- Born
- Birth nameJames Elden Smith
- Height6′ (1.83 m)
- James was born in Canton, Ohio. From an early age, James found great interest in acting for theater. While attending High School, James was cast in the play "I saved a Winter Just For You" and was subsequently awarded the prestigious Outstanding Actor in a Comedy/ Drama award from the Players Guild for his performance. Before joining the Army, James received rave reviews as 'Charlie' in "What I Did Last Summer" for the Carnation City Players. While stationed in Bamberg, Germany, James continued his theater work as time permitted. He acted in many theater productions both on the military base and off. Some of those include "Deathtrap", "Dracula - The Musical", and playing the Narrator in Stravinsky's "A Soldiers Tale" at the Bamberg Stadt Theater. Upon his return to the states after his enlistment ended, James answered an ad in his hometown paper seeking an actor for a local independent film. James was cast in the role of 'Ross' in the award winning film "9 Days' Wonder". This film was awarded best picture at the Cleveland International Film Festival, and though there was no category for Best Actor, James received an honorable mention for his work in this film. Acting in a string of TV commercials and short and feature length experimental and independent films followed including the award-winning "The Blessing of Prometheus", "Without Warning", and the well received "Nocturne". After landing a duel role in the Hollywood production of "The Oh In Ohio" starring Parker Posie, Mischa Barton, and Paul Rudd, James moved to L.A. to take his acting and film production work to a new level. Upon his arrival in L.A., James began working behind the scenes in many productions to network and to make ends meet. This new environment opened up many doors for him. James worked as a Grip and Lighting tech on many productions while writing feature and short length scripts for his newly formed production company, Bomber Films. James continues acting, producing, and directing both with his own company and with other indi filmmakers. His short action film "Crack" and his experimental music video "William Shatner" for the band 'Legs on Sale' are some of his early L.A. works.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Ali Ashcraft www.bomberfilms.com
- SpouseAlison Ashcraft(November 20, 2004 - June 2013) (divorced)
- Desperate to gain work when he first arrived in Hollywood, he would don his equipment belt, sneak onto numerous movie sets, and quickly blend in with the crew to gain employment.
- Speaks fluent German.
- While working as a crew member on Randy Travis' film "The Wager", James volunteered to jump into the swimming pool because a stunt man refused to. The reason; the pool was located on a filming property and had not been cleaned in two years! It was so dirty, you could not see the bottom. The sun was setting and the crew needed to film the final scene before dark to 'get the shot'. James had a talk with the director, stripped to his underwear, and went for it. The crew loved it!.
- His 'Queso Chip Dip' is the stuff of legends. It's so popular at dinner parties that guests have been known to take home the actual dinner in to-go bags after hovering over the appetizer. The recipe is, of course, a secret.
- He wrote, produced, and directed a music video for the L.A. band 'Legs on Sale' for the song "William Shatner". The action takes place on board a space ship and a barren planetoid. The scenes were filmed on a space ship set in Burbank, and the Mojave desert.
- You can spend $100,000 and go into massive debt at a film school so you can come to Hollywood and start from scratch. To me that's a total waste of time. Or, you can come to Hollywood, do as your told, get your hands dirty, and learn by example. As long as you don't act like you know everything, you'll save a hell of a lot of money in the process.
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