Game of Thrones Actor Marcos James Lands Leading Roles in Two Upcoming Television Productions

New York, New York - Actor Marcos James, best known as White Rat in HBO’s Emmy Award winning series Game of Thrones, has landed leading roles in two forthcoming television projects helmed by industry acclaimed directors.

Actor Marcos James (PHOTO CREDIT- JOHN GORE)The Jamaican born James will play the pivotal role of fictional religious minister and book author ‘Pastor Mac’ Smith-Cage in  the eagerly anticipated docuseries The Religion Business, directed by two time Emmy winner Nathan Apffel  (TV series Fins). The seven part series premieres on Amazon and Apple TV on July 10.

James has also wrapped production on the action thriller Cabin Pressure, a made for television film directed by Peter Sullivan (The Sandman, Netflix’s The Merry Gentlemen) which reunites James with production entity Hybrid Productions. Hybrid were producers of the popular Lifetime Movie Network series Keeping Up With The Joneses, in which James appeared for two seasons as part of a cast that included Vivica A. Fox and Academy Award nominee Eric Roberts.

Cabin Pressure is expected to hit television screens later in 2025 on a soon to be announced platform.

For James, whose previous credits also include major roles in films such as My Mate Is A Vampire, the UK indie features Reunion and Number 203 and the epic British stage production The Mahabharata, his two latest projects feel like a turning point in his career.

“When I got signed to play Pastor Mac in The Religion Business I was aware it was a leading role,” he says, “But arriving on set on day one, I soon realized that the entire day’s shooting was going to be completely devoted to Pastor Mac's scenes. No other principal actors were present, and therefore everything would rest on my performance. The feeling was intense. I did take a moment to steal away from set to be by myself, to just get focused and absorb the pressure- and then I basically dived in and owned the experience after that. I’m very proud of the work that I did and I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing what audiences have to say in a few weeks once we premiere.”

Over its seven episodes, The Religion Business takes both a dramatized and documentary style look at the impact of religion across the globe. It focuses on the teachings of the Christian church and how varying religious bodies practicing the Christian faith have been impacted by the increasing profitability of religion. As such, the production is comprised of real life documented sequences as well as  scripted scenes inspired by factual  events.

James’ character Pastor Mac appears in the dramatized portions of the series and he describes him as “A colorful, extremely charismatic showman of many words, who is persuasive and charming, yet intense. Based on real life preachers of today who are as much entertainers as they are ministers, his scenes bring into sharp focus the evolution of new age men in the ministry and their impact on today’s church. I think his presence in the series will be highly impactful and spark some hugely interesting debates.”

James’ opportunity to be part of Cabin Pressure- in which he plays a full on, leading man action antagonist named Kody who would rather fight than talk, was another career achievement for him, for slightly different reasons.

“On a performer’s journey, you can generally mark your progress by a number of milestones- which usually have to do with who hires you -or better yet, who rehires you- and the people they surround you with,” he says. “And in that respect, Cabin Pressure ticks those boxes in really amazing ways for me.  Firstly, because I was rehired by Hybrid Productions, who were very impressed with my work with them on Keeping Up With The Joneses.  And secondly, now playing a role that demanded some of the most difficult and exhausting fight choreography I have ever done, I was paired with the incredible fight director Cole McKay, whose credits as a stuntman include Transformers- Dark of The Moon, Cloverfield and Far and Away, in which he worked extensively with Tom Cruise.”

While details of the plot for Cabin Pressure remain tightly under wraps as it completes post production, James says that the footage he has seen of the film and his fight sequences is amazing.

“I’ve always wanted to dive headfirst into the action thriller genre, so here’s my big chance. And to have two such contrasting performances as the fighting anti hero in Cabin Pressure and the bombastic religious minister in The Religion Business coming out so close to each other, provides a real opportunity for me to show audiences and the industry my versatility in these very different leading roles. So I’m really looking forward to what the future holds once these two productions are unveiled.”

James is currently represented by Greg Bekkers of Apollo Management.