James Remar
William James Remar (born December 31, 1953) is an American actor. He has played Ajax in The Warriors (1979), Albert Ganz in 48 Hrs. (1982), Dutch Schultz in The Cotton Club (1984), Jack Duff in Miracle on 34th Street (1994), Richard in Sex and the City (2002–2004), and Harry Morgan, the father of the title character in Dexter (2006–2013). Since 2009 he has done voice-over work in ads for Lexus luxury cars.[1] Remar studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City.
James Remar | |
|---|---|
 Remar at the 2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards | |
| Born | William James Remar December 31, 1953 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1978–present |
Remar's more recent roles include Frank Gordon in Gotham from 2016 to 2019, and since 2018, Peter Gambi in Black Lightning.
Career
Films
Remar has spent the majority of his film career playing villains. He portrayed the violent and sexually aggressive character Ajax in the cult film The Warriors (1979),[2] and the murdering sociopath Albert Ganz in the hit 48 Hrs. (1982). Both films were directed by Walter Hill. Remar also played real-life 1930s-era gangster Dutch Schultz in The Cotton Club (1984).[3]
In contrast to these roles, Remar starred in the film Windwalker (1980) as the young Cheyenne Windwalker, for which he spoke his lines in the Cheyenne language.[4] He also portrayed a gay man in the film Cruising (1980). That same year, Remar had a cameo in the Western The Long Riders (1980) in a bar fight scene with David Carradine.
He was the star of the 1986 film Quiet Cool (1986) and was cast as Corporal Hicks in the science-fiction/horror film Aliens (1986), but was replaced by Michael Biehn shortly after filming began. At least one piece of footage featuring Remar made it into the final version of the film: when the Marines enter the processing station and the camera tilts down from the Alien nest, though Remar is not seen in close-up.[5] He is also filmed from the back as the Marines first enter the compound on LV-426 and when "Hicks" approaches the cocooned woman, again filmed from the rear so the viewer is unable to tell it is Remar and not Michael Biehn.[6]
He played Quill, one of the main villains in The Phantom (1996).[7] He appeared in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997), the sequel to the film Mortal Kombat (1995), taking over the role of Raiden from Christopher Lambert. He then followed this with a role in the direct-to-video science fiction movie Robo Warriors (1996). Other films include Psycho (1998), in which he played the patrolman,[8] Drugstore Cowboy (1989), Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990), Wedlock (1991), Boys on the Side (1995), The Quest (1996), Rites of Passage (1999), Hellraiser: Inferno (2000), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Fear X (2003), Blade: Trinity (2004), The Girl Next Door (2004). He played a brief role as General Bratt in the prologue of Pineapple Express (2008). He also had a role in the horror movie The Unborn (2009), alongside C.S. Lee, who portrays Vince Masuka in Dexter. He also played the father of Olivia Grey in "Feed" (2017).
Remar was featured in the film X-Men: First Class (2011) and voiced the Autobot Sideswipe in the film Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), replacing André Sogliuzzo.[9] He was also cast in the heist film Setup (2011) and starred in the film Arena (2011).
Remar played two different, unrelated characters in Quentin Tarantino's film Django Unchained (2012):[10] Ace Speck and Butch Pooch. He starred, alongside Emma Roberts, Lucy Boynton, and Lauren Holly, in the thriller film The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015).[11]
Television
Remar's television appearances include the series Miami Vice, Hill Street Blues, Sex and the City (as the on-again, off-again boyfriend of Kim Cattrall's character),[12] Tales from the Crypt, Jericho, Third Watch, Justice League Unlimited, and Battlestar Galactica.[13] He also appeared as a possessed mental patient in The X-Files ninth-season episode "Dæmonicus".[14] He starred as Tiny Bellows on the short-lived television series The Huntress (2000–2001).[15] He appeared in the miniseries The Grid (2004) as Hudson "Hud", the love interest of Julianna Margulies' character.[16] He had a recurring guest role in the 2006 television series Jericho on CBS. Remar guest-starred in the CBS crime drama Numbers, playing a weapons dealer who later turns good and helps the FBI.
From 2006 to 2013, Remar co-starred in Dexter on Showtime. He was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Dexter Morgan's adoptive father, Harry Morgan.[17]
In 2010, he played guest roles as Giuseppe Salvatore in The CW series The Vampire Diaries[18] and as James Ermine, a general for Jericho, a black-ops military contractor, on FlashForward.
