Duncan Airlie James

Duncan Airlie James (born Duncan Campbell; 23 May 1961) is a Scottish actor best known for his roles in Tomb Raider and ID2: Shadwell Army. He is a former heavyweight kickboxer[1][2] and was the first Scottish fighter to win a world Muay Thai title and fight in K-1.

Duncan Airlie James
BornDuncan Campbell
(1961-05-23) 23 May 1961
Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK
NationalityScottish
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight15 st 6 lb (98 kg)
DivisionHeavyweight
StyleKickboxing, Muay Thai
Fighting out ofGlasgow, Scotland
TeamStrikeforce Glasgow
Years active1993–2006
Kickboxing record
Total48
Wins32
Losses14
Draws2
No contests0
Other information
OccupationActor / Former Kickboxer
Websitehttp://www.duncanairliejames.com/

Early life

James was born Duncan Campbell and was educated at the fee-paying Keil School where he was a competitive rugby player. His martial arts background began when he took up Shotokan karate. He was also a drummer and played with a number of bands including Nazareth. He moved to Boston, Massachusetts in the US to pursue new musical avenues.[3]

He is the older brother of Scottish composer Ross Campbell.

Kickboxing career

When he returned to Scotland, he took up Muay Thai kickboxing in the late 1980s. In 1993, he won his first title, the World Kickboxing Association Commonwealth Light Heavyweight Championship. After successfully defending that title, he vacated it and moved up to the Cruiserweight division and later the Heavyweight division where he won a number of other titles. In February 1999, he made his K-1 debut against Japanese legend Musashi at K-1 Rising Sun '99 and lost via technical knockout after being knocked down three times in the third round. He went on to fight twice more in Japan that year, drawing with Yoji Anjo and losing to karate master Nobuaki Kakuda.

He retired in 2006 with a record of 32 wins, 14 losses and 2 draws.

Titles and honours

Muay Thai:

  • WKA Commonwealth Super Light Heavyweight Champion (1993)
  • ISKA World Super Cruiserweight Champion (1998)
  • WKN World Heavyweight Champion (2001)
  • WAKO World Heavyweight Champion (2003)
  • WKF World Heavyweight Champion (2005)
  • WPKA World Heavyweight Champion

Kickboxing:

  • WKO World Cruiserweight Champion (1995)
  • WKA World Heavyweight Champion (2001)

Kickboxing record

32 Wins, 4 Losses, 2 Draws
Date Result Opponent Event Method Round Time Location Notes
2006 Loss Daniel Waciakowski TKO (shoulder injury) For WPKL and KL World Heavyweight Championships.
15 April 2006 Loss Giuseppe DiNatale Colosseum 2 TKO (punches) Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada For IKF World Heavyweight Muay Thai Championship.
May, 2005 Win Tibor Nagy World Professional Kickboxing Association/World Kickboxing Federation Decision (Unanimous) - - Glasgow, Scotland Wins World Professional Kickboxing Association and World Kickboxing Federation World Heavyweight Muay Thai Championships.
22 February 2004 Loss Chris Batcheldor K-1 Battle of Britain 2004 Decision 3 3:00 Wolverhampton, England
November, 2003 Win Angelo Grenata WAKO TKO 2 - Palermo, Italy Wins WAKO World Heavyweight Muay Thai Championship.
13 April 2003 Loss Phil Williams K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Preliminary UK Decision 5 3:00 Birmingham, England
5 April 2002 Loss Sergei Ivanovich Decision 3 1:53 Motherwell, Scotland For WAKO and ISKA World Heavyweight Muay Thai Championships.
30 June 2001 Win Stephane Reveillon World Kickboxing Network KO 1 - Belfast, Northern Ireland Wins World Kickboxing Network World Heavyweight Muay Thai Championship.
April, 2001 Win KO 1 Worcester, England Wins WKA International Super Heavyweight Championship.
16 April 2000 Loss John Wyatt K-1 UK Battle of Britain 2000 TKO 2 2:00 Birmingham, England
6 June 1999 Loss Nobuaki Kakuda K-1 Survival '99 Decision (Unanimous) 5 3:00 Sapporo, Japan
15 May 1999 Loss Jerome Turcan Strikeforce Decision 5 3:00 San Jose, California, United States
22 March 1999 Draw Yoji Anjo K-1 The Challenge '99 Decision 5 3:00 Tokyo, Japan
3 February 1999 Loss Musashi K-1 Rising Sun '99 TKO (3 Knockdowns) 2 2:52 Tokyo, Japan
16 August 1998 Loss Chris Wright KO 2 2:04 St. Helens, England Loss I.K.F Pro Muay Thai Cruiserweight World Title.
June, 1998 Win Christophe de Tholomaise Decision Bangor, Northern Ireland Wins ISKA World Super Cruiserweight Muay Thai Championship.
1997 Win Paul Senior WKA: Quest KO - - Birmingham, England Wins WKA: Quest Cruiserweight tournament.
September, 1995 Win Hassan Babchi KO 1 - Glasgow, Scotland Wins WKO Cruiserweight World Championship.
9 October 1993 Win Lee Hasdell WKA TKO (cut) - - England Wins WKA Light Heavyweight Commonwealth Muay Thai Championship.

