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James Andrew Fraser was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. He is of Scottish, Irish, and Flemish ancestry. His fascination with acting was sparked when a babysitter told him that Daniel Day-Lewis was "just pretending" in My Left Foot. He had his first taste of pretending playing a baby chick in his kindergarten class play. Though he continued acting in school productions, he chose sports over theatre in high school, believing an acting career was out of reach.
He didn't stay away long. On a whim, James auditioned for A Midsummer Night's Dream and was cast as Demetrius. The following year he attended university in Nova Scotia, once again pushing acting aside to play rugby - until a second shoulder injury brought him back to the stage. He went on to appear in six local theatre productions, ranging from musicals to Shakespeare.
Following expectations, James moved back to Calgary and worked in finance. With promotion papers in front of him, he chose not to sign - quitting instead to pursue acting. Shortly after, he and friends made a short film about distracted driving, Trafford Road, which screened the following year at the Edmonton International Film Festival. James then moved to Toronto to further his career.
In Toronto, James was cast in film, television, and commercials, while also producing and directing his own award-winning writing (Fresh Voices Top Ten & Semi-Finalist). After training with renowned acting coach Tom Todoroff, he was invited to join Todoroff's conservatory in New York City.
James now lives and works between Canada and the U.S. His screen credits include The Enemy Within, Bull, Blue Bloods, and The Blacklist. He starred in TAPE, a web series he directed, co-wrote, and produced, which streamed on Amazon Prime for two years and is now available on Amazon VOD. Other projects include Dark Horse (BRTBTV), numerous short films - including Buffalo, for which he received Best Actor nominations at both the Madrid International Film Festival and PIIF - and the Gabriel's Inferno series, with all nine films currently streaming on Passionflix.
In Summer 2024, James made his Off-Broadway debut as one of the leads in the original comedy Bringer of Doom. This year, he has two feature films making the festival rounds: Family Hug, opposite Oscar nominee Eric Roberts, and Tuesday's Flu, which premiered at AFF and features Oscar nominee Jackie Earle Haley alongside Jon Gries, Ross Marquand, and Daniel Roebuck.
Fraser's recent work has increasingly blurred the line between acting, writing, and directing. This trajectory culminates in The Unseen - a collection of four character-driven short films in final stages of post-production and preparing for festival release. Each film is shaped around its lead performer, exploring identity, memory, and interior states through distinct cinematic languages. Together, the collection reflects Fraser's ongoing interest in character - how people move through the world, perform versions of themselves, and reveal who they are when no one tells them how to be seen.