He also voiced Vilgax in the animated television series Ben 10: Alien Force and Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, replacing Steve Blum. He guest-starred in Private Practice in 2010, playing a physician named Gibby, who works with Doctors Without Borders.[19] On July 23, 2017, Remar was cast as Peter Gambi on the superhero drama Black Lightning.[20]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | On the Yard | Larson | |
| 1979 | The Warriors | Ajax | |
| Blond Poison | Eric Leeder | ||
| 1980 | Cruising | Gregory | |
| The Long Riders | Sam Starr | ||
| Windwalker | Young Windwalker | ||
| 1982 | Partners | Edward K. Petersen | |
| 48 Hrs. | Albert Ganz | ||
| 1984 | The Cotton Club | Dutch Schultz | |
| 1986 | The Clan of the Cave Bear | Creb | |
| Band of the Hand | Nestor | ||
| Quiet Cool | Joe Dylanne | ||
| 1987 | Rent-A-Cop | Dancer | |
| 1989 | The Dream Team | Gianelli | |
| Silent Like Glass | Charly | ||
| Drugstore Cowboy | Gentry | ||
| 1990 | Tales from the Darkside: The Movie | Preston | Segment: "Lover's Vow" |
| 1991 | White Fang | Beauty Smith | |
| Wedlock | Sam | ||
| 1992 | The Tigress | Andrei | |
| 1993 | Fatal Instinct | Max Shady | |
| Blink | Thomas Ridgely | ||
| 1994 | Confessions of a Hitman | Bruno Serrano | |
| Renaissance Man | Captain Tom Murdoch | ||
| Miracle on 34th Street | Jack Duff | ||
| 1995 | The Surgeon | Dr. Benjamin Hendricks | |
| Boys on the Side | Alex | ||
| Across the Moon | Rattlesnake Jim | ||
| Judge Dredd | Block Warlord Monroe | Cameo Uncredited | |
| Wild Bill | Donnie Lonigan | ||
| 1996 | One Good Turn | Simon Jury | |
| The Quest | Maxie Devine | ||
| The Phantom | Quill | ||
| Robo Warriors | Ray Gibson | ||
| 1997 | Born Bad | Sheriff Larabee | |
| Mortal Kombat: Annihilation | Lord Raiden | ||
| 1998 | Psycho | Patrolman | |
| 1999 | Rites of Passage | Frank Dabbo | |
| 2000 | Blowback | John Matthew Whitman / Schmidt | |
| What Lies Beneath | Warren Feur | ||
| The Base 2: Guilty as Charged | Lt. Col. Strauss | ||
| Hellraiser: Inferno | Dr. Paul Gregory | ||
| Double Frame | Det. Tim Follett | ||
| 2001 | Guardian | Detective Carpenter | |
| Dying on the Edge | Jackie James | ||
| 2003 | Fear X | Peter | |
| Betrayal | Alex Tyler | ||
| 2 Fast 2 Furious | Agent Markham | ||
| Duplex | Chick | ||
| Down with the Joneses | Vic | ||
| 2004 | The Girl Next Door | Hugo Posh | |
| Blade: Trinity | Ray Cumberland | ||
| 2007 | Ratatouille | Larousse (voice) | |
| 2008 | Pineapple Express | General Bratt | |
| 2009 | The Unborn | Gordon Beldon | |
| 2B | Tom Mortlake | ||
| Endless Bummer | Sam Kramer | ||
| 2010 | Gun | Detective Rogers | |
| Red | Gabriel Singer | ||
| 2011 | The FP | Narrator (voice) | |
| X-Men: First Class | U.S. General | ||
| Transformers: Dark of the Moon | Sideswipe (voice) | ||
| Setup | William Long | ||
| Arena | Agent McCarty | ||
| Vs | Rickshaw | ||
| 2012 | Django Unchained | Ace Speck, Butch Pooch | |
| 2013 | Horns | Derrick Perrish | |
| 2014 | Persecuted | John Luther | |
| Lap Dance | Patrick Moore | ||
| 2015 | The Blackcoat's Daughter | Bill | |
| Eden | Coach DaFoe | ||
| Unnatural | Martin Nakos | ||
| Papa: Hemingway in Cuba | Santo Trafficante Jr. | ||
| 2016 | Decommissioned | David Marino | |
| The Dog Lover | Daniel Holloway | ||
| USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage | Admiral Parnell | ||
| 2017 | The Saint | Arnold Valecross | |
| Feed | Tom | ||
| 2019 | Once Upon a Time in Hollywood | "Ugly Owl" Hoot | |
| Altar Rock | Agent Cantrell |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Hill Street Blues | Cooper | Episode: "Rites of Spring" |
| 1984 | The Mystic Warrior | Pesla | Television film |
| 1985 | Miami Vice | Robbie Cann | Episode: "Buddies" |
| 1987 | The Equalizer | Tremayne | Episode: "High Performance" |
