James Hyland

"James Hyland is a genius... No one ordinary could do what he did." 

--Everything Theatre

 

James Hyland is Artistic Director and Founder of Brother Wolf. He is also a multi award-winning stage and film actor as well as a critically acclaimed writer, producer and director. James' work has been described by the press as "magnificent" (Plays to See), "highly accomplished" (The Stage) and "astonishing" (The Courier). To date, he has received more than 160 outstanding reviews as well as over 300 audience testimonials for his ground-breaking performances. Following his education at the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, he made his professional acting debut in The North Pole, winning the Guardian International Student Drama Award in 1996. Since then he has appeared in over 70 professional productions, working with a variety of directors including Michael Boyd, Adrian Noble and Matthew Warchus, as well as acclaimed companies such as the Royal Shakespeare Company and Brother Wolf Productions, winning a further 39 awards including Best Performance of the Year (The Actors Awards LA, 2022) for his performance as Mr Guthrert Vratrol/Narrator in the film The Impatient Man Who Made His Life Considerably Shorter, The Hamilton Deane Award (The Dracula Society, 2022) for his performance as Dracula in Dracula's Guest as well as an OffComm Commendation (Off West End Awards, 2022) for the same production, an OffComm Commendation (Off West End Awards, 2023) for his stage production of Fagin's Last Hour, and Best Performer in Theatre (Fringe Report Awards, 2012) for his solo performance as Marley's Ghost in A Christmas Carol - As told by Jacob Marley (deceased) as well as a nomination for The London Theatre Award (London Awards for Art and Performance 2012) for the same role in competition with the Royal Shakespeare Company's Matilda The Musical. John Park, Director of the Fringe Report Awards, said "The award celebrates the work of James Hyland, actor, and in particular his creation and delivery of A Christmas Carol - As told by Jacob Marley (deceased). It reflects his fine work as an actor in film, TV, radio and theatre in a remarkable range of productions." In the same year, further honours were bestowed by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in recognition of Dickensian scholarship. By 2014, A Christmas Carol - As told by Jacob Marley (deceased) had been officially rated as one of "the top Christmas shows in London, Edinburgh and around the UK" (High 50 Culture). The show's unique presentation has even been discussed in best-selling books about the theatre. In 2018, during the 175th anniversary of Dickens' original novella, James performed his award-winning show at The Royal Albert Hall, selling out to capacity. The production was followed by two more award-winning one-man shows: Fagin's Last Hour in 2011 (Top Off West End Production - Centre Stage Stars 2018) and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in 2013 (Best Male Act - Solo Festival 2013). James serves as actor, adapter and producer on all three productions. The shows have toured extensively, breaking box office records along the way, as well as his 5-star commemorative drama A Lesson from Auschwitz, of which he is the writer, director, producer and co-actor (commended by The Foundation of Memory Sites Near Auschwitz-Birkenau), reviewed as "one of the most powerful and most important pieces of theatre I've ever seen" (Centre Stage). As well as touring A Lesson from Auschwitz and other acclaimed shows, his multi award-winning production of Dracula's Guest will continue as well as his latest solo drama Silver & Gold (based on Treasure Island) and the official launch of Uncle Jimmy (a new short film).

 

Screen credits include We Are Monster, nominated for The Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film (Edinburgh Festival, 2014) and the multi award-winning music videos/short films from Kaskade and Tinie Tempah in which James plays the lead roles: A Little More and Disappoint You, again serving as writer (and improviser) of the dialogue; and also the twelve-time award-winning film Transmission in which James plays the lead role of Dr Sam, selected for more than ninety festivals worldwide including The Fisheye Film Festival, The Horrible Imaginings Film Festival and Torino Underground Cinefest for which James received three Best Actor nominations. James can currently be seen in The Impatient Man Who Made His Life Considerably Shorter in which he plays the dual lead roles of Mr Guthrert Vratrol and the Narrator for which he recently won 31 Best Actor awards including the highly prestigious Best Performance of the Year award at The Actors Awards Los Angeles, the Made You Laugh BBC Comedy Award at The World Cinema Film Festival and Best Actor at The APEX Film Awards at which his performance was reviewed as "absolutely hilarious and played to perfection." To date, James has appeared in nine award-winning films.

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