James McArdle

Biography

James McArdle is a Scottish actor from Glasgow. Having worked as a child actor in films, he trained at RADA, graduating in 2010. In his graduation year he appeared in Macbeth at The Globe and starred in the summer smash hit Spur of the Moment by Anya Reiss at the Royal Court Theatre in London. He then played in plays such as A Month in the Country by Ivan Turgenev, Chariots of Fire by Mike Bartlett and Platonov for which he won the Ian Charleson Award. On screens, he is known for movies such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), '71 (2014) and Salting the Battlefield (2014).

Known For

The Tragedy of Macbeth

The Chamber

On the Road

National Theatre Live: Angels In America — Part Two: Perestroika

National Theatre Live: Angels In America — Part One: Millennium Approaches

Filmography

2025 Four Mothers

as Edward

2025 Playing Nice

as Miles Lambert

2024 Sexy Beast

as Gal Dove

2022 Andor

as Timm Karlo

2022 Life After Life

as Hugh Todd

2021 The Tragedy of Macbeth

as Macbeth

2021 Mare of Easttown

as Mark Burton

2020 Ammonite

as Roderick Murchison

2020 Scott and Laura

as Scott

2018 Mary Queen of Scots

as James, Earl of Moray

2017 Man in an Orange Shirt

as Thomas March

2017 National Theatre Live: Angels In America — Part Two: Perestroika

as Louis Ironson/The Angel Australia

2017 National Theatre Live: Angels In America — Part One: Millennium Approaches

as Louis Ironson

2016 On the Road

as Joe

2016 The Chamber

as Parks

2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens

as Niv Lek

2014 Salting the Battlefield

as Ted Finch

2012 Private Peaceful

as Lt. Buckland

2012 Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story

as Toby

2011 Appropriate Adult

as Stephen West