Education
He went into drama at Queens" College, Cambridge, where he studied English.
He went into drama at Queens" College, Cambridge, where he studied English.
Northcote, born in London,was brought up and went to school in the West Country. At University he appeared with the Cambridge Footlights notably as the evil Nalu in the 2009 Pantomime Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and the Marlowe Society as Mercutio in a production of Romeo and Juliet. At the Edinburgh Fringe he played Toad in Wind in the Willows winning an Edinburgh NSDF CommendationEmerging Artists Award.
He made his professional debut as Edgar Linton in Wuthering Heights directed by Andrea Arnold.
His theatre work includes appearing in the Trevor Nunn production of Rosencratz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard and The Resistible rise of Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht at Chichester Festival. Recent stage roles are as Caleb in the United Kingdom premier of The Whipping Manitoba under the direction of Tom Attenborough at the Theatre Royal Plymouth and as Mr Darcy in the Crucible Theatre Sheffield production of Pride and Prejudice, Millais in Lizzie Siddal at the Arcola and Yolland in the highly successful production of Translations by Brian Friel with the English Touring Theatre.
James appears in Lars von Trier controversial film Nymphomaniac and as Mr Vaughan in Belle. Northcote appeared in The Imitation Game as mathematician Jack Good, with Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing and Keira Knightley as Joan Clarke.
James will be appearing as the lead in a new French film The Open directed by Marc Lehore.
He has recently been attached to a film of the life of Benjamin Britten to play Britten called Tell me the Truth About Love (2014) about the early years of Britten and Peers, directed by Margaret Williams. As a Producer he has completed a short film "Morning is Broken" which was selected at British Institute Flare in 2015 and subsequently was used in the global Five s 4 Freedom Campaign with the British Council.
As a member of the National Youth Theatre, playing celebrity chef Alexis Soyer in their 2010 production of Relish, about the life of Soyer under the direction of Paul Roseby.