Rob James-Collier Biography

Robert James-Collier (born 23 September 1976) is a British actor and model. He is known for his roles as Thomas Barrow in Downton Abbey and as Liam Connor in Coronation Street.

Background

James-Collier was born in Salford, Greater Manchester, as Robert Collier, but changed his name to Robert James-Collier to comply with the rules of Equity. He went to St Patrick's school in Eccles, Greater Manchester.

James-Collier has two degrees; he studied business at the University of Huddersfield and marketing at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.

Career

Acting

Having no experience as an actor, James-Collier auditioned for the series Down to Earth. Stars Ricky Tomlinson and Denise Welch were convinced by his talent, and he got the part of the womanising pub landlord. In 2006 he appeared in New Street Law and played a small part as Stud in Shameless series 3, episode 5 under the name of Rob Collier.

In 2006 he joined Coronation Street as one of the brothers buying a share of the local underwear factory. He left the show in October 2008. In an interview in early 2008, James-Collier announced he was leaving the soap but was planning to come back in the future. However, in June 2008, it was reported that the character of Liam was set to be 'brutally' killed off in the soap as part of a murder-mystery plotline where three well known residents would fall under suspicion for the crime. One of these would be Tony Gordon played by Gray O'Brien, who was in a relationship with Carla Connor played by Alison King in the show.

Since leaving Coronation Street, James-Collier has had a leading role as under butler (formerly first footman) Thomas Barrow in Downton Abbey, featuring from the first episode in 2010 onwards, and has appeared in the West End stage version of Calendar Girls.

Modelling

James-Collier modelled for Argos, where he appeared in the Autumn/Winter 2007 and Spring/Summer 2008 catalogues.

He won the Sexiest Male award at the 2007 and 2008 British Soap Awards in addition to "Best Exit" at the 2009 British Soap Awards. He won Sexiest Male and Best Newcomer at the 2007 Inside Soap Awards.

Personal life

James-Collier and Lauren Chandiram have a son who was born in 2010.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2005	Perfect Day	Alex	TV movie
2005	Down to Earth	Nicky Christy	TV series (Series 5)
2006	Shameless	Stud	TV series (1 episode: "Episode #3.5")
2006	Casualty	Martin Stonewall	TV series (1 episode: "Secrets and Lies")
2006	Dalziel and Pascoe	Simon Thewlis	TV series (1 episode: "The Cave Woman: Part 2")
2006-2008	Coronation Street	Liam Connor	TV series (330 episodes: 2006-2008) Won - Best Exit - British Soap Awards Won - Sexiest Male (2008) - Inside Soap Awards Won - Sexiest Male (2007) - Inside Soap Awards
2010-2015	Downton Abbey	Thomas Barrow	TV series Won - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2012 -2014)
2011	Mercenaries	Callum	Film
2011	Moving On	Clive	TV series (1 episode: "The Milkman")
2012	Love Life	Joe	TV series
2013	Moving On	Aiden Evans	TV series (1 episode: "Visiting Order")