James Freedson-Jackson was born in California, but has resided in the New York area for the majority of his life. His fascination with Michael Jackson began at a very young age, and he was practically moonwalking before he could walk. This early passion led him to the renowned Alvin Ailey School pre-professional program in New York, where he spent many years honing his skills as a dancer and actor.
One of the most exhilarating experiences of James' life was being handpicked by Bruno Mars to join him in opening the 2014 Super Bowl Halftime Show, as one of twelve kids who sang the beginning of 'Billionaire' in front of millions of viewers. The opportunity to meet Bruno Mars was an added bonus.
James made his film debut in 2015 in Jon Watts' critically acclaimed thriller Cop Car, co-starring with Kevin Bacon, for which he received a Saturn Award Nomination for "Best Performance by a Younger Actor". His subsequent starring role in The Strange Ones by Lauren Wolkstein and Christopher Radcliff, opposite Alex Pettyfer, earned him the 2017 SXSW Film Festival award for "Best Breakthrough Performance".
On television, James was seen in the Marvel/Netflix series Jessica Jones (Episodes 8 and 9) as Young Kilgrave: the adolescent precursor to David Tennant's arch villain, and was featured on NBC's The Blacklist (The Kenyon Family) as a young boy with a dark past. His most recent film, 18 to Party, by Jeff Roda, recently premiered at the Chelsea Film Festival, and is slated for wider release later this year.
On stage, James has played a hungry orphan in Oliver! at the Papermill Playhouse; Winthrop in The Music Man, and has lent his voice to a number of voice-overs.
Growing up backstage in the theatre, James' dad is a producer, and from an early age, James loved tagging along to rehearsals, watching the performers, and hanging around backstage. He learned to do magic tricks and some celebrity impersonations, and is quite skilled at both!
In his free time, James enjoys skiing, biking, hiking, and shooting baskets. He is also great with babies and animals, and has probably spent more time with his twin sister, Anita, than with anyone else.
