry Wilson
| Short
|-
| rowspan="4" | 2011
| '
| Alexis
|
|-
| Age of Heroes
| Ian Fleming
|
|-
| Screwed
| Sam
|
|-
| W.E.
| Edward VIII
|
|-
| rowspan="5" | 2012
| In Their Skin
| Bobby
|
|-
| The Domino Effect
| Mark
|
|-
| Cloud Atlas
| Rufus Sixsmith, Nurse James, Archivist
|
|-
| Hitchcock
| Anthony Perkins
|
|-
| Overnight
| Tom
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2013
| After the Dark
| Mr. Zimit
|
|-
| Dreams Never End
| The Wolf
| Short film
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2014
| Let's Be Cops
| Mossi Kasic
|
|-
| Instruments of Darkness
| Banquo
| after Macbeth
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2015
| Jupiter Ascending
| Maximilian Jones
|
|-
| Survivor
| Paul Anderson
|
|-
| 2016
| Guernica
| Henry Hillard, author/journalist
| About the bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2017
| Dunkirk
| Colonel Winnant
|
|-
| The Snowman
| Filip Becker
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2019
| Avengers: Endgame
| Edwin Jarvis
| Cameo
|-
| Life Like
| Julian
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2020
| Made in Italy
|
| Writer and director
|-
| LX 2048
| Adam Bird
|
|-
| Six Minutes to Midnight
| Captain Drey
|
|-
| 2021
| Warning
| God
| Voice
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2022
| North of Normal
| Sam
|
|-
| Banking on Mr. Toad
| Kenneth Grahame
|
|-
| 2023
| Oppenheimer
|Patrick Blackett
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1996
| Silent Witness
| Student
| Episode: "Long Days, Short Nights: Part 1"
|-
| Dalziel and Pascoe
| Franny Roote
| Episode: "An Advancement of Learning"
|-
| Brookside
| Martin Cathcart
| Episode: "Things to Sort Out"
|-
| rowspan="5" | 1997
| '
| Lord Cheshire
| TV film
|-
| The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
| Nicholas Hawthorne
| 2 episodes
|-
| '
| Jonathan Maybury
| TV film
|-
| '
| Nicholas Jenkins
| Miniseries; episode: "The Twenties"
|-
| The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling
| Blifil
| Miniseries; 5 episodes
|-
| 1999
| Sunburn
| Phil
| 1 episode
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2001
| Rebel Heart
| Ernie Coyne
| Miniseries; 4 episodes
|-
| The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
| Nicholas Nickleby
| TV film, principal role
|-
| Dark Realm
| Dean
| Episode: "Party On"
|-
| 2002
| Come Together
| Jack
| TV film
|-
| 2002
| Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
| Sir Gawain (voice in animated film)
| Animation
|-
| 2002
| Sherlock: Case of Evil
| Sherlock Holmes
| TV film
|-
| 2003
| P.O.W.
| Jim Caddon
| 6 episodes
|-
| 2005
| Agatha Christie's Poirot
| Derek Kettering
| Episode: "The Mystery of the Blue Train"
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2006
| Agatha Christie's Marple
| Jerry Burton
| Episode: "The Moving Finger"
|-
| Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire
| Tiberius Gracchus
| Episode: "Revolution"
|-
| '
| Tiberius Gracchus
| rowspan="3" | TV film
|-
| rowspan="5" | 2007
| Them
| Cain Johnson
|-
| Green
| Sy
|-
| Fallen Angel
| Toby Clifford
| Miniseries; episode: "The Judgement of Strangers"
|-
| Mansfield Park
| Tom Bertram
| TV film
|-
| '
| Guy Thompson
| Episode: "Know Thine Enemy"
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2008
| Bonekickers
| Captain Roberts
| Episode: "The Lines of War"
|-
| '
| Jerry
| TV film
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2009
| The Eastmans
| Dr. Peter Eastman
| Unsold pilot
|-
| Into the Storm
| Jock Colville
| rowspan="2" | TV film
|-
| Virtuality
| Dr. Roger Fallon
|-
| 2009–10
| Secret Diary of a Call Girl
| Duncan
| 8 episodes
|-
| 2011
| The Closer
| Professor Alex Banks
|
|-
| 2012
| The Making of a Lady
| Captain Alec Osborn
| TV film
|-
| 2012
| Those Who Kill
| Thomas Schaeffer
| Main role
|-
| 2015
| Broadchurch
| Lee Ashworth
| Series 2
|-
| 2015–16
| Agent Carter
| Edwin Jarvis
| Main role; 18 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2018
| Homeland
| Anson
| Recurring role
|-
| Das Boot
| Sinclair
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2019
| The Rook
| Andrew Bristol
| rowspan="2" | Miniseries
|-
| The Hot Zone
| Travis Rhodes
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2021
| Leonardo
| Ludovico Sforza
| Main role
|-
| Red Election
| Adam Cornwell
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2022
| Deadline
| James
| Main role
|-
| Grace
| DSI Cassian Pewe
| Series 2
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2024
| Constellation
| Magnus
| Main role
|-
| What If...?
| Edwin Jarvis (voice)
| Episode: "What If... Agatha Went to Hollywood?"
|-
| 2025
| NCIS: Tony & Ziva
| Henry Rayner-Hunt
| Main role
|-
| 2026
| VisionQuest
| J.A.R.V.I.S.
| Main role; post-production
|}
Awards
- Nominated for the Ian Charleson Award in 2002 (Outstanding Performance in a Classical Role) for Edward II.