James Louis de Zogheb Dreyfus (born 9 October 1968) is an English actor most notable for roles on television sitcoms The Thin Blue Line as Constable Kevin Goody, and Gimme Gimme Gimme as Tom Farrell. Dreyfus is most recently known for a role as the Reverend Roger Jones in Mount Pleasant.
James Louis de Zogheb Dreyfus was born on 9 October 1968 in Islington, London.[1] His parents divorced when he was very young.[2][3] His mother, Margo de Zoghels, was a model.[4] His maternal grandfather was of Syrian descent and his family immigrated to England from Damascus. He also has English, Italian, Greek, Norwegian, French and Swiss ancestry.[5][6][7][non-primary source needed]
Known for portraying "camp, endearing characters," Dreyfus (in a Sheengate Publishing interview) compared the character Frank Spencer from Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, whom he described as a campy but married heterosexual, to Dreyfus's character Kevin Goody from The Thin Blue Line. Regarding his character Tom Farrell from Gimme Gimme Gimme, Dreyfus hypothesized that, even if the character were heterosexual, the actor would still portray Tom as camp and flamboyant.[12] Furthermore, Dreyfus said that he felt that he became typecast due to his portrayals of "flamboyant" characters.[12]
He played Thermoman in the BBC One comedy My Hero, a role he took over in the sixth series from Ardal O'Hanlon. Although the same character, he used the name George Monday, as opposed to O'Hanlon's character's name, George Sunday. After disappointing ratings, the show was cancelled.
From 2012 to 2017, Dreyfus appeared as the Reverend Roger Jones in the Sky Living series Mount Pleasant.
In 2017, he voiced an incarnation of The Master from Doctor Who in the Big Finish Productions release The First Doctor Adventures Volume One,[13] going on to appear as the character in 2019's "The Home Guard",[14] 2020's "The Psychic Circus"[15] and 2022's "Blood of the Time Lords". In an interview on SpectatorTV, Dreyfus said he was dismissed from the role following comments he made on Twitter in support of author J. K. Rowling.[16]
