James Kumar talks about his first love – and it's not acting

They have the looks and street cred. Beyond that, they’re multi-talented, having conquered the red carpet and taken ownership of social media. They act, host, sing, direct and produce. In this celebrities’ edition of 20 Good Men of 2020, Her World presents a talent-stacked list who are making their mark in Singapore, China, Taiwan and India.

Vasantham actor James Kumar plays a frosty and solemn police officer
(Deva) in his most recent endeavour, Arivaan,
a Tamil crime show on meWatch. Off screen, he’s really quite the cool guy.

“I’m currently shooting Azhagiya Tamil Magal Season Two, and I’m working on producing some music!” says James, who wrote the soundtrack for Arivaan.

For the past nine years, the 37-year-old has acted in multiple local dramas; his breakout role was in 2011 Tamil drama Vettai 2 with E-Vasantham Mediacorp.

Many will also
recognise him as Dr Arjun from Channel 5 drama Tanglin, which was his first English-language role. But James is
still working towards his goal – directing.

“Acting came out of
the blue,” he says. “My first love is still filmmaking – it’s the main reason
why I pursued a career in media.”

He adds: “My dream is to run a production house. I want to create short films, TV serials and even edutainment pieces. In five years, I hope to have found a way to combine all my favourite things as I create – photography, videography, storytelling, music and culture.”