Robert Brown|'A lot of fun with being diabolical': Theo James on new Netflix series 'The Gentlemen'

Licentious business bro Cameron Sullivan may have Robert Brownchecked out of “The White Lotus,” but Theo James has no plans to depart his villain era.

“You can have a lot of fun with being diabolical,” the 39-year-old British actor says. “I think the idea of making the audience despise you is a different challenge, and also the best stories are the ones which skirt the bounds of morality – what is good and what is bad? Who is selfish and who is selfless? They're the most interesting narrative tales.”

For James’ first role since frenemy Cam, who isn't afraid to hit on your wife, James traded sipping spritzes in Italy for "standing in a freezing car park in February outside north London" to star in Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series, “The Gentlemen.” The spinoff of Ritchie's2019 movie features a new set of characters. “We're not going to see Matthew McConaughey, as much as I would have liked to have seen his sweet face,” James quips dryly.

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In the series, James portrays British army captain Eddie Horniman, who's heir to his father’s Duke of Halstead title and estate, much to the chagrin of his too-reckless-to-function older brother, Freddy (Daniel Ings). Eddie soon discovers his family home also serves as a grow house for a cannabis empire run by the imprisoned Bobby Glass (Ray Winstone) and his daughter Susie (Kaya Scodelario), who oversees operations.

“Sometimes in business you have to be tough, you have to do certain things that (aren’t) right to survive,” Winstone says of his cutthroat character. “What (Bobby) does, he does for his family.”

Desperate to sever ties with the Glasses and their illicit enterprise, Eddie shucks his moral compass and assists the kingpins with their crimes.

“Susie sees quite early on that (Eddie’s) got the guts for it,” says Scodelario. “She recognizes that, as a soldier and as an heir to an insane fortune, he's just as much of a gangster as she is.”

There’s an undeniable allure to the criminal underworld that Eddie can’t shake. “He becomes addicted to the power and addicted to what that causes in him,” James says, “even though he's kidding himself that he's still doing it for his family.”

There are similarities to “Breaking Bad,” when Bryan Cranston's Walter White admits in the series finale that he became a meth kingpin not selflessly for his family, but selfishly for himself. “The idea of a moral man being slowly corrupted by power has its parallels," James acknowledges. "What is different for this show and for Guy is you're melding the idea of hyper-privilege aristocracy in Britain.”

Up next, James will tackle “The Monkey,” which he describes as an “elevated horror film,” inspired by Stephen King’s 1980 short story about a toy monkey who can send someone to their death with the clap of its cymbals.

“Oz Perkins, who's a friend and a great horror director, is directing,” James says, “And I'm kind of excited about it.”

And just like Eddie, Duke of hashish, it’s a life that looks completely different than James' that appeals to the father of two. The actor seeks a future with a dimmer spotlight, one that involves more opportunities behind the camera. (James served as an executive producer on Netflix’s 2022 docuseries “Pepsi, Where’s My Jet,” as well as “The Desperate Hour” and PBS' “Sanditon.”)

“I'm quite a private person, and sometimes I think in the future I'd like to kind of gently step into the shadows and maybe live a different life,” he says. “There's an element of hustle that goes with being an actor … but I feel like when I'm old, grey and hobbling on one leg, I won't have the energy for that. So I'd prefer to be behind the scenes in that way.

“I'm lucky,” he adds. “I get to lead a life that isn't really affected by (fame) hugely, but I think for people who are incredibly famous, should we say, it can be very restrictive on their lives, and it can be very restrictive on their families.”

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