David Alan James (born October 1, 1972) is a Canadian actor, comedian and voice actor. As a voice actor, he is best known for voicing Darren in the animated series Mole Miner (2001-present), the titular character in Morten (2005-present), and Alex Woodman in the Alex & Olivia franchise.
Early life[]
David Alan James was born on October 1, 1972 in Thompson, Manitoba, the youngest of four children. His father, Franklin Maurice James (born 1933) is Métis and served in the Royal Canadian Air Force in the Korean War. His mother, Rose Marilyn James (1932-2005), was born on the One Arrow Reserve in Saskatchewan to a Cree mother and Irish father. His older sister, Wynona, is also an actress.
From a young age, James had been doing impressions of famous celebrities and long aspired to be a stand-up comedian.
James attended the University of Manitoba.
Career[]
Shortly after graduating from the University of Manitoba, James moved to Vancouver and began building up a career as a comedian and impressionist.
By 1999, James considered his career to be "floundering", as he wasn't getting much live action work in spite of his success as a voice actor, and he was considering retiring from the entertainment industry and moving back to Manitoba when he was cast in the role of Darren, the main character of Phelan Morkel's first animated series Mole Miner. The show revitalized James' career, and led him to choose to stay in Vancouver.
In mid-2004, James was cast in the titular role of Morten the Wolf in Morkel's second solo animated series Morten. The role allowed James to show off his vocal talent, with him also voicing several other characters in the show.
Politics[]
New Democratic Party[]
James is a supporter of the New Democratic Party.
In 2005, in an interview on CBC Newsworld, James endorsed Jack Layton in the 2006 Canadian federal election. He defended Layton's widely-mocked "Canadians have a third choice" slogan, arguing that "when presented with the choice between a so-called Conservative and a so-called Liberal, you'd obviously go for the person with common sense, wouldn't you?"
In 2017, James endorsed Jagmeet Singh's leadership campaign in the New Democratic Party election.
In September 2019, James, along with several other Canadian cultural figures, signed an open letter endorsing Singh in the 2019 Canadian federal election.
Personal life[]
James lives in Mystery Lake, Manitoba with his wife, Christine Glynn-James, and their four children.
James supports the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.
Discography[]
- Want Comedy? (2001)
- David A. James Speaks! (2005)
- O, Canada (2010)
- I Am Not Darren, or Morten For That Matter (2015)