James Durkin (May 21, 1876 – March 12, 1934) was a Canadian-American actor and director of the stage and screen.

[citation needed] Durkin's father was a Commissioner of Crown Lands for the province of Quebec.

[1][2] In 1904, he was part of a theater company in San Francisco, until his contract was terminated after it was revealed that he had been having an affair with Frances Starr, another member of the company; Durkin then abandoned his wife and "left [San Francisco] for the East".

[5] When Fealy and Durkin left Thanhouser, the trade journal Variety speculated that the couple planned to start a film company of their own.

[5] In December of the same year, Durkin left Famous-Players, signing a two-year contract with Lewis J. Selznick's Equitable Pictures.