This handsome young actor and singer with leading man good looks and a hair style that demands comparisons with James Dean, James Walters (who has sometimes been billed as Jamie Walters), first caught audiences attention with the 1992 hit single "How Do You Talk to an Angel". He subsequently sang the song on the short-lived "The Heights" (Fox, 1992), in which he played a sensitive poet-songwriter working in a grocery story and dreaming of musical success. While the tune gave Walters some degree of visibility, he had more exposure in the press as the boyfriend of actress Drew Barrymore; the duo posed for numerous photo spreads together, many of which detailed Barrymore's confessionals of past substance abuse. In 1994, this degree of fame led, in part, to Walters' being cast as Ray Pruit, the boyfriend from the wrong side of the tracks of the virginal Donna (Tori Spelling) on Fox's "Beverly Hills, 90210".After dropping out of NYU, the Boston-born actor began his career with a Levi's 501 jeans commercial in 1988. He landed a supporting role in the feature "Bed & Breakfast" which was filmed in 1989 but not released theatrically until 1992. In the meantime, audiences had seen him as an inmate at a school for wayward boys alongside John Travolta in the rock'n'roll film "Shout" (1991) and in the recurring role of Frank James--the outlaw as a young man--on the ABC Western "The Young Riders". In 1994, he played the harasser Reggie in the syndicated "Vanishing Son II" and reprised the role in the martial arts sequel "Vanishing Son IV". His rising popularity, especially among teen girls, led to a hosting gig on "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve '96" and a performance on the 1995 ABC special "Independence Day".
Profession(s):
Actor, singer
Sometimes Credited As:
James Walters
Companion(s)
Drew Barrymore
, Companion
, ```..linked romantically; posed for magazine photo spreads together
Education
Northfield Mount Herman Northfield, Massachusetts
New York University New York, New York film
1996 Co-starred in feature "God's Lonely Man"
1994 - 1997 Played Ray Pruit on "Beverly Hills, 90210" (Fox)
1992 Was regular on Fox series "The Heights"
1992 Made film debut in "Bed & Breakfast" (release delayed)
1991 Played the recurring role of Frank James on "The Young Riders" (ABC)
1991 First released film, "Shout"
1989 Cast in first feature role, "Bed & Breakfast"; film released was delayed until 1992
1988 First professional job, a Levi's 501 jeans commercial
Appeared in small role on the CBS daytime drama "As the World Turns"
Acted in stage productions, including "Fool for Love" and "The Skin of Our Teeth"