Oliver James Biography

Oliver James is a British musician and actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the American films What a Girl Wants and Raise Your Voice. James' first screen appearance was a supporting role in the 2002 made-for-television short film, School's Out; he next appeared in a 2003 episode of the BBC series, The Afternoon Play, and joined a boy band produced by Simon Fuller. He left the band as soon as he was cast opposite actress Amanda Bynes in the American romantic comedy, What a Girl Wants; for his role in the film, he learned to play the guitar and co-wrote and sang the songs Long Time Coming and Greatest Story Ever Told, which were on the film's soundtrack. The film was set in England and James played the romantic interest of Bynes' character. It was released in April of 2003 and performed fairly at the box office, grossing $35 million domestically. James' next role was opposite Hilary Duff in the teen film Raise Your Voice, which was released in October of 2004 and grossed $10 million domestically. He will be seen this autumn in the new BBC1 series The Innocence Project, a drama following the lives of law students.James currently lives in Los Angeles, California where he moved to in March of 2003, in order to pursue an acting career in the United States.