jmichael.mchale@gmail.com | Actors Access

Hi, I’m James

I’m an actor, director, writer, and musician based in Southern California. I am also a Resident Artist and the Literary Manager at the award winning Chance Theater, where I directed ONCE (running Jan 31st-March 1st), Sweeney Todd (which received the 2025 Award for Best Musical from The Orange Curtain Review), and the Orange County Premiere of Green Day’s American Idiot which won 6 OC Theatre Guild Awards including Best Direction of a Musical.

As an actor, I play a recurring role in the upcoming season of the hit TV show For All Mankind from AppleTV & Sony Pictures, I also play the lead antagonist in an upcoming WWII feature, and I played a leading role in the film FATHOM which was selected to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. In theater, I’ve had the pleasure to work with Tony Award winning director Kathleen Marshall at The Old Globe, play Hamlet in both Hamlet and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead in Rep at the Lyceum Theater, play Buzz Aldrin in the World Premiere and National Tour of APOLLO 11, and have performed in multiple productions and over 200 performances of the musical Once.

I am a little obsessed with my rescue pups Lucy-Lou and Guinness, and my two cats Midge Maisel and Charles Peter. When not working or getting cuddles from my fur babies, you’ll probably find me hiking, exploring landscape photography, or enjoying a bougie beverage. Check out my Reels and Resume to discover more about my work. Thank you for visiting!