Biography

May 1, 1978 · New York City, New York, USA

James Badgett Dale

1.78 m

I come from a family of actors. My mother was an actress and dancer on Broadway and my father was an actor and dancer on Broadway before going into choreography. I grew up in a crazy, gypsy-like household of actors, dancers and loony Broadway people. It was their way of life and I didn't know anything else.

[on acting in 'The Lord of the Flies' as a child] It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. But I eventually noticed how it started to feel like work. When you're eleven years old, you don't want to show up for work. [After it was over] Of course kids teased me. I was running around in my underwear. Kids will tease you for just about anything. It was the perfect setup. What I found is that - this holds true today - people know you from your work and they have an immediate reaction, good or bad. What I found most uncomfortable was that people who I didn't personally know, somehow thought they knew me. It felt so wrong. It's one of the big reasons why I shied away from acting when I was younger.

The biggest regret I have about 'Rubicon' is that we didn't end it. Sometimes you do these shows and you don't have the opportunity to get closure. Stories are supposed to have a beginning, middle and an end. A number of my friends are on successful TV shows that run year after year and we always have this conversation. You get unto the second year and it's like 'I'm doing the same material over and over'. They may be millionaires living up in the Hollywood Hills, but you know they're going absolutely crazy. Actors get lost because of that.

[on working with Michael Fassbender in 'Shame'] Michael is one of the most focused, consistent and present actors out there. He's remarkable. Actors that emerge from the English drama system have a different work ethic. They're 'steady'. It was a little daunting because I play the obnoxious guy to Michael's quiet guy. I spent a lot of time trying to make him laugh during the shoot, and I got him to laugh once. It only took me four weeks.