David James

James also filmed a supporting role in the feature film Angel of the Skies, about South African pilots during World War II. Angel of the Skies was directed by Eternity's Chris Dos Santos, and was tentatively scheduled for release sometime in 2012.

In September 2012, James assisted with first-year student projects at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). This was his third year of working with the students, who presented a remake of a scene from The Godfather. end-results Tshwane university of technology courses

In 2011 James played Dieter, one of a gang of ruthless kidnappers, in the British miniseries Kidnap and Ransom, which was produced by and starred actor Trevor Eve. The three-part miniseries about a hostage negotiator (Eve) was filmed entirely in South Africa and received generally positive reviews.

In August 2011, James reunited with director Christopher-Lee Dos Santos to play the role of Stutze, a German SS officer hunting down the survivors of a Royal Air Force bomber that crash lands in Nazi occupied France. The film, Angel of the Skies, was released in late 2013.

In 2010, in the stage play Rivonia Trial, James portrayed Joel Joffe, the attorney who represented Nelson Mandela in the infamous 1963–64 anti-apartheid trials of the same name. The play was generally well-received critically and described by the State Theatre as being a "complete sell-out."

Also in 2010, he portrayed Afrikaner Sergeant Hattingh in a stage production of Biko: Where the Soul Resides, the story of South African martyr Steven Bantu Biko. It is widely believed that Biko died at the hands of Hattingh during police interrogations in 1977. The play itself was not typically well-reviewed; The Times stated, "The talented David James gives a rather cliched portrayal of Afrikaner Sergeant Hattingh. It wouldn't be surprising to learn that the part was perhaps written that way. It's very rare to find a portrayal of a member of the apartheid regime that does not resort to a lacklustre caricature."

Later in 2010 he co-starred in Jock of the Bushveld - the Musical, based on the best-selling book Jock of the Bushveld by James Percy FitzPatrick. In this Lion King-like story of a dog lost in the African bush, James portrayed one of three hungry yet comical vultures waiting for the animal to become dinner. The large-scale play itself was lauded by critics, as were all the performers.

James has assisted in fundraising for Faces of Hope, a local South African charity that raises money for those with life-threatening illnesses that do not have adequate medical coverage or funds to pay for their treatments. In April 2010, an article regarding Faces of Hope and his participation was featured in O: The Oprah Magazine South African edition.

James appeared as a celebrity judge for the February 2010 young thespians "High Flyer" contest at Redhill School in Johannesburg. Coincidentally, this is the same private school that his District 9 costar Sharlto Copley and director Neill Blomkamp both previously attended. In March 2010 James was a celebrity presenter at the Naledi Theatre Awards.

Perhaps his best known role to date is that of Koobus Venter, the ruthless colonel that heads up the military arm of the fictional Multi-National United (MNU) in the 2009 film District 9.

James had a recurring role as Danie Nel, a hired gun, in the series Binnelanders in 2009.

On stage he has costarred in productions of The Picture of Dorian Gray (2002), A Midsummer Night's Dream (2005) and My Fair Lady (2006), and others, as well as in the locally written and well-reviewed 2007 Fangs, a comedic telling of a Johannesburg vampire that loses his fangs. He also costarred in Everybody Else (is Fucking Perfect), a 2007 comedy about a married couple forced to face the husband's sexuality and infidelity.

He has also guest-starred in many South African television series and soaps, including roles in Criminal Minds (2000), Snitch (2004), Jozi Street (2004), and the long-running Isidingo, where from 2004-2006 he portrayed a hired assassin called Mad Dog.

James guest starred in an episode of Wild at Heart, playing Van Heerden, a ranch owner caught poisoning lions feeding on his cattle. He was also featured in an episode of the South African television series Solving It, a true-crime re-enactment drama that airs on the SABC. In this episode he portrayed Jan Gabriel De Wet Kritzinger, who, in 2000, boarded a bus to Mamelodi, shot and killed the bus driver and opened fire on passengers; Kritzinger then fled police and remained in hiding for two years before being caught.

From 1995-2001, James studied acting, singing, dancing, and the flute. One of his instructors was the famous Joan Brickhill, a "grand dame" of South African theatre and a Tony Award-nominated choreographer, under whom James studied from 1997 through 2001. During this time he also worked selling cars, washing cars, cleaning pools, and even caring for the elderly.

David James (born 28 October 1972) is a South African film, theatre, and television actor known mainly for playing the villainous Koobus Venter in the 2009 Oscar-nominated science fiction film District 9 . He is also known to South African audiences for his 2004-2006 appearance as "Mad Dog" on the long-running soap opera Isidingo, for his portrayal as Joel Joffe in the large-scale and well-received 2010 and 2011 stage productions of Rivonia Trial, and for his role as radio station manager Hermanus Meyer on the soap opera Rhythm City.