I am a multi-faceted creative born and raised in Montreal. From the early age of 2, I started performing on a stage my father built for me in my basement. This sparked my passion for singing and writing music. You can read more about music journey here. Acting was something I also loved to do for fun. I would often spend my weekends with my brother Frank and our friends rehearsing and re-enacting movie scenes. As my love for performing grew, I landed my first leading role in my school theatre variety show. I played the mad scientist “Professor Cheesewhiz" and it was there and then I knew that this was the path I needed to follow. Later on, I signed myself up to a local talent competition, a casting agency, and acting classes at the Montreal School of Performing Arts. This led to working on set of YTV as a teenager, and eventually working on Stonewall with Roland Emmerich and The Walk with Robert Zemeckis. At the age of 5, I began to play soccer. I developed a love for the game and became a skilled player. My natural talent landed me a spot in a competitive league, which gave me the opportunity to compete in various cities around Canada and the US. I even travelled to France and Haiti which opened my eyes to the world at large. One of my first real jobs was bussing tables for long, tiring ten-hour shifts. I knew I had more to offer to this world, which led me to go to college and study Cinema & Communications. At the age of 20, I established my own multi-media production company specializing in ads, content creation, and creative direction. Over the years, I have directed fashion campaigns, music videos, and advertisements for various companies such as Louis Vuitton, SSENSE, Tommy Hilfiger, Parasuco, Bench, Kellogg’s & more. Now, I spend most of my days preparing for my upcoming EP (coming in 2020), practicing for various acting roles, hanging with @mygoldenlab Simba, and restoring old classic cars. Follow along my journey over on @iamchrisjames.

Im new to the series, but Im loving it already!

The reason why I would be a good role model is because I feel as though I've had many experiences (mostly bad than good) in my life. Given that I started in the fashion industry as a photographer and Cinematographer I got to see many different things and meet a variety of different people. What I would like to put out there and tell people is to learn from your mistakes and that it's okay to fail, as its a part of life. Failing countless times make for the greatest lessons as they mold you as person. Success is not distinguished by the money you make or the possessions you hold, but how you treat yourself, respect others while waking up to love what you are doing. I think where the newer generation gets blinded by the importances of life is the lavish life celebrities and their role models live through social medias, and I think its important to make them aware that the glam is not what's important and that we were all put on this earth to help others with the careers we decide to choose for ourselves. For me, being successful is to be a good human being that loves to wake up in the morning to pursue their dreams. The ultimate happiness is the one that stems within. Love, Chris James xo