The Gentlemen fans just found out Theo James’ real name and everyone is shook

‘Thassa Greek king right there’

8 months ago

Understandably everybody who’s binge-watched Netflix’s The Gentlemen over the weekend is totally obsessed with Theo James right now. And, while viewers have been Googling more details about the actor’s life, they’ve come across his real name— and it’s super long.

Yup, Theo James is actually a stage name, which he’s been using since he started his career almost 20 years ago. But Theo James was actually born Theodore Peter James Kinnaird Taptiklis. “Thassa Greek king right there,” one fan reacted on Twitter/X.

Theo’s father, Philip Taptiklis has Greek heritage. However, his mother, Jane Martin, is Scottish. Hence the Kinnaird/Taptiklis combo. “James is my middle name and I use that and in a funny way, I kind of regret it,” Theo previously said in an interview on Live With Kelly and Ryan about his decision to take a stage name.

“When I first started as an actor, it was 15 years ago, and I remember an agent saying: ‘Taptiklis, too Greek. Go with James,'” he added.

Theo was born just outside of London in High Wycombe but was raised in Askett in Buckinghamshire and attended Aylesbury Grammar School before studying Philosophy at Nottingham University and subsequently training in acting at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in south west London and now lives with his wife Ruth Kearney in north London.

Writing for GQ about his family history, Theo revealed: “I was searching through some of my possessions, long forgotten, and found a picture of my Grandfather, Nikos. He was Greek and served in the British Navy during the Second World War. But in 1941 as a young doctor in training, he was forced to flee the Nazis as they swept through Greece and took Athens.