Rob James-Collier

Robert James-Collier
James-Collier in May 2014
Born	Robert Collier (1976-09-23) 23 September 1976 (age 40) Salford, Greater Manchester, England
Occupation	Actor, model
Years active	2005–present

Robert James-Collier (born 23 September 1976) is a British actor and model. He is known for his roles as Thomas Barrow in Downton Abbey and as Liam Connor in Coronation Street.

James-Collier was born in Salford, Greater Manchester, as Robert Collier, but changed his name to Robert James-Collier to comply with the rules of Equity. He was educated at St Patrick's Roman Catholic High School in Eccles, Greater Manchester.

James-Collier has two degrees; he studied business at the University of Huddersfield and marketing at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.

Having no experience as an actor, James-Collier auditioned for the series Down to Earth. Stars Ricky Tomlinson and Denise Welch were convinced by his talent, and he got the part of the womanising pub landlord. In 2006 he appeared in New Street Law and played a small part as Stud in Shameless series 3, episode 5 under the name of Rob Collier.

In 2006 he joined Coronation Street as one of the brothers buying a share of the local underwear factory. He left the show in October 2008. In an interview in early 2008, James-Collier announced he was leaving the soap but was planning to come back in the future. However, in June 2008, it was reported that the character of Liam was set to be 'brutally' killed off in the soap as part of a murder-mystery plotline where three well known residents would fall under suspicion for the crime. One of these would be Tony Gordon played by Gray O'Brien, who was in a relationship with Carla Connor played by Alison King in the show.