James Frain

James Frain is an English stage and screen actor. He is known for his role in the Showtime series "The Tudors," in which he appeared as Thomas Cromwell from 2007-09. Other starring roles include that of vampire Franklin Mott in season three of the HBO drama "True Blood," Chief Magistrate Gérard de Villefort in "The Count of Monte Cristo," Bassianus in "Titus" and Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, in the BBC drama serial "The White Queen."

Frain was born in Leeds and raised in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, the eldest of eight children of a teacher mother and a stockbroker father.

He was educated at Newport Free Grammar School, studied English, Film and Drama at the University of East Anglia and trained as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. While in his final year there, he made his film debut in "Shadowlands" after being spotted by Richard Attenborough. He was nominated for Best Actor at the 1995 Venice Film Festival for his performance as a Northern Irish terrorist in Thaddeus O'Sullivan's film, "Nothing Personal," and for Best Supporting Actor at the Genies in Toronto for his performance in István Szabó's "Sunshine."

He has been a regular on the stage in the United Kingdom, appearing with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal Court Theatre, as well as on the West End. He has also appeared on Broadway and was a recipient of the 2008 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performances along with the rest of the cast of "The Homecoming."

He has appeared in a number of television series, such as "Armadillo"; "24"; "Invasion"; and "The Closer." His more recent roles include Thomas Cromwell in Showtime's "The Tudors"; the villainous billionaire 'Chess' in the NBC superhero/crime drama series "The Cape"; heroic Templar Sir Gregory in the Syfy original film "Dark Relic"; and vampire Franklin Mott in the HBO drama series "True Blood." In season 2 of "Grimm," Frain joined the cast as a mysterious recurring character named Eric Renard.