James Remar
Encyclopedia
James Remar is an American
actor
and voice artist. He has appeared in movies, video games, and TV shows. He is perhaps best known as Richard, the on-off tycoon boyfriend of Kim Cattrall
's character in Sex and the City
, as Ajax in The Warriors, as the homicidal maniac Albert Ganz in the 1982 comedy/thriller 48 Hrs.
, Dutch Shultz in The Cotton Club
, Lord Raiden in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
and more recently as Harry Morgan
in Dexter
.
cult film The Warriors and as the murdering sociopath Albert Ganz in the 1982
hit 48 Hrs.
(both movies were directed by Walter Hill, and he also Co-starred with David Patrick Kelly in Both Films; ironically, his characters in both films are named Luther). Remar played real-life '30s-era gangster Dutch Schultz
in the 1984
film The Cotton Club
. He starred in the 1980 film Windwalker
as the young Windwalker. He also portrayed a gay man in the 1980 film Cruising
. In 1996, he played Quill, one of the main villains in The Phantom.
Remar was cast as Corporal Hicks in the 1986 science-fiction/horror film Aliens
(co-produced by Walter Hill), but was replaced by Michael Biehn
shortly after filming began due to "creative differences" with director James Cameron
. (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.) 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 you are unable to tell it's Remar and not Michael Biehn.
Other films include Drugstore Cowboy
, Fear X
, Boys on the Side
, Hellraiser: Inferno
, The Quest, Wedlock
, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
, Rites of Passage, Blade: Trinity
, 2 Fast 2 Furious
, The Girl Next Door and in 1998
he played the patrolman in Psycho
. He was also the star of the 1986 film Quiet Cool
. He portrayed the character of Raiden in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
, the sequel to the 1995 movie adaptation of Mortal Kombat
, taking over the role from Christopher Lambert
. He then followed this with a role in the 1996 direct-to-video science fiction movie Robo Warriors.
Remar's other appearances include the TV series Miami Vice
, Hill Street Blues
, Sex and the City
, Tales from the Crypt
, Jericho
, Third Watch
, Justice League Unlimited
and Battlestar Galactica, as well as appearing as a possessed mental patient in the X-Files ninth season episode "Daemonicus". He was in the miniseries The Grid (2004) as Hudson "Hud", the love interest of Julianna Margulies
' character. He starred as Tiny Bellows on the short-lived television series, The Huntress
. He had a recurring guest role in the television series Jericho
on CBS.
Since 2006, Remar has co-starred in Dexter
on Showtime. Remar was nominated for a Saturn Award
for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Dexter Morgan
's adoptive father, Harry Morgan. He also had a role in the 2009 horror movie The Unborn (this film also had actor C.S. Lee
, who portrays Vince Masuka
in Dexter
). In 2008 he played a brief role as General Bratt in the prologue of Pineapple Express
. In 2010, he did a guest role as Giuseppe Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries
. In 2009-2010, Remar portrayed a recurring character on FlashForward
. He played James Irskan, a general for Jericho, a black-ops
military contractor. Remar did a very memorable cameo scene in the famous late 70s Western "The Long Riders" when he faced David Carradine's character in a bar fight over a woman that Remar's character was married to.
He also voiced Vilgax in Ben 10: Alien Force
and Ultimate Alien replacing Steven Blum
. He guest starred in Private Practice in 2010, playing a physician named Gibby who works with Doctors Without Borders. He voiced Cpt. Jason Narville in Killzone 3
. Remar was featured in the 2011 film X-Men: First Class
and voiced the Autobot
Sideswipe
in the 2011 film Transformers: Dark of the Moon replacing André Sogliuzzo
. He has also been cast in the 2011 heist film Setup
and in Transformers: Prime
. He also stars in the film Arena. Remar voiced Snowman in the video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 In September 2011 it was announced that Remar would be starring in Quentin Tarantino
's new film Django Unchained.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and voice artist. He has appeared in movies, video games, and TV shows. He is perhaps best known as Richard, the on-off tycoon boyfriend of Kim Cattrall
Kim Cattrall
Kim Victoria Cattrall is an English actress. She is known for her role as Samantha Jones in the HBO comedy/romance series Sex and the City, and for her leading roles in the 1980s films Police Academy, Big Trouble in Little China, Mannequin, and Porky's...
