Years active 1996–2000 | Name Paul Terry Role Child actor | |
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Education Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School Movies James and the Giant Peach, Farmer Alfalfa: Classic Cartoons Known for | ||
Paul Christopher James Terry (born 7 November 1985) is an English former child actor. He is best known internationally for starring as James in the 1996 film adaptation of Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. He also starred in the four seasons of the children's sitcom Microsoap (1998–2000).
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Early life
Terry was born in and grew up in Hertfordshire, north of London, and persuaded his parents to let him attend acting classes when he was five years old. He made his stage debut the following year in a regional production of Turgenev's A Month in the Country. In 1994 his father heard about the auditions for a screen adaptation of Roald Dahl's popular children's novel James and the Giant Peach, and thought his son would be perfect: "Like James", he said, "Paul can act like a little boy lost."
Performing career
Director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) chose Terry out of hundreds of child actors to play the part of James in James and the Giant Peach. The role required live acting as well as animation voice-work and singing. The live-action sequences were filmed in San Francisco, and the shoot took six weeks. For his role in the film, which included singing one solo song and two ensembles on the soundtrack, Terry was nominated for a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Voiceover.
Terry later starred in the 26 episodes of the children's sitcom Microsoap, co-produced by the BBC and the Disney Channel, from September 1998 through February 2000. The program aired in the UK, in the U.S., and internationally. Terry gave up acting after the series ended.
In the 2000s he was the bass guitar player for the indie band Glassapple. The group gigged in the London area, toured in the U.S., and in 2005 released a 3-track EP.
Later career
Terry received a master's degree in civil engineering from Cardiff University, and his employment has included BAE Systems. As of 2014 he is a mathemathics teacher and aspiring novelist, and lives in County Durham in northeast England.