Rob James-Collier Wiki Bio
Robert ‘Rob’ Collier was born in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, on 23 September 1976 – his zodiac sign is Libra, and he holds British nationality. He’s an actor and model, with close to 30 acting credits to his name, perhaps known best for his portrayal of the supporting character Thomas Barrow in the critically acclaimed romantic series “Downton Abbey”, created by Julian Fellowes, and which starred Hugh Bonneville, Phyllis Logan and Elizabeth McGovern. It follows the lives of members of the British aristocratic Crawley family, the series aired from 2010 to 2015, and won 73 awards, including 15 Primetime Emmys, while it was nominated for 229 other awards; it today rates amongst the best 100 TV series of all time.
He changed his name to Robert James-Collier at the beginning of his acting career, to avoid confusion with another actor of the same name.
Early life and education
Rob was raised in Salford by his working class parents James and Anne; not a lot else is known about them, as Rob respects their privacy. Because he hasn’t talked about having any siblings, most of his fans believe him to be an only child.
Rob studied at St Patrick’s Roman Catholic High School, and was interested in a couple of activities during his four years there, mostly in playing soccer. Upon matriculating in 1995, he enrolled at the University of Huddersfield, from which he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1999; Rob continued his education at the University of Manchester’s Institute of Science and Technology, graduating with a Master’s degree in marketing in 2001.
Prior to launching his acting career, he worked at pastry shops and at a bricklaying factory; his friend then asked him to fill in for an absent actor, and Rob instantly fell in love with acting.
Roles in TV series
Rob made his debut TV series appearance in 2005, when cast to play Nick Christy in 10 episodes of the romantic comedy drama “Down to Earth”, and a couple of his following roles were in an episode of the crime comedy “Shameless”, the drama “Casualty”, and the mystery crime drama “Dalziel and Pascoe”, all released in 2006.
He gained recognition with his portrayal of Liam Connor in 330 episodes, of the popular romantic drama “Coronation Street”, between 2006 and 2008; created by Tony Warren, it today stars William Roache, Helen Worth and Sally Dynevor. The soap opera’s been airing since 1960, follows various people living in Manchester, England, and has won 192 awards, including 10 BAFTAs, while it’s been nominated for 264 other awards.
Rob’s also known for his portrayal of the lead character Kevin O’Dowd in the 2016 crime thriller mini-series “The Level”, which also starred Lindsey Coulson and Noel Clarke, and follows the lives of police officer Nancy Devlin, and Frank Le Saux who’s very close to Nancy, but is a drug trafficker.
Three of Rob’s most recent roles in TV series have been in all the 10 episodes of the 2021 drama “Getting Better”, 26 episodes of the romantic drama “Ackley Bridge” since 2019, and 14 episodes of the action adventure drama “Fate: The Winx Saga” since 2021.
Roles in movies
Rob made his debut film appearance in the 2005 comedy drama “Perfect Day”, and a couple of his following roles were in the 2011 action drama “Mercenaries”, the 2012 musical comedy drama “Spike Island”, and the 2013 drama “Wayland’s Song”.
The year 2014 saw him play one of the main characters Pat McKerrod in the family fantasy comedy “A Christmas Star”, written and directed by Richard Elson, and which also starred Erin Galway-Kendrick and Bronagh Waugh. It follows Noelle who was born on Christmas, and has a special ability to prevent people from fighting.
From hallboy to head butler, Thomas Barrow has had quite the journey. What’s in store for him in #DowntonAbbey: A New Era?
Watch now in theaters and on demand: https://t.co/PS1tkLzB0E pic.twitter.com/ELKWhk7Rxa
— Downton Abbey (@DowntonAbbey) June 14, 2022
In 2017, Rob portrayed the lead character Hutch in the critically acclaimed mystery horror thriller “The Ritual”, directed by David Bruckner, and which also starred Rafe Spall and Arsher Ali. It follows a group of old college friends who’ve gone together on a trip to Sweden, and the movie won four of the nine awards for which it was nominated.
Three of Rob’s most recent film roles have been in the 2018 sports drama “The Fight”, the 2021 short drama “Side by Side” and the 2022 romantic drama “Downton Abbey: A New Era”.
Other credits
Rob was featured in the 2021 documentary TV special “Downton Abbey Extras”.
He’s made a guest appearance in a couple of talk-shows, most recently in “Lorraine”, “Granada Reports” and “Sunday Brunch”.
Awards and nominations
Rob’s won seven of the 11 awards for which he’s been nominated. He won two British Soap Awards for Sexiest Male in 2007 and 2008, and a 2009 British Soap Award for Best Exit, all for “Coronation Street”. Rob and his colleagues won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2013, ‘15 and ‘16, all for “Downton Abbey”.
Rob also won a 2013 TV Guide Award for Favorite Feud, for “Downton Abbey” (shared with Siobhan Finneran).
Love life and wife
Rob prefers to keep the details of his love life away from the media’s attention, but it’s still widely known that he’s today either in a long-term relationship or married, as well as that he’s a father of two. He’s in a long-term relationship with non-celebrity British woman Lauren Chandiram, whom he began dating in 2007; the two have shared numerous pictures on their Instagram accounts which feature them together – Rob and Lauren have a son Milo James-Collier together, born in 2010, and it’s believed by many of Rob’s fans that he and Lauren exchanged vows sometime in the last decade, but this hasn’t been confirmed.
He also has a daughter from a previous relationship; the name of the girl’s mother hasn’t been disclosed.
Rob hasn’t mentioned any other women whom he’s perhaps been with, so as of August 2022, he’s either in a long-term relationship or married to Lauren Chandiram, and has a son with her, as well as a daughter from a previous relationship.
Hobbies and interesting facts
Rob’s followed by only about 10,000 people on Instagram, as he’s uploaded only 10 pictures onto the network.
He’s physically highly active, and has five to six training sessions at the gym every week, thus his muscular body; Rob’s also following a strict diet, and avoids eating fast food and sweets.
He’s a huge lover of animals, with dogs and elephants being his favorites.
Rob’s passionate about travelling, and has been to various European countries, as well as to several Asian countries and US states, while his dream travel destination’s India.
He has his own favorite actor and actress – Al Pacino and Scarlett Johansson – while some of his favorite movies are “Scent of a Woman”, “Scarface” and “Lost in Translation”.
Age, height and net worth
Rob’s age is 45. He has short black hair and green eyes, his height is 6ft 3ins (1.9m) and he weighs around 175lbs (80kgs).
As of August 2022, his net worth’s been estimated at over $1.5 million.
