American actor Paul James is a native of Washington, DC. Growing up in Maryland, he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Syracuse University, majoring in Drama courses. The actor has appeared in a variety of roles on film and television, but is best known for playing Calvin on Greek.
In 2004, Paul James began his career with a role in the TV production, The Deerings. He got the role of C.J, in the FOX pilot, working alongside D.W. Moffett, Noelle Beck, A.J. Trauth and Kaylee DeFer. James’ next role was in the series Cold Case, making an appearance on the episode “Strange Fruit.” In 2005, the actor landed his first film role. He was cast as Lewis in the murder thriller Cry_Wolf, acting with Jared Padalecki, Jon Bon Jovi, Julian Morris, Lindy Booth, and Sandra McCoy.
Paul James has also been seen in Twenty Questions, and on The Architect alongside Golden Globe-winning actor Anthony LaPaglia. He also appeared in the drama Spinning Into Butter in 2007, with Sarah Jessica Parker, Miranda Richardson and Beau Bridges. It was also in that year that Paul James joined the cast of the ABC Family college-based television series, Greek. His character is that of Calvin Owens, a bit of a maverick and outsider, while still sharp-minded and savvy. It has been revealed at one point that this member of the Omega Chi Delta had a gay encounter with a member of Kappa Tau Gamma, though the truth of this remains disputed, due to Calvin’s adeptness in retelling his stories with new facts almost every single time. On his character’s coming out scene, he said, “[T]he coming out is a big issue. It's huge, but I feel like people kind of just want to see him be a regular kid, kind of navigating through college.”
Paul James got the role of Calvin on Greek when he auditioned while working at P.F. Chang’s in Santa Monica, where he got to know the show’s casting director Johnny Barba. In 2008, he landed a role in the series CSI: Miami, after appearing on an episode of Cold Case.
(Photo courtesy of ABC Family)