2023 Rewind: Beyond 'The White Lotus': The Hottest Theo James Performances

This piece is part of EDGE's 2023 Rewind series. We're reaching into our archives and sharing some of our favorite stories from the past year.

One of last year's rising stars, Theo James, managed to transcend the fact that we have now seen more of his naked flesh than arguably any other male actor this year because he also happens to be a terrific actor. The combination is intoxicating.

But James is no newcomer. He's been working in film and on TV for over a decade, starring in the successful franchise, "The Divergent Series," as well as a slew of indie films and TV shows.

Yet, 2022 was the year he truly took audiences by their respective retinas, making his mark on HBO – first in the divisive "Time Traveler's Wife," where we got to study his naked anatomy in each episode, and again at year's end, showing off more naked flesh as well as his impressive range in Season 2 of "The White Lotus," arguably the water cooler show of the year.

James's ridiculous good looks (those sultry lips!), perfect body, and brooding magnetism have made him almost too attractive a thesp to take seriously, but he's proven himself time and again to be an immersive, committed craftsman.

EDGE has gone over his resume and selected his 10 best and sexiest performance.

Mr. Pamuk on "Downton Abbey" Season 1, Episode 3 (2010)

Most people were introduced to Theo James in the famous "Downton Abbey" episode where he played the dreamy, but devious, Turkish visitor, Mr. Pamuk. When closeted Thomas (Rob James-Collier) hits on the irresistible Pamuk, he is rebuffed, but Pamuk takes advantage of the sitch by demanding Thomas guide him to Lady Mary's (Michelle Dockery) bedroom, where he seduces her and then dies, placing her in a double-compromised position. Quelle scandal! With the help of her trusted lady's maid, Anna (Joanna Froggett), and a flabbergasted mama, Cora (Elizabeth McGovern), they drag his naked (sadly, sheet-covered) body away, dropping him once. James made quite a splash in an episode no "Downton" fan will ever forget.

Stream on Prime and Peacock.

Ray Richards in "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" (2010)

That same year, James made his feature film debut as Ray Richards in Woody Allen's London-set "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger," a meditation on faith and delusion. We first see him at the gym wearing a black T and sweatpants, and lusting after Charmaine Foxx (Lucy Punch), a former prostitute now married to Alfie Shepridge (Anthony Hopkins). They eventually have an affair, and she gets pregnant. In just a few scenes, James made quite an impression. (And not many people get to punch Sir Anthony Hopkins onscreen.)

Rent on AppleTV or Prime.

Jed Harper in "Bedlam"

From the moment you see James's stunningly curious, yet tortured, eyes at the very beginning of the British supernatural TV series "Bedlam," it would have been easy to predict he was bound for stardom. When I first watched this series on BBC America in 2011, I remember thinking something along those lines. Of course, the fact that he often walked around clad only in a towel or sat pensively in a bathtub had me a bit distracted. In "Bedlam," Jed sees ghosts, and in each episode there is some new haunting/murder, but what kept viewers enraptured was the mere presence of this sexy stud and his arresting eyes.

Four/Tobias in "Divergent" (2014)

Sure, the "Divergent" franchise is a combination (rip-off?) of "The Hunger Games," "The Maze Runner," and "The Giver," but that doesn't make it any less fun, thanks in large part to James's enigmatic performance. At first his character, the "Dauntless" Four, comes off as harsh and mean, but he slowly peels away his layers to show us who he really is and why he's so guarded. Whenever he's offscreen you long for his return.

Stream on HBO Max, Hulu and Prime.

Luke in "The Benefactor" (2015)

Most critics weren't kind to Andrew Renzi's debut feature "The Benefactor," which boasted a hammy, grandstanding performance by Richard Gere as a wealthy, morphine-addicted egomaniac named Franny. But it's Theo James understated and downright sweet performance as his protégé, Luke, that grounds this erratic film. And the weirdly intimate, deeply homoerotic relationship between Franny and Luke gives the film its raison d'être. "Jesus, you are gorgeous. Wow," Franny says as he lustily stares into Luke's eyes and lightly pats his face. Had Renzi had the balls to truly explore what he only hints at, he might have given us something truly compelling.

Stream on Prime.