James Swanton

Acting

James Swanton

Born 1991-01-15 · 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.

Acting credits

Tarot poster
6.3

When a group of friends recklessly violate the sacred rule of Tarot readings, they unknowingly unleash an unspeakable evil trapped within the cursed cards. One by one, they come face to face with fate and end up in a race against death.

Tarot

2024

The First Omen poster
6.8

When a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.

The First Omen

2024

Host poster
6.6

Six friends hire a medium to hold a séance via Zoom during lockdown — but they get far more than they bargained for as things quickly go wrong. When an evil spirit starts invading their homes, they begin to realise they might not survive the night.

Host

2020

Apartment 7A poster
6.1

A struggling young dancer finds herself drawn in by dark forces when a peculiar, well-connected older couple promise her a shot at fame.

Apartment 7A

2024

Stopmotion poster
6.1

Ella Blake, a stop-motion animator struggling to control her demons after the loss of her overbearing mother, embarks upon the creation of a film that becomes the battleground for her sanity. As Ella’s mind starts to fracture, the characters in her project take on a life of their own.

Stopmotion

2024

The Jack in the Box: Awakening poster
6.2

When a vintage Jack-in-the-box is opened by a dying woman, she enters into a deal with the demon within that would see her illness cured in return for helping it claim six innocent victims.

The Jack in the Box: Awakening

2022

The Banishing poster
5.1

In the 1930s, a young reverend and his family are forced to confront their worst fears when they discover their new home holds a horrifying secret.

The Banishing

2021

Broadcast Signal Intrusion poster
5.5

In the late 90s, a video archivist unearths a series of sinister pirate broadcasts and becomes obsessed with uncovering the dark conspiracy behind them.

Broadcast Signal Intrusion

2021

Vampire Virus poster
4.9

A young woman contracts a deadly virus after an unusual sexual encounter, and soon develops a taste for human blood.

Vampire Virus

2020

Black Mass poster
NR

The story of a bereaved family, a father and his two adopted daughters, as they try to come to terms with the loss of their mother, all while haunted by a demonic presence known as Darkness.

Black Mass

2019

The Haunting of the Tower of London poster
5.8

The Two Princes, imprisoned and allegedly murdered in the Bloody Tower within the Tower Of London by Richard III. The story tells how they allegedly came back to haunt the Tower and with guards and inmates starting to die in horrible circumstances, it becomes clear the Two Princes are out for revenge. A chilling ghost story based on the famous mystery.

The Haunting of the Tower of London

2022

A Werewolf in England poster
5.7

In Victorian-Era England, a Parish Councillor and criminal take refuge from a storm, at a remote countryside Inn. Forced to stay the night, they soon uncover a deadly pact between the strange Innkeepers and the flesh-hungry werewolves that inhabit the surrounding woodlands... now, as the werewolves close in, the guests must band together and fight tooth and nail to survive the night!

A Werewolf in England

2020

Underground poster
3.0

After a wild bachelorette party, a group of young women find themselves trapped in an underground bunker complex. A disturbing finding turns their night into an absolute nightmare. Will they be able to escape from this vast concrete maze?

Underground

2023

Werewolf Castle poster
5.0

When a pack of werewolves attack a medieval village, Thorfinn, whose lover perished in the attack, joins knights Thomas, Osmund, Hamelin, and Hal Skullsplitter as they lead the fight back against the vicious lycanthropes.

Werewolf Castle

2022

Dashcam poster
4.8

At the start of the pandemic, an indulgent and self-deluded livestreaming improv musician abandons L.A. for London, steals her ex-bandmate's car, and makes the fateful decision to give a ride to an elderly woman who is not what she seems.

Dashcam

2022

Double Date poster
5.4

Meet innocent Jim, terrified of girls, and on a reluctant quest to prove his manhood the night before he turns 30. He and his cocky friend Alex think they’ve hit the jackpot when they meet the beautiful siblings Kitty and Lulu, who seem up for anything on a wild party-fuelled night. But little do they know that the femmes fatales want to make Jim lose much more than just his virginity… Getting laid has never been so bloody difficult.

Double Date

2017

A Ghost Story for Christmas: Lot No. 249 poster
5.9

It’s 1881, and Old College, Oxford plays host to three very different academics. Abercrombie Smith is a model of Victorian manhood, clean of limb and sound of mind. Monkhouse Lee is a delicate and unworldly student from Thailand. And occupying the rooms between them is the strange and exotic Edward Bellingham, whose unnatural researches into the secrets of ancient Egypt are the talk of the college. Can Bellingham’s experiments truly bring the breath of life to the horrifying bag of bones that is the mysterious Lot No 249?

A Ghost Story for Christmas: Lot No. 249

2023

Salt poster
6.1

Each night, a mother must defend her sickly daughter from a demonic force. Her only weapon: a circle of salt.

Salt

2018

The Severed Sun poster
6.1

Magpie lives in an isolated church community ruled over by her father, The Pastor. When a man is murdered, paranoia sets in and people start to whisper about a strange 'Beast' that lives in the forest.

The Severed Sun

2025

Walking Against the Rain poster
3.9

Two strangers, Blair and Tommy, are navigating their way across a barren landscape in a desperate attempt to find each other. With their only form of communication being two soon-to-die battery operated radio mics and with a new evil in the shape of 'The Forsaken' tracking them down, they must learn to confront loss and rediscover a trust in humanity.

Walking Against the Rain

2022

The Fairy Moon poster
5.0

In a small English town, a man’s life unravels after a troubling roadside encounter with a sinister stranger.

The Fairy Moon

2025

A Little More Flesh poster
4.0

Stanley Durall, the notorious director of a series of intense erotic dramas, is returning to his debut movie, God’s Lonely Woman, to provide an audio commentary for the film’s first Blu-ray release since it was banned in the 1970s. It’s clear from his commentary that Stanley committed a series of transgressions against his lead actresses during production, transgressions which had serious consequences for everyone involved – everyone except him. But will he finally be punished for his past behaviour?

A Little More Flesh

2020

The Thing That Ate the Birds poster
6.5

On the North Yorkshire Moors, Abel, Head Gamekeeper, discovers the thing that is eating his grouse.

The Thing That Ate the Birds

2021

Irving Undead poster
2.0

Henry Irving is dead. Join Irving’s restless spirit as he tells the story of how he transformed himself from a stuttering, spindly country boy into the most formidable actor of the nineteenth century. It is a story of a man who petrified London with his Gothic portrayals of mad monarchs, guilt-stricken murderers and the devil himself. A story of a man who could never escape his monsters – even in death. A filmed version of the live one-man stage play by James Swanton.

Irving Undead

2021

Behind the camera