Theo James Felt Stuck in 'Boring' Roles Because of Divergent : 'You Have to Wrestle Your Way Out'

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Theo James

Theo James feels Divergent pigeonholed him into years of "boring" roles and projects.

The White Lotus actor, 37, first played Tobias, aka Four, in 2014's Divergent opposite Shailene Woodley. Over a two-year period, he also starred in the YA dystopian franchise's two sequels, Insurgent and Allegiant. In an interview with Vanity Fair, James said he felt typecast into those types of projects for years.

"You do a certain type of film and you sign contracts where you are beholden to those roles for a certain period of time and people see you in a certain light that you have to wrestle your way out of," he said. "That is a hundred percent the case with actors — and it was definitely the case with me."

Added James, "I felt I didn't have the fluidity to move in the directions that I wanted. You're very much in a certain type of role — and those roles can be pretty f---ing boring."

RELATED: Theo James Says First Version of White Lotus Nude Scene Was 'Way Too Much'

Red Wagon Entertainment/Kobal/Shutterstock Shailene Woodley and Theo James in Divergent (2014)

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James also starred in the sci-fi action sequels Underworld: Awakening (2012) and Underworld: Blood Wars (2016), the animated Netflix series Castlevania and the recently canceled HBO show The Time Traveler's Wife. He currently appears on the Emmy-winning HBO series The White Lotus. Next, he will star on the upcoming Guy Ritchie Netflix show The Gentlemen.

The English actor told the Evening Standard back in 2020 that he is no longer interested in "big movies."

"I like L.A. and have a lot of friends there [as well as a home]. As a young person, when you first get offered big movies you think, 'This is great,' but the older and slightly wiser I am, the more I know that isn't something I'm particularly interested in," James said at the time.

He also said he was "aggressively private" and not willing to join social media: "From the very, very beginning I just said it wasn't something I was interested in doing."