's character in Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
, as Ajax in The Warriors, as the homicidal maniac Albert Ganz in the 1982 comedy/thriller 48 Hrs.
48 Hrs.
48 Hrs. is a 1982 American action comedy film directed by Walter Hill, starring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy as a cop and convict, respectively, who team up to catch a cop-killer. The title refers to the amount of time they have to solve the crime. This was Eddie Murphy's film debut , and Joel...
, Dutch Shultz in The Cotton Club
The Cotton Club (film)
The Cotton Club is a 1984 crime-drama, centered on a famed Harlem jazz club of the 1930s, the Cotton Club.The movie was co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, choreographed by Henry LeTang, and starred Richard Gere, Diane Lane, and Gregory Hines...
, Lord Raiden in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is a 1997 American martial arts action film that was the sequel to 1995's Mortal Kombat, and was directed by John R. Leonetti, who had served as the cinematographer for the previous film...
and more recently as Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan (Dexter)
Detective Harrison "Harry" Morgan is a fictional character in the Showtime television series Dexter and the novels by Jeff Lindsay upon which it is based. In the television series he is portrayed by James Remar. Harry is Dexter Morgan's adoptive father, now deceased...
in Dexter
Dexter (TV series)
Dexter is an American television drama series, which debuted on Showtime on October 1, 2006. The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2011. The series centers on Dexter Morgan , a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer...
.
Life and career
Remar was born William James Remar in Boston, Massachusetts. He has spent the majority of his film career playing villains. He is known for his roles as the aggressively sexual and violent character Ajax in the 19791979 in film
The year 1979 in film involved some significant events.- Major events :* March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.* May 25 - Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released....
cult film The Warriors and as the murdering sociopath Albert Ganz in the 1982
1982 in film
-Events:* March 26 = I Ought to Be in Pictures, starring Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and Dinah Manoff is released. Manoff would not appear in another movie until 1987's Backfire.* June = PG-rated film E.T...
hit 48 Hrs.
48 Hrs.
48 Hrs. is a 1982 American action comedy film directed by Walter Hill, starring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy as a cop and convict, respectively, who team up to catch a cop-killer. The title refers to the amount of time they have to solve the crime. This was Eddie Murphy's film debut , and Joel...
(both movies were directed by Walter Hill, and he also Co-starred with David Patrick Kelly in Both Films; ironically, his characters in both films are named Luther). Remar played real-life '30s-era gangster Dutch Schultz
Dutch Schultz
Dutch Schultz was a New York City-area Jewish American gangster of the 1920s and 1930s who made his fortune in organized crime-related activities such as bootlegging alcohol and the numbers racket...
in the 1984
1984 in film
-Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.* Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....
film The Cotton Club
The Cotton Club (film)
The Cotton Club is a 1984 crime-drama, centered on a famed Harlem jazz club of the 1930s, the Cotton Club.The movie was co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, choreographed by Henry LeTang, and starred Richard Gere, Diane Lane, and Gregory Hines...
. He starred in the 1980 film Windwalker
Windwalker (1980 film)
Windwalker is a 1981 western adventure film, based on a novel by Blaine M. Yorgason, starring Trevor Howard and Nick Ramus. It was shot in various outdoor locations in Utah. To maintain authenticity to the story, the film's dialogue is subtitled in English with Cheyenne and Crow languages spoken...
as the young Windwalker. He also portrayed a gay man in the 1980 film Cruising
Cruising (film)
Cruising is a 1980 film directed by William Friedkin and starring Al Pacino. The film is loosely based on the novel of the same name, by New York Times reporter Gerald Walker, about a serial killer targeting gay men, in particular those associated with the S&M scene.Poorly reviewed by critics,...
. In 1996, he played Quill, one of the main villains in The Phantom.
