And if he wasn’t already, then he soon will be, as the veteran is packing in new projects at an astonishing rate.
He’s back on our screens next Saturday in a new BBC three-part comedy thriller called Stag.
And it’s just one of a raft of shows that James, now 67, will be seen in as producers beat a path to his door.
“I’m busier than ever, it’s just non-stop,” admits James as iN10 catches up with him.
“I’m happy to say that and very privileged that’s the case. If you’re truly an actor it’s part of your personality as well as your employment.
“The more you do it the more you love it so why would you want to stop?
“If you’re lucky enough to be in demand it’s a wonderful thing.
“You can have the busiest year and then the quietest – it’s in the hands of fate.
“You just keep your fingers crossed and hope people don’t get fed up looking at your ugly face.”
Among James’s many forthcoming works is major ITV six-part drama The Durrells, starring Keeley Hawes and based on Gerald Durrell’s My Life And Other Animals.
He also has high hopes for ambitious BBC series SS-GB about a wartime murder investigation conducted in a German-occupied Britain.
“I’ve just finished that and it’s terrific,” confides James, who has two boys, Findlay and Ethan, with wife Annie.
“It’s from an old Len Deighton novel and I’m sure it’s going to be a real hit.
“Now I’m just starting a new job for Amazon about a French fashion house in the 1940s that’s going to keep me going for the next four months.”
More imminent, of course, is Stag, which was created by Jim Field Smith who directed James Corden’s The Wrong Mans.
Jim Howick plays a timid school teacher who joins future brother-in-law Stephen Campbell Moore and other obnoxious friends on a deer stalking expedition in the Highlands.
“I think Jim got the idea from a documentary about some ghastly men who went out shooting,” explains James.
“They seemed such unpleasant people.
“They had so much money and so little connection with the rest of society.
“What Jim has come up with is a wonderfully dark comedy – honestly, you think, ‘How dark is this going to get?’”
James plays the head stalker they employ to take them out and who makes no secret of his dislike of them.
“Things soon spiral into some dreadful happenings,” teases James with a smile.
Although events are meant to take place in the Highlands, filming was actually more around Loch Lomond and the Trossachs.
Having grown up in Clydebank, on the outskirts of Glasgow, it wasn’t too far from his childhood haunts.
“The Kilpatrick Hills were just behind me and the River Leven wasn’t far.
“When I was a youngster all my spare time was spent fishing.
“I was very at home in the countryside so I enjoyed getting out and about for Stag.
“Living down south, I don’t get back to Scotland as much as I’d like but I always hope for things that let me get up to see my pals.”
James admits part of his later-life flurry of work is as a result of his appearances in Game Of Thrones.
His role as Jeor Mormont brought his craggy features to a new, global audience.
Filming took him to the wilds of Iceland and, when it hit screens, he discovered the devotion of fans knows no bounds.
“Being in something like Game Of Thrones makes you much more of a go-to guy,” adds James, whose impressive CV includes big movies Highlander, Braveheart, Troy and Trainspotting.
“I did find the fans were so fervent. I met people who knew everything – absolutely everything.
“It was extraordinary. I have no idea where they found the time to learn it all.”
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