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James Laurenson is a New Zealand born stage and screen actor.
Laurenson was born in Marton, North Island, New Zealand. He moved to the UK in the 1960s and made his film debut in 1969 with a small part in Women in Love, although he also had an uncredited part in The Magic Christian.
He has appeared in numerous British Shakespearean productions, notably Richard II, as Rosencrantz in Hamlet, and on radio in the marathon series, Vivat Rex. He also appeared as Piers Gaveston in the 1970 production of Christopher Marlowe's Edward II, opposite Ian McKellen who later recalled that kissing Laurenson "was a bonus throughout the run". Other costume roles included a French courtier in Elizabeth R and the Earl of Lincoln in Shadow of the Tower. In the same year, he took on a more modern role starring as Det. Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte in the Australian TV drama series Boney, playing a half-Aboriginal detective. This would be his most high-profile part, although the casting of a non-Aboriginal in the role was attacked by some Australian critics. In 1974 he took the lead role in the TV film The Prison, based on the novel by Georges Simenon, the first instalment in the Thames Television/Euston Films spin-off of Armchair Theatre, entitled Armchair Cinema. He also starred as Pink's Father in the 1982 film, Pink Floyd—The Wall.
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