James Patrice
Jes O Sullivan chats to the man with the inside track on DWTS!
“So, can you guess what was number one the day you were born?” James Patrice thinks for a moment. The date in question is February 1, 1989 and disappointingly, the answer is a dodgy cover of Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart. We’re both unhappy that it’s not some late-80s mega dance tune or power ballad. If he had been born the year before, he would have arrived to the infectiously upbeat I Think We’re Alone Now by Tiffany, which would have been very fitting for James. The year after, he would have been heralded with Sinead O Connor’s iconic Nothing Compares 2u. We both agree he got shafted. The reason I’m playing this game with James is that he has just turned 30. As you would expect from the gregarious social media star, the celebration was a glitzy affair in one of Dublin’s coolest venues. James was surrounded by his friends, family, the crew from the Gaiety panto in which he starred at Christmas, as well as the gang from Dancing with the Stars. Drag performer Davina Devine was on hand to entertain, and the night was topped off with a chocolate birthday cake shaped like a giant poop emoji . “Had to get the social media reference in there somewhere,” he tells me with a laugh.
It has been five years since James started his Snapchat account, a move which spawned a meteoric rise up the social media rankings. Also in that time. James has managed to do what so many other social media people have failed to do: carve out a successful career in mainstream television. When I delve a little deeper into James’s background, it’s clear that this was more than just a lucky break on the back of his popularity, as he has in fact worked hard since his teens to forge a career in media and acting, including a time studying drama and French at Trinity College, Dublin. On graduation in 2013, he did a few short movies, acted in some theatre festival productions, and “paid his dues” as he puts it. James also took a TV presenting course, and discovered that he could combine his love of entertainment, drama and performance in that, but unfortunately his big break eluded him and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. “I was in a bit of a rut to be honest. I was working in retail for three or four years. I hated it and there’s nothing worse than doing something five days a week that you hate. But if I wasn’t working in that shop I might have never started on Snapchat.” James explains that he was off sick for a few weeks and found himself bored at home with little to do. Snapchat was relatively new at the time and he decided to do some skits. “I had a million wigs at home. I started to video my mum as well. People started to follow me, they thought I was gas, and I started to get shout outs. Pippa O’Connor gave me a shout out and before I knew it there were 10,000 people watching me. It was crazy.”
James is thankful for those years, and philosophical about how things worked out in the end. “I had thought, I’ll study, get my place in Trinity, I’ll do drama and then I’ll become an actor. And then that didn’t happen, but everything happens for a reason. Without being off sick from work, I wouldn’t have started on social media and social media is what opened a door for me. When RTÉ Junior rang me I didn’t even need to screen-test because they could already see what I could do.”
For now, James is eager to soak up as much expertise as he can from the more seasoned presenters he works with. As a weekly contributor to the Today Show with Maura and Dáithí, he finds the king and queen of daytime TV a huge inspiration. “People ask me who I admire and I always say Maura and Dáithí because they are so professional. They’re very good at making their guests look good. People don’t realise that they have a director and a producer in their ear the whole time, and to do that and keep the chat going and engage with guests is really hard. I’m trying to sponge up as much as I can, because going forward I’d love to
I treat my role as the ultimate super fan, with the best backstage pass in the country. I know what people at home want to see because I am that person
eventually host something myself.” Dáithí Ó Sé is a long way from retirement but I have to ask whether that wish includes the Rose of Tralee. It seems a natural fit – James has already worked as the ‘Rose Reporter’ for the Today show, which he says was a dream come true. James winces and then laughs at the mention of Dáithí ever passing the crown to him. “Oh God, that man earns his crown. He’s a gent and he is a Trojan worker. When he runs along the line of Roses and says their names and a little bit of info on each of them, is just amazing to watch. I asked him how he does it and he says: ‘I just do it. You just learn it.’ And that’s no prompting. He just has it off. Last year they put me on the main show doing a few links and I was thrilled. I think with shows like that they will give you an opportunity if they trust you.” Perhaps it was also that James was game enough to come on stage dressed as a dolphin to surprise the Fungi-loving German Rose last year that put him in the good books.
Live television has prepared James well for his current role as a roving reporter on Can’t Stop Dancing, the behind-the-scenes companion show to RTÉ’s Dancing with the Stars. “Can’t Stop Dancing is great because it has in-depth analysis which people love. Then my reporting for this is different again as they link in via Facebook Live to the main show afterwards and I think people enjoy it because you’re getting that gut reaction from contestants as the show has just wrapped.” For this, James says he has had to think on his feet. “You go on to the dancefloor and you’re pulling people apart – it’s like being on the pitch in Croke Park on All-Ireland Final day. You’re hoping people don’t swear, or reveal anything they shouldn’t about next week’s show.” James explains his role well, “I treat my role as the ultimate super fan, with the best backstage pass in the country. I know what people at home want to see because I am that person. I want to know how long it took you to get into the Spanx and what colour lippy you’re wearing.”
Is he happy where he is right now or does he have his eye on the next step? “I’m hard on myself when it comes to work because I’m always striving for the next thing, but I do appreciate what I have. I always look at what I’ve achieved, and that’s so important. When I was 10 years old, I had meningitis, and I nearly kicked the bucket. That was a huge thing for me, in terms of valuing things. You really don’t sweat the small stuff because it could be a lot worse. Life is way too short. We all have our days when we feel a bit low, and we question things. I always said in school that 27 would be my scary age and at 30 I’m still not married, I still don’t own a house, but I feel like I have loads more to come. Time gives you great perspective and you have to go with the flow, I’m so lucky that I get to wake up every morning and enjoy my life and what I do.”