| Deadly Nightmares | Ron | Episode: "Homebodies" | |
| Crime Story | Smilin' Jack | Episode: "Blast from the Past" | |
| 1989 | Desperado: The Outlaw Wars | John Sikes | Television film |
| 1990 | Kojak: None So Blind | Wolfgang Reiger | |
| Night Visions | Sergeant Thomas Mackey | ||
| 1991 | Session Man | McQueen | |
| Tales from the Crypt | Red Buckley | Episode: "Dead Wait" | |
| Brotherhood of the Gun | Frank Weir | Television film | |
| 1992 | Strangers | Bernard | |
| Indecency | Mick Clarkson | ||
| 1996 | Cutty Whitman | Cutty Whitman | |
| 1997 | Total Security | Frank Cisco | 13 episodes |
| 1998 | Inferno | Dr. Coleman West | Television film |
| 1999 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Keith Bolt | Episode: "The Principal" |
| 2000 | 18 Wheels of Justice | Mitch Davis / "Gabriel" | Episode: "Wages of Sin" |
| 2001 | 7th Heaven | James Carver | 2 episodes |
| The Huntress | Tiny Bellows | 28 episodes | |
| Strong Medicine | Guy Falls | Episode: "Systemic" | |
| The X-Files | Professor Josef Kobold | Episode: "Dæmonicus" | |
| 2001–2006 | Justice League/Justice League Unlimited | Hawkman, Shadow Thief, Lead Manhunter (voices) | 4 episodes |
| 2002 | The Twilight Zone | Alois Hitler | Episode: "Cradle of Darkness" |
| Third Watch | Det. Madjanski | 4 episodes | |
| 2002–2004 | Sex and the City | Richard Wright | 12 episodes |
| 2003 | Peacemakers | Cole Hawkins | Episode: "Legend of the Gun" |
| Without a Trace | Lucas Vohland | Episode: "Confidence" | |
| 2004 | The Grid | Hudson "Hud" Benoit | Miniseries |
| The Survivors Club | Roan Griffin | Television film | |
| Ike: Countdown to D-Day | Gen. Omar Bradley | ||
| Meltdown | Colonel Boggs | ||
| 2005 | Battlestar Galactica | Meier | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | CSI: Miami | Capt. Quentin Taylor | Episode: "Open Water" |
| Thief | Agent Patterson | Miniseries | |
| 2006–2007 | Eli Stone | Salinsky | Episode: "Praying for Time" |
| Jericho | Jonah Prowse | 5 episodes | |
| 2006–2008 | The Batman | Black Mask (voice) | 3 episodes |
| 2006–2013 | Dexter | Harry Morgan | 96 episodes |
| 2007 | Sharpshooter | Dillon | Television film |
| 2009 | The Unit | Reece | Episode: "Hero" |
| Criminal Minds | Tom Benton | Episode: "Demonology" | |
| The Spectacular Spider-Man | Walter Hardy / Cat Burglar (voice) | Episode: "Opening Night" | |
| The Christmas Hope | Mark Addison | Television film | |
| 2009–2010 | Batman: The Brave and the Bold | Two-Face (voice) | 2 episodes |
| Ben 10: Alien Force | Vilgax, Additional Voices | 7 episodes | |
| 2010 | D.R.E.A.M. Team | Shawn Murphy | Television film |
| Numb3rs | Randall Priest | Episode: "Arm in Arms" | |
| FlashForward | James Ermine | Episode: "Blowback" | |
| The Vampire Diaries | Giuseppe Salvatore | 2 episodes | |
| Private Practice | Gibby | Episode: "Playing God" | |
| 2011 | Human Target | Warden Cole | Episode: "Warden Cole" |
| Hawaii Five-0 | Elliott Connor | Episode: "Ua Hiki Mai Kapalena Pau" | |
| Young Justice | Joar Mahkent / Icicle Sr., Wilcox (voices) | Episode: "Terrors" | |
| Pound Puppies | Sarge (voice) | Episode: "The K9 Kid" | |
| 2011–2012 | Ben 10: Ultimate Alien | Vilgax (voice) | 5 episodes |
| 2012 | Hatfields & McCoys | Joe Hatfield | Miniseries |
| 2013–2014 | Beware the Batman | Mr. Reese / Silver Monkey (voices) | 3 episodes |
| The Legend of Korra | Tonraq (voice) | 14 episodes | |
| Grey's Anatomy | James Evans | 6 episodes | |
| Wilfred | Henry Newman | 5 episodes | |
| 2014 | From Dusk till Dawn: The Series | Gecko Father | Episode: "Boxman" |
| 2014–2015 | State of Affairs | Syd Vaslo | 9 episodes |
| 2016 | The Shannara Chronicles | Cephalo | 7 episodes |
| 2017 | Gotham | Frank Gordon | 3 episodes |
| 2017–2018 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Admiral Sterling Bridges | 3 episodes |
| The Path | Kodiak | 9 episodes | |
