James Frain

Age: "I'd love to lie, but you can't these days because of the Internet. I'm turning 40 this year. A milestone. And I've a Pinter-esque ambivalence about it."

Hometown: Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

Currently: Making his Broadway debut as Teddy, a philosophy professor whose surprise family visit sets off darkly comic consequences in Harold Pinter's The Homecoming.

Master Class: The eldest of eight children of a stockbroker and a teacher, Frain began thinking about acting as a kid but didn't get serious until he entered the University of East Anglia. "No one in my world had ever done such a thing, so it was kind of a fantasy," he says now. After graduation, he moved on to London's Central School of Speech and Drama, explaining, "Drama school in England functions as kind of the first round in American Idol; if you go, you're going to get seen by agents and casting directors." His very first film audition resulted in a role as one of Anthony Hopkins' students in Sir Richard Attenborough's Shadowlands. Frain recalls being in a state of "blank terror" after arriving on set. "I spent all my time watching Anthony Hopkins and seeing if I could copy what he was doing," he wryly laughs. "You just sort of keep quiet and flit your eyes around a lot. Then you cross your fingers and hope for the best."

Eclectic Resume: Since that debut performance 15 years ago, Frain has kept busy on both sides of the Atlantic. On film, career highlights include playing pianist Daniel Barenboim in Hilary and Jackie, Bassianus in Julie Taymor's Titus, Natalie Portman's love interest in Where the Heart Is and Kim Raver's ex in the fourth season of 24. Like most of those who pass through the world of Jack Bauer, his character, Paul Raines, did not survive. On stage, he's acted in productions at the Royal Court and Royal Shakespeare Company, among others. "The last thing I did [before The Homecoming] was King Lear at the Almeida, and that was a good five years ago," he says of juggling stage and screen. "Someone once told me, 'You must do theater every five years, because you lose your bottle," he adds, using a British phrase for losing one's nerve. "I was on the brink—my hand was shaking on the bottle—so I thought I'd better do this play. And now I've got another five years before I fade away."

Tudor City: Showtime fans recognize Frain as Thomas Cromwell, the scheming chief minister and divorce guru to King Henry VIII portrayed by a frequently shirtless Jonathan Rhys Meyers in The Tudors. "My knowledge of history was pretty thin," Frain admits, "but as far as [show creator] Michael Hirst was concerned, my character was the Lenin of the Reformation. He wanted to annihilate the Catholic Church and basically did within five years." The key to The Tudors' success? "[Hirst] put a lot of sex in it and made it look young and fresh and edgy," Frain says, "but once people get drawn into the story, they're good to go because the story is fantastic." Working on The Tudors' excellent scripts helped pave the way for his return the stage: "It really got me in the mode of thinking like a stage actor, where you have to absolutely respect the language."

Shocks and Shouts: The Homecoming chronicles an unexpected visit by estranged son Teddy Frain, who's returned from America to his North London home to introduce his enigmatic wife, Ruth Eve Best, to his fractured family. Twisted games of sexual politics and one-upmanship ensue, all set against Pinter's trademark ominous atmosphere and an unsolved mystery just below the surface. "There's a tremendous amount of pain and fury that's expressed in language of total politeness," Frain notes of the play, which he first fell in love with after reading it at age 19. "That tension is what makes it so electric to do and to watch." First produced on Broadway in 1967, The Homecoming continues to evoke strong audience responses. "There are fairly reliable gasps at the end of the acts," Frain says. "You can feel the audience all go, 'What?' and we feel the same way. People come up to me afterward and have all kinds of questions and interpretations that, to my mind, have nothing to do with the way we're playing it and everything to do with the way they're responding to it. It's a dynamic, alive piece that's new every night—which is, I guess, what theater is supposed to be!"