Adam James was born on 9 September 1972. Adam trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1996. He worked extensively in both TV and Theatre early on in his career, receiving a Best Newcomer nomination at the M.E.N awards for his work at the Royal Exchange and then coming to prominence in 2001 in 'Band of Brothers'.

This followed a string of notable guest leads in such popular shows as Extras, Ashes to Ashes, Hustle, Dr. Who and Foyles War. In 2010 he performed in New York in 'The Pride' along side Ben Whishaw and Andrea Riseborough for which he won the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Actor in a Featured Role and also received the Drama Desk Nomination.

He would return in 2013, this time Off Broadway with the critically acclaimed and Olivier Award winning play "Bull", only to return to Broadway once more in 2016 with the Olivier and Critics Circle award winning play "King Charles III" in which Adam played the Prime Minister, and later received the Clarence Derwent Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In 2015, the same year in which he appeared in another Mike Bartlett hit "Dr.Foster", he married the former actress Victoria Shalet. Their first child was born in September 2016, and Adam has an adult daughter from a previous relationship. Adam then continued his collaboration with Mike Bartlett by filming both the much anticipated second series of Dr.Foster alongside a TV film version of King Charles III for BBC2.

He has since returned to the stage and London's West End in the Olivier Award Winning "Girl From The North Country" at the Noel Coward Theatre and the hugely critically acclaimed "Consent" having transferred with it from the National Theatre. More recently he reunited with Rupert Goold for the world premiere of Anne Washburn's new play "Shipwreck" at the Almeida Theatre.

His most recent Television work includes Julian Fellowes' new period drama "Belgravia" for ITV and Epix in the US (produced by Carnival the team behind Downtown Abbey) and also the hugely successful and critically acclaimed 12 part series "I May Destroy You" for the BBC and HBO, written, performed, produced an co-directed by Michaela Coel.