James was born in Texas, but traveled around quite a bit in his adolescence and lived predominantly in the American South. He began acting around the age of 12, participating in theatre performances and drama festival competitions. He continued to study drama and theatre in high school, but enlisted in the Navy thereafter where he served five years before being honorably discharged. While the arts had taken a back seat to things like the military, travel, and a love of free surfing; his yearning for film & the craft of acting were ignited when he began studying at California State University-San Marcos. He went on to finish his Bachelor of Arts in History, but it was the interdisciplinary film studies that fueled his passion once again.