Biography
Eli James is an American actor, standup, singer, and dialect specialist living in London. He might be best known to fans around the world for his voiceover work - including playing the scrappy teenage battler Yuma Tsukumo in the animated series Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal. He also voiced many other beloved characters on Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, P. King Duckling, Beast Boy: Lone Wolf, and he has lent his vocal skills to fiction and nonfiction podcasts, and video games. You can hear his voice acting on the BBC's World of Secrets, on Radiotopia's The Body Genius series, and on his own podcast, Strong Reception.
You can see him playing a CIA operative in 2025's The Amateur, starring Rami Malek and directed by James Hawes, and his US TV credits include Gossip Girl, Unforgettable, Alpha House, Lights Out, and many commercials. Eli also regularly performs standup around the UK, including at London's Angel Comedy Club, Comedy Rumblings, and the Sam Rhodes Comedy Explosion.
A lifelong stage actor, Eli's Broadway credits include the National Theatre's One Man Two Guvnors, directed by Nicholas Hytner, and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, the rock musical written and directed by Alex Timbers. Eli's other theatre credits include the UK and Ireland tour of Bob Dylan and Conor McPherson's Girl From the North Country, Becky Shaw at Boston's Huntington Theater, The Four of Us at Manhattan Theatre Club, Rutherford & Son at New York's Mint Theater, and Jason Grote's Maria/Stuart at the Woolly Mammoth Theater, directed by Pam MacKinnon. In his native Philadelphia, he acted in Moises Kaufman's Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde at the Philadelphia Theatre Company, and Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love at The Wilma Theater.
His comedy solo show Imagine All the People ran at the Peoples Improv Theater in New York. Prior to that, his solo play William and the Tradesmen ran in the New York International Fringe Festival, Ars Nova's ANT Fest and at the Drilling Company. It was dubbed "a gem ... well-wrought, insightful and precise" by nytheatre.com.
He was a house-team performer at New York's legendary comedy venue The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. He performed on Maude Night, UCB's monthly sketch comedy showcase, as well as in many improv, sketch, and character shows. He was a long-time student of the theatre's Advanced Study Improv Program, as well as the UCB Academy, and his experience with improv influences much of how he approaches performance.
Eli is also a longtime guitarist, songwriter, and singer, having recorded and performed many of his own songs with bands and as a solo artist. He is a strong baritone singer, with some notes on either side. As a coach, he has instructed many diverse groups and individuals in acting, improv, and his specialty: dialects. Having diligently studied accent and dialect science from a young age, he has professionally performed a wide range of British, Irish, European and American dialects on stage and screen.
