Theo James: Dauntlessly Divergent

By: Lynn Barker

Tall, dark and handsome Theo James might seem to have dropped into Hollywood out of nowhere but if you or your parents watch “Downton Abbey” on PBS TV, you probably can’t forget hot Mr. Pamuk who hooked up with Lady Mary…and died or if you are into the Underworld vampire vs. werewolves films, Theo was in one. If you are a fan of the “Divergent” novel, who cares?

Starting with this Friday when the film debuts, Theo will be known as Four, the sullen, handsome Dauntless Faction trainer who helps heroine Tris survive and excel as a warrior while falling in love with her.

At our Beverly Hills interview, Theo was fun, flirty, funny and yes, hot! Check it out.

Kidzworld: What about Shailene Woodley surprised you when you first met her then worked with her?

• Theo: It was very refreshing to meet her. You meet on the (chemistry read) test and you don’t know each other and it’s always slightly awkward if you are doing a kind of intimate scene with someone you’ve never set your eyes upon but she’s very open to really collaborating and making the scene as good as possible.

• And, I found when we were filming, you may be in the midst of a great stunt sequence or it’s a green screen and sometimes it’s easy to get lost in that. What she is great at and what we managed to do is really ground the work, bring it back to the fact that the reason you’re there is you’re trying to tell a story about two people or several people. I think she’s so great at that. She’s very emotionally intuitive in being able to bring a truth to something even in the craziest of circumstances.

Kidzworld: In the movie teens choose what they want to be. So what moment in your life did you choose to be an actor?

• Theo: I think it was always in my sphere. There was a point at university where I was doing a really bad version of Patrick Marber’s “Closer” and was on stage and there was a particular joke (that was well-received) and I remember thinking, “This is not only gratifying but there is something really exciting about this” and I thought if I could at least try to do this is a professional context, it could be fulfilling and exciting way to try and earn a living.

Kidzworld: Have you seen the finished Divergent movie and what did you think?

• Theo: I was very pleased when Shai and I saw the movie on Sunday. There’s always some trepidation when you see a film because you give it over, you finish with your job and we were really pleased at what came about. There’s no dumbing down, there’s no simplification and there are some really strong themes in it about questions of determinism, choice, identity; things that people can really relate to but also, things that are a bit deeper than the surface level.

Kidzworld: What was the scene you most wanted to get right?