Lennie Michael James (born 11 October 1965) is a British actor. He is best known for portraying Morgan Jones in the AMC series The Walking Dead (2010–2018) and in its spin-off, Fear the Walking Dead (2018–2023), and starring as DCI Tony Gates in Line of Duty series one.
Among James' more notable roles in television is Glen Boyle in the medical drama Critical on Sky 1. On American television, he portrayed the mysterious Robert Hawkins in the CBS series Jericho and Detective Joe Geddes in the AMC series Low Winter Sun.
James created and starred in Sky Atlantic drama series Save Me which was released in 2018 to critical acclaim. Its second season, titled Save Me Too, won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Series 2021.
In 2024, James starred as Barrington Jedidiah "Barry" Walker in the BBC TV series Mr Loverman, adapted from the novel of the same name by Bernardine Evaristo, for which James won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor at the 2025 British Academy Television Awards.
Early life
Lennie Michael James was born in Nottingham, England, in 1965. The son of Afro-Trinidadian parents, he lived in South London and attended school at Ernest Bevin College. His mother, Phyllis Mary James, died when he was 11, after which he and his elder brother, Kester, chose to live in a children's home instead of being sent to the United States to reside with a relative. James remained in foster care for eight years.
James aspired to be a professional rugby player as a teenager, and was introduced to acting after following a girl he was interested in to an audition for a play. James attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1988.
James wrote the autobiographical TV film, Storm Damage in 2000, which was nominated for a British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series. Storm Damage depicts a teacher who tries to go back to the foster home he left and help the teenagers there, as James did.
On television, one of James' earliest appearances was as DC Carl Tanner in series 2, episode 1 of A Touch of Frost (1994). James subsequently appeared in the short-lived Channel 4 prison drama Buried (2003), the BBC terrorism drama The State Within (2006), the BBC spy drama Spooks (2002–2011), and he starred as Robert Hawkins in the CBS post-apocalyptic drama series Jericho (2006). James appeared in a Channel 4 television drama Fallout (2008), playing the role of a detective alongside another detective solving a teen-related murder. He also appeared in an episode of Lie to Me, as well as the 2009 AMC/ITV miniseries The Prisoner, of which he said: "It wasn't necessarily the easiest gig I've ever been on, but it was always acting." He appeared in HBO's comedy series Hung as a pimp.
James appeared in episodes of the 2010 TV series Human Target as the assassin Baptiste. In 2012, he received critical acclaim for his appearance as DCI Tony Gates in BBC Two's Line of Duty, created by Jed Mercurio.
In 2010, he guest-starred as Morgan Jones in the pilot episode of the AMC series The Walking Dead, titled "Days Gone Bye". In 2013, he reprised his role as Morgan Jones in an episode of the third season of The Walking Dead titled "Clear". On 12 October 2014, James made his return to the show in a post-credit scene at the end of the fifth-season premiere and appeared again in a single scene at the end of the mid-season finale on 30 November 2014. He returned for the fifth-season finale and played a significant role in the episode. Despite his few appearances on the show, James has received significant recognition for his portrayal of Morgan from critics and fans, including being stopped by a policeman who wanted to talk to him about the show.
James stars as Glenn Boyle on the medical drama Critical which debuted on Sky 1 in February 2015. He spent nearly a year away from his home in Los Angeles to film the series. Each episode takes place in "real time," with the medical staff having to save a life in an hour. James spent a week shadowing doctors at a London hospital to prepare for the role.
James has also portrayed the Destiny and Destiny 2 character Lord Shaxx who is the host of the in-game activity "The Crucible" in which he voices over matches and acts as an in game vendor. In an interview with GameSpot, Lennie stated his favorite line in the game, was in fact a line straight out of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The line in question is in game as "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and I—I am the Crucible."
James featured as a "castaway" on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in October 2025.
Personal life
James lives in Los Angeles, California, US with wife Giselle Glasman. They have three children together.
James is among the celebrities who have penned an open "letter to my younger self" for The Big Issue magazine. In his letter in March 2015, he wrote about the pain of losing his mother at a young age. "It hit me quite strongly. It had just been the three of us: my brother, my mum and me. Everything changed when the terrible thing happened. It had a profound, fundamental effect on me. One disappointment is that I never knew my mum as an adult," he wrote.
James also works as a mentor to black inner-city children, and says he rejects the importance people attach to fame and celebrity. "Boys and men in our community need to be aware of the guy who gets up every morning and goes to the job that he doesn't necessarily love, in order to support his family. They are the heroes my community need to celebrate," he said.
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| 2025
| Mayor of Kingstown
| Frank Moses
| Main role; 10 episodes
|}
Video games
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Voice role !! class="unsortable"|Notes
|-
| 2014 || Destiny || rowspan="2" | Lord Shaxx ||
|-
| 2017 || Destiny 2 ||
|-
| 2026
| 007 First Light
| John Greenway
| Voice and likeness
|}
Stage
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! class="unsortable"|Notes
|-
| 2004
| The Sons of Charlie Paora
| Writer
|-
| 2022
| A Number
|
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Award !! Category !! Work !! Result
|-
| 2002 || Black Filmmakers Magazine (BFM) Film and Television Awards || Best Male Performance in Film || Lucky Break ||
|-
| rowspan="3"|2013 || Online Film & Television Awards || Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series || rowspan=2|The Walking Dead ||
|-
| Gold Derby TV Awards || Best Drama Guest Actor ||
|-
| RTS Television Awards || Best Actor-Male || Line of Duty ||
|-
| 2014 || RTS Television Awards || Best Actor-Male || Run ||
|-
| 2016 || Fangoria Chainsaw Awards || Best TV Supporting Actor || The Walking Dead ||
|-
| 2019 || Saturn Awards || Best Supporting Actor on Television || Fear the Walking Dead ||
|-
| 2022
| Evening Standard Theatre Awards
| Best Actor
| A Number
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2025
| British Academy Television Awards
| Best Actor
| rowspan="2"| Mr Loverman
|
|
|-
| Royal Television Society Programme Awards
| Leading Actor: Male
|
|
|-
|}
References
External links
- Lennie James bio at CBS
- Lennie James: Letter to My Younger Self at the Big Issue