David Underworld: Theo James as Selene's Eastern Coven Ally
David, the Underworld vampire played by Theo James, is credited in Underworld: Awakening (2012) and Underworld: Blood Wars (2017), and survives both. He is a member of the Eastern Coven who helps Selene protect her daughter Eve, and by the end of Blood Wars he is one of the coven's new Elders.
Who Plays David?
Who Is David in Underworld?
David is a vampire of the Eastern Coven played by Theo James, who is credited fourth in Underworld: Awakening (2012) and second in Underworld: Blood Wars (2017). Both of his films sit in the later stretch of the saga, which follows Selene after the human Purge.
He enters the story in Awakening, directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, when he takes Selene and a young girl to his coven. In Blood Wars, directed by Anna Foerster, he moves from supporting ally to a figure with real power in the vampire world. Neither film is long (88 and 91 minutes), so his screen time is modest, but the role gains weight from the first appearance to the second.
If you are new to the saga and want the full run of films, the Underworld movies in order guide lays it out, and the Underworld characters page places David beside the rest of the ensemble.
David Films
David's Story Arc Across Awakening and Blood WarsSpoilers
David starts as a stranger who shelters two fugitives and ends as the ruler of a coven, and both steps happen in his two films. In Awakening, Selene breaks out of her cryogenic cell about twelve years after the Purge, with a young girl in tow who turns out to be her hybrid daughter Eve. David leads the pair to his coven. A Lycan assault follows, and the giant Super-Lycan Quint nearly kills David before Selene heals him with her blood.
His loyalties are tested next. His father Thomas had given Eve to the Lycans, hoping it would end the attack. David still sides with Selene and Detective Sebastian when they storm Antigen, the company where Lycans pose as humans under Dr. Jacob Lane. Quint dies, Eve kills Lane, and the tank that held Michael is found empty.
In Blood Wars, the council member Semira poisons Selene and pins the killing of the trainees on her. David and Thomas get Selene out, but Thomas dies during the escape. David and Selene run to the Nordic Coven, where the elder Vidar says David is the son of Thomas and the Grand Elder Amelia, and so the rightful heir to the Eastern Coven. He goes home, claims the seat and denounces Semira. When the Lycans storm the castle, Selene returns with new powers from the Nordic Coven and cuts through the attackers. David finishes Semira and holds up Marius's severed head, which sends the Lycans into retreat.
David's Relationships: Selene, Thomas, Eve and Marius
David's closest bond is with Selene, played by Kate Beckinsale, and it is a bond of loyalty and trust more than romance. Is David in love with Selene? Neither film shows a romance between them. Selene's attachment is to Michael Corvin, the man she searches for at the end of Awakening, and David is the ally who fights beside her. Selene saves his life in Awakening, he helps save hers in Blood Wars, and they end up as fellow Elders. For more on her, see Selene Underworld.
His father Thomas, played by Charles Dance in both films, is the more fraught relationship. Thomas gives Eve to the Lycans in Awakening, yet he returns in Blood Wars to help rescue Selene and dies doing it. David's mother is the Grand Elder Amelia, and Vidar names her when he explains David's lineage.
Among his enemies, Marius, played by Tobias Menzies, leads the Lycans in Blood Wars and wants Selene's help finding Eve. Semira, played by Lara Pulver, is the political rival David ends up killing. His fellow new Elder Lena is played by Clementine Nicholson.
What Happens to David? Does He Die in Underworld?Spoilers
David does not die in either film, and his fate at the close of Blood Wars is a position of leadership. After Selene tears out Marius's spine, David kills Semira and shows Marius's severed head to the Lycans, who retreat. The vampires are safe for now.
Selene, David and Lena then become the new Elders of the coven. Selene has been reunited with Eve, who found her through their telepathic link, so the people around David end the film in a settled position.
He also comes close to death once and survives it: Quint badly wounds him in Awakening, and Selene's blood saves him. As for the future, a next Underworld film is in development, but it has no announced title, date or cast, so any further screen life for David is an open question.
David's Best Moments, Ranked by Impact
In my opinion, David's best moment is the return to the Eastern Coven in Blood Wars, because it pays off a role that looked like a sidekick's. After fleeing north and learning from Vidar that he is the heir, he comes back, denounces Semira and watches Varga abandon her. It is a quiet shift from follower to leader, and it lands because Awakening introduced him as the one who took Selene and Eve in.
A close second is the blood rescue during the Lycan attack in Awakening. Selene saves a wounded David with her blood, and it could be argued that this debt is why the Blood Wars rescue feels earned and not convenient.
Perhaps the most underrated beat is the finish of the Lycan assault, when he shows Marius's severed head to the retreating army. It is a grim, practical image, in keeping with a saga that treats coven politics as bloodily as combat.
That being said, David suits viewers who want the coven intrigue more than the creature set pieces. If you prefer the mythology of the bloodline, try Marcus Underworld.
Facts
- Theo James plays David in Underworld: Awakening (2012), credited fourth. TMDB, checked 2026-11-03
- Theo James plays David in Underworld: Blood Wars (2016), credited second. TMDB, checked 2026-11-03
- Underworld: Awakening was released in the US on January 20, 2012. Box Office Mojo, checked 2026-11-03
- Underworld: Blood Wars was released in the US on January 6, 2017. Box Office Mojo, checked 2026-11-03
- Underworld: Awakening runs 88 minutes. TMDB, checked 2026-11-03
- Underworld: Blood Wars runs 91 minutes and was directed by Anna Foerster. TMDB, checked 2026-11-03
- Underworld: Awakening earned $160,112,671 worldwide on a $70,000,000 budget. Box Office Mojo, checked 2026-11-03
- Underworld: Blood Wars earned $81,093,313 worldwide on a $35,000,000 budget. Box Office Mojo, checked 2026-11-03
FAQs
Is David in love with Selene in Underworld?
No. Neither Underworld: Awakening nor Underworld: Blood Wars shows a romance between David and Selene. Their bond is one of trust and mutual rescue, and Selene's love interest is Michael Corvin, whom she searches for at the end of Awakening.
What happened to Selene's daughter in Underworld?
Eve is Selene's hybrid daughter. In Awakening, David's father Thomas gives her to the Lycans, and Eve kills Dr. Jacob Lane. In Blood Wars, Selene hides what she knows about Eve's location to protect her, and by the end Eve finds her mother through their telepathic link.
How did David become a vampire?
Neither film shows David being turned. Blood Wars instead reveals that he is the son of Thomas and the Grand Elder Amelia, which makes him the rightful heir to the Eastern Coven.
Who plays David in Underworld?
Theo James plays David in both of his films: Underworld: Awakening (2012), where he is credited fourth, and Underworld: Blood Wars (2017), where he is credited second.
Does David die in Underworld?
No. David survives both films. He is badly wounded by the Super-Lycan Quint in Awakening and saved by Selene's blood, and at the end of Blood Wars he becomes one of the coven's new Elders with Selene and Lena.
Was Viktor stronger than Michael?
The films do not show Viktor and Michael fighting each other. Selene kills Viktor in Underworld (2003), and Michael, as a hybrid in Underworld: Evolution, kills William. See Viktor Underworld for more on the elder.