- Born
- Birth nameWilliam James Remar
- Height5′ 9″ (1.75 m)
- James is a rugged, intense character player with leading man good looks. Having first gained recognition in 1979 as Ajax, in his second film, The Warriors (1979). That same year he garnered acclaim on Broadway with Richard Gere in the concentration camp drama "Bent".
In a career spanning nearly four decades, James has run the gamut of roles and solid career choices. Ranging from the psychopaths, Dutch Schultz in 'Francis Copolla''s The Cotton Club (1984) and 'Albert Ganz' in Walter Hill's 48 Hrs. (1982) to Samantha's lover, the billionaire playboy, Richard Wright, in the HBO series Sex and the City (1998)." James has also garnered roles which highlight a more vulnerable side, such as his guitarist who gets a break in the Oscar-winning short, Session Man (1991) or his artist who falls in love with a gargoyle come to life in the best segment of the horror anthology, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990) and as Mary Louise Parker's lover in Boys on the Side.
In the hit Showtime series Dexter (2006). James starred alongside Michael C. Hall where he played Dexter's wise, compassionate, adoptive father, Harry Morgan. Grey's Anatomy fans have recently enjoyed seeing James as Karev's long-lost Dad. While remaining active with top feature films James enjoys the distinction of being the only actor to die twice, as two different characters in Quentin Tarintino's smash hit Django Unchained.
James won the 8th annual SAG award as a member of the Outstanding Comedy Ensemble for his work in Sex and the City. As a member of the ensemble cast of Dexter, James has been nominated for the SAG award and the Emmy. In recognition for his work in Sci-Fi Fantasy and Horror James was honored with the Saturn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.
In early 2019 James completed Season Two of CW's Black Lightning (2018) where he co-stars as Peter Gambi. Reunited with Quentin Tarantino James appears in the highly anticipated Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019)
- IMDb mini biography by: Scotty
- SpouseAtsuko Itsuki(1984 - present) (2 children)
- ParentsElizabeth MaryS Roy Remar
- Deep gravelly commanding voice
- Often plays supporting villains
- Decided to become an actor at the age of seven after seeing Spartacus (1960).
- Gained a minor cult following after playing "Ajax" in The Warriors (1979).
- Was the voice in the 2009-2010 Lexus car commercials.
- Was originally cast as "Hicks" in Aliens (1986), but had to be replaced early into filming. He can be seen from the back as the Marines walk along a corridor, but only because the in-camera miniature of the set had been junked, and the scene was too expensive to re-shoot.
- He played an adoptive father 2 times. In Dexter, he was a cop trying to make the world a better place and raised a serial killer and trained him to kill the killers that the justice system couldn't catch. In Black Lightning, he played an agent for an evil organization who raised a superhero trying to make up for what he had done.
- Any good actor is a character actor.
- That's why I take on a variety of roles. I've played everything from a gay dancer in Cruising (1980) to Dutch Schultz in The Cotton Club (1984). James Remar is a student of life. I'm expressing myself by acting. I'm learning about myself and making a living. I hope to do much more of it, so I can contribute my share to the world.
- I was really thrilled and honored and wanted to do the best job I could. But afterwards, I started getting a lot of bad guy offers and became concerned about being typecast. I did not want to be seen as that kind of guy all the time because a lot of those roles are not well written. They're there merely to drive the action and give the protagonist something to do. So it becomes incredibly repetitive and boring. (On 48 Hours)
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