Shailene Woodley has just sky-rocketed Theo James’ chances of being chased by the paparazzi. In an interview last week, the actress admitted that her 29-year-old co-star is a “great kisser.”
“Thank you, Shai. You too,” he tells The Post with a chuckle.
With his brooding brow and mischievous smile, James might as well get used to his new sex-symbol status. In “Divergent,” he stars as Tris Prior’s (Woodley’s) love interest and instructor Four, so named for his very few number of fears. When he’s not teaching initiates how to kick ass, he’s accidentally falling in love with the film’s heroine. It’s a good thing they both kiss so well.
“You can obviously work [to get] chemistry, but if you have it endemically, then it’s going to make the scenes better, easier,” James says of his on-screen work with Woodley. “We felt we had that from the beginning.”
Woodley agrees.
Director Neil Burger knew he had found his Four when the actor was able to shake the usually impenetrable Woodley.
“Theo was the only person she was intimidated by and infatuated with, [who put her] just a little bit off her game,” he says.
Fans of the series are already linking the two rising stars in real life, but James is reportedly in a long-term relationship. He declined to discuss his current status.
Born in Oxford, England, James first got noticed in the first season of “Downton Abbey,” when he popped by for one episode to die in Lady Mary’s bed. Small parts in BBC shows and movies like “Underworld: Awakening” kept him busy enough that he didn’t read the “Divergent” books before taking the role of Four.
“I could pretend and say I had, but I hadn’t,” he says with a laugh, adding that he still has yet to read the third and final book because he didn’t want to inform the character with things he wouldn’t yet know.
Should the film be as huge as predicted, James will be in two sequels to “Divergent.” But in the meantime, he’s exploring other areas. Later this year, he’ll romance femme fatale Amber Heard in “London Fields” alongside Billy Bob Thornton, as well as join Dakota Fanning and Richard Gere for the indie drama “Franny.”
For now though, he’s living what he calls “a fairly normal, incognito lifestyle.” Rather than get wild at paparazzi-plagued parties, he prefers riding his motorcycle and messing around with his car.
“It’s an old British car I’ve been tinkering with for ages,” he says. “It constantly breaks down, but it looks very cool, and that’s the most important thing.”
He’s also a music guy, having been in five or six definitely-not-famous bands since college, including one in which he led vocals for called Shere Kahn, named after “The Jungle Book” villain because the bass player resembled Mowgli. They made their own music, but also dabbled in covers with their version of the Spice Girls classic “Wannabe.”
“I actually kind of like that tune,” he admits, laughing. “I wish we played it more.”