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James Swanton

James Swanton

Actor, also writer · Born January 15, 1991 (35) · York, North Yorkshire, England, UK

James Swanton is best known for otherworldly characters. He fathered the Antichrist as both Satan in Apartment 7A (2024) and the Jackal in The First Omen (2024), as well as appearing as the Magician in Tarot (2024), the Ash Man in Stopmotion (2023), the Spirit in Host (2020) and the Creature in Frankenstein's Creature (2018). He also played the title roles in two BBC chillers: Lot No. 249 (2023), Mark Gatiss's Ghost Story for Christmas, and The Curse of the Ninth (2024) in the final series of Inside No. 9 (2014). As a stage actor, James has been closely associated with Dickens. He took his acclaimed one-man play "Sikes & Nancy" to the West End's Trafalgar Studios and annually performs "A Christmas Carol" (amongst other ghost stories) at London's Charles Dickens Museum.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 15, 1991 (35)
From
York, North Yorkshire, England, UK
Works as
Actor, also writer
Titles
18 on MovieCove · 31 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 37% in 30 days

What are James Swanton's films like?

Across their 13 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Society.

Genres

Horror6 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 9th percentile
: browse their Horror movies
Drama2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 42nd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Survival
35%
Society
18%
Self
17%
Morality
16%
Power
7%
Bonds
6%
Ideas
2%
Survival7 titles, browse their movies with this themeIsolation3 titles, browse their movies with this themeOppression2 titles, browse their movies with this themeObsession2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 12 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 8

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 7 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 1

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 1 · Charged 5 · Intense 6

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 6 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 2

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 10 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 6 · Relentless 1

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

A split, not a type: Casual 4 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 5

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 6 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 2

Roles they play

8 analyzed roles

Usually the Shadow: 7 of 8 analyzed roles.

Shadow
7 of 8
Hero
1 of 8
Show the 8 roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
13
Dread
10
Melancholic
4
Contemplative
4
Bittersweet
3
Other
6

How their films linger

Unsettling12 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 5 with a twist

  • Bittersweet3
  • Tragic3
  • Ambiguous7

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch James Swanton's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 17 of their 18 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (10).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for James Swanton's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

31 credits, 18 with a MovieCove page.

  • The Fairy Moon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    as Syd

  • The Severed Sun(2024)

    as The Beast

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films

  • Apartment 7A(2024)

    as Satan

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Tarot(2024)

    as The Hermit / The Magician

    Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films

  • The First Omen(2024)

    as Jackal Performer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Stopmotion(2023)

    as Ash Man

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • A Ghost Story for Christmas: Lot No. 249 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    as The Mummy

  • The Dead of Winter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    as The Figure

  • Underground (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    as Jedrek / Demon

  • To Fire You Come at Last (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    as Ransley

  • The Haunted Season(2023)

    Show as Ransley

    Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • Stop Dead (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    as The Still Man

  • Walking Against the Rain(2022)

    as The Forsaken

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • The Haunting of the Tower of London(2022)

    as Solomon

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Dashcam(2021)

    as The Parasite

    Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films

  • The Jack in the Box: Awakening(2022)

    as Jack

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films

  • Werewolf Castle(2021)

    as Councillor

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • Irving Undead (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Director · Writer · as Henry Irving

  • Broadcast Signal Intrusion(2021)

    as Sal-E Sparx

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films

  • The Banishing(2020)

    as Monk

    Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all films

  • The Thing That Ate the Birds (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    as The Thing That Ate the Birds

  • A Werewolf in England(2020)

    as Willie

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films

  • Host(2020)

    as The Spirit

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Vampire Virus(2020)

    as Father

    Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all films

  • A Little More Flesh (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    as Stanley Durall

  • Black Mass (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    as Darkness

  • Frankenstein's Creature(2018)

    Writer · as The Creature

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Salt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    as Demon

  • Double Date (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    as Daddy

  • Inside No. 9(2014)

    Show 1 episode · as The Curse

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows

  • A Ghost Story for Christmas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

    Show 1 episode · as The Mummy

Career shape

Star power in the 91st percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 30 titles from 1971 to 2025; peak year 2021.

Biggest box office

The Jack in the Box: Awakening (2022)

$1.1M worldwide

Highest rated

Host (2020)

Midcredits 64th

Film career

19712025

Peak 2021 · at the high point of their film career. Top draw in 1 MovieCove title. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting30 of 30: 28 only acting, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score33rdDirecting1 of 30: 0 only directing, 1 with another roleWriting2 of 30: 0 only writing, 2 with another role

By decade

1970s1 · acting2010s5 · 5 acting · 1 crew2020s24 · 24 acting · 1 crew

Billing

usually 9th · top billed in 0% of 11 roles
1722

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.

How do James Swanton's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 33rd percentile, the median of all 16; across their 12 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 15th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

15thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Approval · how many liked their films

28thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Reach · how many have seen their films

75thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Midcredits score across 18 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up1
  • 50th to 74th2
  • 25th to 49th8
  • Below 25th7

Shape of the crowd

12 of their 18 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Cult Classic2
  • Crowd Pleaser2
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed12

Most divisive · actor, writer

Frankenstein's Creature (2018)

89th percentile spread · 38% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

The First Omen (2024)

Midcredits 65th · 55% liked

Reviewers score the acting 49/100 in their films, across 11 reviewed titles; fans 71, detractors 30. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is James Swanton's work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, 1 of the 5 categories sits near the median of all films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore3 titlesmedian 91 · severeMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity5 titles10–36 · median 31 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity3 titlesmedian 63 · intenseMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 37 · moderateMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 85 · severeMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does James Swanton work with?

People who share at least 2 of James Swanton's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Charlie Steeds shares the most, 4.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles