James was born in Dallas, Texas to parents of Korean heritage. He has an older brother in New York City. James grew up in Plano, Texas where he excelled in Tae Kwon Do and football. After his junior year of nursing school at Baylor University, he caught the acting bug through community theater. He subsequently packed his bags and drove nonstop to Los Angeles in January of 2010. After a year of training, James made his debut in Pearry Teo's 'Dead Inside'. He has since earned roles in CBS' "Hawaii Five-0" and FOX's "The Mindy Project".