Acting

Duncan Airlie James (centre) at the premiere of In Search of La Che

When he retired from the world of kickboxing, Duncan retrained as an actor. After appearing in a number of short films and a small cameo appearance in the film Perfect Sense, Duncan landed his first leading role when he was asked to play the lead character of John Tavish in the Scottish feature film In Search of La Che. Whilst the film itself received mixed reviews on both sides of the Atlantic, critics were quick to applaud Duncan's performance.[4]

2012 saw Duncan star in many and varied short films including The Priest With Two Guns directed by Rodney Reynolds. The film centres around Father O'Reilly who is troubled when he discovers his brother is in debt to a local money lender.[5] The film went on to pick up a grand jury prize at the 2014 Amsterdam Film Festival.[6] The end of 2012 saw Duncan lend his voice to one of his most recognised roles to date in the short comedy film The Greyness of Autumn.[7] Duncan voiced the character of Danny McGuire, an ostrich living in Glasgow whose life is suddenly turned upside down when he loses his job and his girlfriend in the same day. The film enjoyed great success in the United States,[8] Ireland[9] and the United Kingdom where it featured in the 2014 edition of the Portobello Film Festival.[10] Duncan's performance was widely praised with John McArthur of MovieScramble writing "The hook at the start of the film is the voice of Danny. A deep, resonant and very individual vocal draws you in immediately."[11] In 2013 he played the role of Officer White opposite Jack O'Connell in Starred Up,[12][13] a feature film directed by David Mackenzie. The film went on to win 3 awards at the 2014 British Academy Scotland Awards including Best Feature Film.[14]

In 2015, James starred in the leading role of Major Doug Bormann in Fanatic. He will be reunited with Luke Aherne who directed the web series Frank.

Filmography

Year Title Director Role Notes
2009Perfect SenseDavid MackenzieGym Fighter
2010CivilisationNicholas VafioHarry
Wrath of a SuffragetteSeth Ward / Kev BagnallGerry
GodforsakenSarah HarlowEd
2011Lisa Deserves BetterPaul AllisonDaniel
The JuicePhil ThompsonFrankie Boy
BrathairEve LeonardSteven
In Search of La CheMark D. FergusonJohn TavishFirst Leading Role
Fate WaitsBen MacgregorMark Syllka
Got ItDean HowardBig Al
SnaggedMark BrownZiggy
2012IustitiaDave CraigIustitia Omnibus
ViolationPeter Hardy / Charlie ParkerCommander Grier
DustPaul MacAdamThommo
LoanRuahdri HunterGerry
The Priest with Two GunsRodney ReynoldsFather O'Reilly
The Greyness of AutumnChris QuickDanny McGuireVoice
2013Starred UpDavid MackenzieOfficer White
Jab, Cross, HookShaun SuttonTam McLean
UnsuitableNaomi PhillipsJimmy
Fleshmarket CloseEve LeonardDuncan
2014Glory HunterCraig MaclachlanJerry Gallagher
MitchumJemma SutherlandDetective Inspector MitchumTV pilot
K'NibbleAndrew DobbieGregg McLaren
FrankLuke AherneJimWeb Series
Con Laura BriggsTom
Tanner ParkIan HendryIggy
Two Smoking BarrelsAsib AkramFrank Vincent
A Quiet DayMartin HeronJoe
2015Prescription RAndrew DobbieRobert "Boab" Baxter
FanaticLuke AherneMajor Doug Bormann
2016DirectionsOliver GreenallRobert
ID2: Shadwell ArmyJoel NovoaHunt
FluxAnthony ScottBoris
Essex SpacebinDavid HollinsheadGangster
The VictoriousChris AnsteyCaptain Bernard Gregory
Ground BelowToby SaundersMitch
2017Locked InPavel ShepanBrian
2018FrankLuke AherneJim
SyncedDevon AverySkin Head Colin
Outlaw KingDavid MackenzieBeaumont
Tomb RaiderRoar UthaugTerry
Wild is the NorthHayley McInlineWadard
2020Autumn Never DiesChris QuickDanny McGuire / The Chief
Jingle JangleDavid E. TalbertConstable Carruthers

Awards

Year Nominated Work Awards Category Result
2019 The Victorious I Am Film Festival[15] Best Showreel Scene Actor Nominated
2020 Autumn Never Dies Top Indie Film Awards Best Actor Nominated
US Hollywood International Golden Film Awards [16] Best Outstanding Actor Nominated

References

  1. Richard Bath (15 August 1999). "No mean street fighter". The Sunday Herald. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
  2. Jim McBeth (23 February 2004). "Battling Scot set to hang up his gloves". The Scotsman. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
  3. "Local Hero: From musician to kick boxer to . . . Hollywood actor? The fascinating journey of Duncan Airlie James". Heraldscotland.com. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  4. "Reviews". Filmthreat.com. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  5. "Cargo". Burninghorseshoe.co.uk. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  6. "Amsterdam Film Festival - Amsterdam Screenplay Contest - 2014 Winners". Amsterdamfilmfestival.com. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  7. "British Council Film: The Greyness of Autumn". Film.britishcouncil.org. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  8. "Puppet film's a festival hit". Evening Times. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  9. DISFMF Official Selection Archived 26 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "PORTOBELLO FREE FESTIVAL 2014" (PDF). Portobellofilmdfestival.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  11. Noir, John McArthurEditor-in-Chief at Moviescramble A. Fan of all things cinematic with a love of Film; Sci-Fi; day, Julia Roberts in Notting Hill He hopes to grow up some (25 July 2013). "The Greyness of Autumn". Moviescramble. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  12. "Nerdly » 'Starred Up' Review". nerdly.co.uk. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  13. MSN Starred Up Cast Archived 12 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  14. "British Academy Scotland Awards: Winners in 2014". Bafta.org. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  15. I Am Film Festival 2019 Results
  16. US Hollywood International Golden Film Awards 2020 Nominations
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