Theo James talks about his role in The Time Traveler's Wife

“I played against myself … I put everything in it — some of my best work,” said James.

Theo James reflects on his role as a time-traveling romantic character.

In a roundtable discussion with The Hollywood Reporter, which featured actors Bowen Yang, Anthony Mackie, Ricky Martin, Kelsey Grammer, and John Goodman, the Emmy nominee reminisced about his experience filming HBO's The Time Traveler's Wife.

In the science fiction television series, James, aged 39, portrayed Henry DeTamble, a character with a genetic condition that causes him to spontaneously time travel during moments of stress. As a result, James played multiple iterations of Henry, with some versions of the character encountering each other.

“I played against myself … I put everything in it — some of my best work,” James told THR. “I didn’t watch the show before the premiere [in May 2022] because, at the time, everyone was like, ‘F--- yeah! This is f---ing awesome!’ I’m feeling pretty good about this!”

The television adaptation by HBO, derived from the 2003 novel with the same title, continued the narrative explored in the 2009 movie featuring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana.

Despite garnering praise, including commendations from New York Times critic Mike Hale, the series was canceled after its first season in July 2022. Six months post-cancellation, HBO Max removed The Time Traveler’s Wife and other content following the merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery.