James Laurenson

James Laurenson (born February 17, 1940) is a New Zealand actor, who has performed many classical roles on stage and television.

Laurenson was born in Marton, New Zealand, and made his film debut in 1969 with a small part in "Women in Love". He has appeared in numerous Shakespearean productions, notably "Richard II", as Rosencrantz in "Hamlet", and on radio in the marathon series, "Vivat Rex". He also appeared as Piers Gaveston in the 1970 production of Christopher Marlowe's "Edward II", opposite Ian McKellen who later recalled that kissing Laurenson "was a bonus throughout the run". [Ian McKellen's homepage [http://www.mckellen.com/stage/edward/index.htm Edward II] ] Other costume roles included a French courtier in "Elizabeth R" and the Earl of Lincoln in "Shadow of the Tower" (1972). In the same year, he took on a more modern role as "Boney", a half- Aboriginal detective, which would be his most high-profile part, and in 1974 he took the lead role in the TV film "The Prison", based on the novel by Georges Simenon, the first instalment in the Thames Television/Euston Films spin-off of "Armchair Theatre", entitled "Armchair Cinema".

An accomplished singer, Laurenson took the lead role of Julian Marsh in Gower Champions musical 42nd Street at Drury Lane theatre, London and appeared at Greenwich Theatre in Falling Over England with Charlotte Cornwell.

In later years, Laurenson has had secondary roles in numerous popular TV series such as "Prime Suspect", "Sharpe", "A Touch of Frost", Cagney and Lacey, "Heartbeat", "Silent Witness" and "State of Play".

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*imdb name|id=0491190|name=James Laurenson
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/somerset/content/articles/2006/06/28/james_laurenson_interview_feature.shtml Interview with James Laurenson]