Nicholas James
Born
Greenville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materPenn State Behrend College
Occupations
  • Actor
  • model
Years active2006–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2022)​
Children1

Nicholas James Muscarella (born December 1, 1982), known professionally as Nicholas James and additionally variously credited as Nick James or Nicholas J. Muscarella, is an American actor. James is known for his recurring role, since 2016, as Officer Justin Lewis in the television series The Haves and the Have Nots, as well as for appearances in Prom Night (2008) and NCIS: New Orleans (2014). His earliest credited film appearance was in Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds in 2006.

James has appeared in television commercials for Grupo Modelo (in 2016) and Walmart (in 2014).[1] Outside of acting, James has also worked as a model.[2]

Early career

Nicholas James's initial interest in performing was directed at comedic rather than dramatic roles, particularly sketch comedy in the style of Saturday Night Live.[3] In Los Angeles, he studied acting under the tutelage of various renowned figures, including legendary acting coach Vincent Chase (for whom the eponymous fictional character on the TV series Entourage was named).[3][4] Actor Shia LaBeouf was among his classmates.[4] Later, he attended classes at Upright Citizen's Brigade, thus returning to his earlier interest in improvisational and sketch comedy.[3]

James dropped his surname to form his stage name because, in his own words, “I don't look too Italian and people trip over that name all the time.”[4] His original surname Muscarella has however appeared as part of one of three variations of his name in film and television credits.

Personal life

Nicholas James is originally from Greenville, Pennsylvania, the son of Gregory and Vicki Muscarella; he has an older brother named Michael. He attended Reynolds Junior – Senior High School, and later Penn State Behrend College, studying management and marketing before leaving for Hollywood, where he arrived with just $200 and did bottle service at a bar while pursuing acting.[4] He currently resides in Los Angeles.

James is vocal on political issues via Twitter, and maintains an Instagram account. His interests include the extreme sports skydiving and surfing as well as standup paddleboarding, snorkelling, hiking, animals and exotic teas.[2][3][5]

James has been in a relationship with his Haves and the Have Nots co-star Tika Sumpter, since at least 2016. He is reported to be two years her junior, making him 36 in 2018.[6] Their daughter, Ella-Loren, was born October 8, 2016.[7] Despite numerous press outlets stating that James was the father, Sumpter did not confirm his paternity, then she revealed only his first name when announcing that they had become engaged on Christmas Day of 2016.[8][9]

Filmography

note: credited as Nicholas James, except where indicated

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds Surfer Guy
2008 Prom Night Denny Harper as Nick James
2009 Fired Up! Chester
2011 Snack Off Donny Short film
2011 Chinese Takeout Buck Crow Short film, as Nick James
2012 Genre This Joe Spudds Short film
2017 Self Esteem Torb Burchley Short film
2017 Chaser Shane Short film

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2010 The Client List Television film
2011 NCIS Navy Seaman Derek Balfour TV series, "Two-Faced" (season 8, episode 20)
2011 Napoleon Bon Appétit Tex TV series, "Barbeque Spare Ribs" (season 2, episode 5)
2012 Jane by Design Adam 2 TV series, "The Wedding Gown" (season 1, episode 8)
2012 Hollywood Heights Guest Star TV series, "The Incriminating Photo" (season 1, episode 12)
2013 The Client List Hot wedding guest TV series, "When I Say Do" (season 2, episode 12)
2014 Revenge Mark Keller TV series, "Renaissance" (season 4, episode 1)
2014 NCIS: New Orleans Navy Lieutenant Lewis Collier TV series, "Carrier" (season 1, episode 2)
2016–2021 The Haves and the Have Nots Officer Justin Lewis Series regular, sometimes credited as Nicholas J. Muscarella

References

  1. ↑ "Nicholas James TV Commercials". iSpot.tv. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  2. 1 2 Shropshire, Terry (2016-09-13). "Meet the father of Tika Sumpter's unborn child(unconfirmed by Tika)". Atlanta Daily World. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Staff writers. "Cast: Nicholas James". Oprah.com. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Anderson, Courtney (2008-05-14). "Big Screen Arrival". The Herald. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  5. ↑ Kwarteng-Clark, Danielle (2017-06-21). "Everything We Know About Tika Sumpter's Fiancé, Nick James". Essence. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  6. ↑ "Breakin' Baby News! Actress Tika Sumpter's Child's Father Is Closer Than We Think. Which Have And The Have Nots Hunk Is The Happy Pappy?". Yallknowwhat.com. 2016-09-24. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  7. ↑ Staff writers (2016-11-16). "Tika Sumpter Offers First Glimpse of Newborn Daughter Ella-Loren". EURweb.com. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  8. ↑ Karki, Ashmita (2017-02-28). "Actress Tika Sumpter engaged to Nicholas James on January. What about their Wedding Plan". Frostsnow.com. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  9. ↑ Minnicks, Margaret (2017-01-25). "The Haves and the Have Nots' star Tika Sumpter announces engagement". BlastingNews.com. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
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