Great English actor of British and American films. Born in Yorkshire, attended Marlborough and Cambridge, where he discovered acting on a lark and abandoned a planned career as an architect. Following work in stock companies, he joined the Old Vic under the guidance of Sir Tyrone Guthrie and of Alexander Korda, who gave Mason at least one small film role in 1933, but fired him a few days into shooting. Mason remained in the theatre becoming a prominent stage actor, meanwhile getting first small, then rapidly larger roles in "quota quickies", minor films made to accommodate laws mandating a certain percentage of films shown in Britain to be British-made. Mason's talent for playing protagonists of a decidedly hard-bitten or melancholy stripe brought him from these minor films to a position as one of Britain's major film stars of the Forties. When, late in that decade, he came to America, he played somewhat more glamorous or heroic roles than he had been accustomed to in Britain, but he remained a dynamic and intelligent force on the screen. His tendency to take any job offered led him to have many unworthy credits on his resume, but throughout his career he remained a respected and powerful figure in the industry. His mellifluous voice and an uncanny ability to suggest rampant emotion beneath a face of absolute calm made him a fascinating performer to watch. He died of a heart attack in 1984 at his home in Switzerland.


He should not be confused with the American actor Jim Mason (1889 - 1959), aka James Mason, who appeared in silent films, particularly Westerns in the Twenties and Thirties. An avowed pacifist, he refused to perform military service during the Second World War, a stance that caused his family to break with him for many years. Was responsible for getting an unknown actor from New Zealand his first major film role. That actor was Sam Neill . Turned down the role of Hugo Drax in the 1979 Bond film Moonraker (1979) . Starred with his wife Clarissa Kaye-Mason in the original Salem's Lot (1979) (TV). They appeared together in the film, Age of Consent (1969). Told "Playboy Magazine" in the late 1970s that he hated rock n' roll but loved country music. Was the original choice to play Professor Kingsfield in The Paper Chase (1973) , but had to turn down the role due to poor health. John Houseman , who had acted in only one other movie in a bit part, was cast and won an Oscar. Eddie Izzard often uses an impression of James Mason in his stand-up comedy routines as the voice of a confused, dithering God. 11 years after being mentioned in Rope (1948) as making an excellent villain, he was finally cast by Alfred Hitchcock as such in North by Northwest (1959). He suffered a severe heart attack in 1959.