Best known for his performance as White Rat in HBO’s Emmy Award winning series Game of Thrones, Marcos James is returning to season two of the Lifetime Movie Network (LMN) film series Keeping up with the Joneses: The Wrong Family, executive produced by Vivica Fox and narrated by Kandi Burruss from Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Premiering Friday July 8, season two comprises four two-hour films and will air on Friday nights on LMN until July 29.
In Keeping Up with The Joneses, Fox portrays Robin Jones, matriarch of the wealthy Jones family, who assumes control of the family business following the death of her husband. When the family and business come under threat, she and her four stepdaughters will stop at nothing to protect themselves and all that they own.
The Jamaica-born, LA based actor will continue his role of William French, the conniving and unfaithful former fiancé of Fox’s stepdaughter Kayla Jones (Shellie Sterling, Snowfall).
According to James, in season two his character William resurfaces in the story and is once again “up to no good.”
“Without giving too much away, what I can say is that as always, where William goes, trouble follows and season two is no different,” he laughs. “He is as manipulative and unpredictable as ever. It felt like second nature stepping back into the role, because although I’m certainly not anything like him personally, I did feel a very easy and instant connection with the character from the beginning of season one. Additionally, the camaraderie that we established among the cast from our first season remained very strong, so it was a great experience to be invited back for season two.”
James is grateful to the series production company Hybrid, believing that this played a large part in him being invited back for the new season.
“In a business that really thrives on relationships, I think I have fostered a great one with Hybrid, due to my work on camera as well as my off-screen ethic and overall professionalism. It’s so important for actors to remember that we are an important part of what is really a much bigger picture. So when asked for actor advice, I always say show up prepared, show up on time and show up a team player. Because really great things happen when you do.”
Since the premiere of Keeping Up with The Joneses, James has completed work on two new films- the horror feature Headless Horseman, due to start streaming in the fall, and the independent thriller Eyes in The Dark.
James has always credited his success to the training he received in Jamaica. Before his on-screen career took off internationally, James was honing his craft as part of some of Jamaica’s premier performing arts institutions. A former member of Cathy Levy’s Little People and Teen Players Club, the Ashe Performing Arts Ensemble and L’Acadco Dance Company, Jones admits that it was his foundational training in Jamaica that groomed him for the international stage.
“My success so far is not just about me; it’s about the possibilities that existed because of what I gained through training in Jamaica. Pretty much everything I booked early on in my career was because of my training at home,” said James, noting that even though he was up against great talent overseas, his local training prepared him for the challenge. “I was up against some phenomenal international talent, and I was on the same level with them. The Lion King was the moment I realized I could actually have a career in the performing arts on an international level, and that was all because of everything I gained in Jamaica,” he said.