James Callis

James Callis plays Gaius Baltar in Battlestar Galactica. He brings vanity, intelligence and splendidly visible anxiety to a series with no shortage of determined people. Baltar's attempts to look in control are often funniest when they are least convincing, and Callis can make a small social exchange feel like an emergency.

His scenes with Tricia Helfer's Number Six are central to that mixture of unease and comedy. The performance gives the fleet's troubles a very different perspective from the command deck.

Away from Battlestar, Callis plays Tom in the Bridget Jones films and Claude Whelan in Slow Horses. His television work also includes Eureka and voice work as Alucard in Castlevania. The range is a useful reminder that Baltar's particular combination of self-regard and panic is a performance, not simply the actor turning up and speaking.