James Ellis (15 March 1931 – 8 March 2014) was an actor and theatre director from Northern Ireland, with a career stretching over sixty years. Originally a stage actor and director in his native Belfast, he moved to London in the early 1960s. After gaining recognition in Great Britain through the Z-Cars (1962–78) police series on BBC1, he appeared in many other television and film roles. He was also a translator.