| 2018–present | Black Lightning | Peter Gambi | 45 episodes |
| Magnum P.I. | Captain Buck Greene | 3 episodes | |
| 2019 | The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants | Additional Voices | Uncredited 2 episodes |
| City on a Hill | Richy Ryan | Recurring role[21] 5 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The Warriors | Ajax |
| 2010 | Batman: The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame | Two-Face |
| 2011 | Killzone 3 | Captain Jason Narville |
| 2014 | Destiny | Executor Hideo, New Monarchy Merchant[22] |
| 2017 | Destiny 2 | Executor Hideo |
Awards and nominations
- 2007 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television: Dexter (nominated)
- 2009–12 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series: Dexter (nominated)
- 2012 San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Performance: Django Unchained (nominated)
- 2012 Saturn Award for Lifetime Achievement (won)
References
- Barry, Keith (March 16, 2009). "Lexus Pursues a New Pitchman". Wired. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
- Maslin, Janet (February 10, 1979). "Movie: 'Warriors' Creates Visual Style That Is Stark:The Cast". The New York Times. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- Gussow, Mel (March 22, 1984). "PARTING FILM SHOTS:COPPOLA AND DUTCH". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
- Maslin, Janet (March 13, 1981). "PLAINS WARRIOR REUNITES WITH HIS SON". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
- Making of Aliens. 2003.
- Laskin, Nicholas (November 14, 2014). "Rare Pics Of James Remar In James Cameron's 'Aliens' Before He Was Fired". IndieWire. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
- Petrakis, John (June 7, 1996). "HIGH-FLYING `PHANTOM' A THROWBACK TO COMIC-STRIP INNOCENCE". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
- Johnson, Malcolm (December 5, 1998). "ANALYZING `PSYCHO'". Hartford Courant. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
- Trumbore, Dave (May 28, 2013). "TRANSFORMERS 4 Autobot Images". Collider. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
- "Django Unchained". The New York Times.
- "James Remar Gets Possessed In 'February'". The New York Times.
- Shaw, Gabbi (March 23, 2018). "WHERE ARE THEY NOW: The cast of 'Sex and the City' 20 years later". Insider. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
- "'Grey's Anatomy' Taps James Remar For Season 10 Role". HuffPost. August 18, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
- Schneider, Michael (April 19, 2004). "Remar moves to 'Shore'". Variety. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
- Wertheimer, Ron (July 26, 2000). "TELEVISION REVIEW; Mama Is a Bounty Hunter, Just Making an Honest Living". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
- Martin, Denise (February 11, 2004). "'The Grid' locates thesp". Variety. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
- "Paleyfest 2010: Dexter Panel Reveals a Few Clues for Season Five".
- Keck, William (November 20, 2009). "Dexter's Dad Does Vampire Diaries". TV Guide Magazine. Archived from the original on May 20, 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
- "James Remar to star in Private Practice season 4". Archived from the original on August 6, 2010.
- Petski, Denise (July 23, 2017). "'Black Lightning' Casts James Remar & Damon Gupton As Series Regulars, Watch Trailer – Comic-Con". Deadline Hollywood.
- Hipes, Patrick (February 26, 2019). "'City On A Hill': James Remar & Gloria Reuben To Recur On Showtime Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
- Destiny - End Credits - IGN Video. IGN Video. September 11, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
Notes
- Kipp, Jeremiah (Fall 2001). "The Quiet Cool of a Gypsy Actor: An Interview with James Remar". Shock Cinema. No. 19. p. 3-8.