Remar was cast as Corporal Hicks in the 1986 science-fiction/horror film Aliens
Aliens (film)
Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton...
(co-produced by Walter Hill), but was replaced by Michael Biehn
Michael Biehn
Michael Connell Biehn is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in James Cameron's science fiction action films The Terminator as Kyle Reese, Aliens as Cpl. Dwayne Hicks, and The Abyss as Lt. Coffey. He has also acted in such films as Tombstone, The Rock, and Planet Terror...
shortly after filming began due to "creative differences" with director James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
. (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.) 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 you are unable to tell it's Remar and not Michael Biehn.
Other films include Drugstore Cowboy
Drugstore Cowboy
Drugstore Cowboy is a 1989 crime drama directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Van Sant and Daniel Yost, based on a novel by James Fogle. Matt Dillon stars in the title role, and Kelly Lynch, Heather Graham, and William S. Burroughs are also featured. Drugstore Cowboy was filmed mainly around...
, Fear X
Fear X
Fear X is a 2003 psychological thriller film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. The first film to be produced from one of Hubert Selby Jr.'s original screenplays, its eventual box-office failure would force Refn's film company Jang Go Star into bankruptcy.-Plot:When his wife is killed in a seemingly...
, Boys on the Side
Boys on the Side
Boys on the Side is a 1995 comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross . It stars Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Barrymore and Mary-Louise Parker as three friends on a cross-country road trip...
, Hellraiser: Inferno
Hellraiser: Inferno
Hellraiser: Inferno is the fifth installment in the Hellraiser series and the first Hellraiser film to go straight-to-DVD. It was directed by Scott Derrickson and released on October 3, 2000....
, The Quest, Wedlock
Wedlock (film)
Wedlock, originally known as Deadlock, is a 1991 science fiction action film from Home Box Office , starring Rutger Hauer.-Cast:* Rutger Hauer ... Frank Warren* Mimi Rogers ... Tracy Riggs* Joan Chen ... Noelle...
, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie is a 1990 movie directed by John Harrison based on the anthology television series Tales from the Darkside...
, Rites of Passage, Blade: Trinity
Blade: Trinity
Blade: Trinity is a 2004 American superhero vampire action film, written and directed by David S. Goyer, who also wrote the screenplays to the first two Blade films...
, 2 Fast 2 Furious
2 Fast 2 Furious
2 Fast 2 Furious is a 2003 street racing action film directed by John Singleton. It is the second film in The Fast and the Furious film series following The Fast and the Furious . It stars Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Eva Mendes, Devon Aoki, and Chris Bridges; and was directed by John Singleton. The...
, The Girl Next Door and in 1998
1998 in film
-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
he played the patrolman in Psycho
Psycho (1998 film)
Psycho is a 1998 American horror film produced and directed by Gus Van Sant for Universal Pictures, a remake of the 1960 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock...
. He was also the star of the 1986 film Quiet Cool
Quiet Cool
-Plot:Joe Dylanne is a plainclothes NYC cop with a badge... and a robust personality. He always resorts to unconventional methods in order to capture the city's slickest criminals. When Dylanne receives a message from Katy, an old sweetheart of his, the news is not as pleasant as he anticipated....
. He portrayed the character of Raiden in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is a 1997 American martial arts action film that was the sequel to 1995's Mortal Kombat, and was directed by John R. Leonetti, who had served as the cinematographer for the previous film...
, the sequel to the 1995 movie adaptation of Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat (film)
Mortal Kombat is a 1995 American action and adventure film directed by Paul Anderson. Based on the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games, the film was the first part of the Mortal Kombat film series...
, taking over the role from Christopher Lambert
Christopher Lambert
Christophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert is an American-born French actor who has appeared in French, European and American productions. He is best known for his role as Connor MacLeod, or simply "The Highlander", from the movie and subsequent movie franchise series of the same name...
. He then followed this with a role in the 1996 direct-to-video science fiction movie Robo Warriors.
Remar's other appearances include the TV series Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
, Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...
, Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
, Tales from the Crypt
Tales from the Crypt (TV series)
Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO...
, Jericho
Jericho (TV series)
Jericho is an American action/drama series that centers on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the contiguous United States...
, Third Watch
Third Watch
Third Watch is an American television drama series which first aired on NBC from 1999 to 2005 for a total of 132 episodes, broadcast in 6 seasons of 22 episodes each....
, Justice League Unlimited
Justice League Unlimited
Justice League Unlimited is an American animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the...
and Battlestar Galactica, as well as appearing as a possessed mental patient in the X-Files ninth season episode "Daemonicus". He was in the miniseries The Grid (2004) as Hudson "Hud", the love interest of Julianna Margulies
Julianna Margulies
Julianna Luisa Margulies is an American actress and producer.After several small television roles, Margulies achieved success in her regular role as Nurse Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama ER, for which she won an Emmy Award...
' character. He starred as Tiny Bellows on the short-lived television series, The Huntress
The Huntress (TV series)
The Huntress is an American TV series that appeared on the USA Network over subsequent summers of the 2000 and 2001 television seasons. It was inspired by a book about the real bounty hunter, Dottie Thorson, and is also a belated sequel to the 1980 Steve McQueen film, The Hunter.-Cast:*Annette...
. He had a recurring guest role in the television series Jericho
Jericho (TV series)
Jericho is an American action/drama series that centers on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the contiguous United States...
on CBS.
Since 2006, Remar has co-starred in Dexter
Dexter (TV series)
Dexter is an American television drama series, which debuted on Showtime on October 1, 2006. The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2011. The series centers on Dexter Morgan , a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer...
on Showtime. Remar was nominated for a Saturn Award
Saturn Award
The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Dexter Morgan
Dexter Morgan
Dexter Morgan is a fictional character in a series of novels by Jeff Lindsay, including Darkly Dreaming Dexter , Dearly Devoted Dexter , Dexter in the Dark , Dexter by Design , Dexter is Delicious and Double Dexter...
's adoptive father, Harry Morgan. He also had a role in the 2009 horror movie The Unborn (this film also had actor C.S. Lee
C.S. Lee
Charles S. "Charlie" Lee , known professionally as C.S. Lee, is a Korean American actor, most notably known for playing Vince Masuka on the Showtime series Dexter.-Personal life:...
, who portrays Vince Masuka
Vince Masuka
Vincent "Vince" Masuka is a fictional character in the Showtime television series Dexter and the novels by Jeff Lindsay upon which it is based. In the television series he is portrayed by Korean-American C. S. Lee. Masuka is the Miami Metro Police lead forensics investigator and works alongside...
in Dexter
Dexter (TV series)
Dexter is an American television drama series, which debuted on Showtime on October 1, 2006. The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2011. The series centers on Dexter Morgan , a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer...
). In 2008 he played a brief role as General Bratt in the prologue of Pineapple Express
Pineapple Express (film)
Pineapple Express is a 2008 American stoner action comedy directed by David Gordon Green, written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and starring Rogen and James Franco. Producer Judd Apatow, who previously worked with Rogen and Goldberg on Knocked Up and Superbad, assisted in developing the story,...
. In 2010, he did a guest role as Giuseppe Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries (TV series)
The Vampire Diaries is an American supernatural drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW Television Network on September 10, 2009, and is currently in its third season that...
. In 2009-2010, Remar portrayed a recurring character on FlashForward
Flashforward
A flashforward is an interjected scene that takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards are often used to represent events expected, projected, or imagined to occur in the future...
. He played James Irskan, a general for Jericho, a black-ops
Black operation
A black operation or black op is a covert operation typically involving activities that are highly clandestine and often outside of standard military protocol or even against the law.-Origins:...
military contractor. Remar did a very memorable cameo scene in the famous late 70s Western "The Long Riders" when he faced David Carradine's character in a bar fight over a woman that Remar's character was married to.
He also voiced Vilgax in Ben 10: Alien Force
Ben 10: Alien Force
When it recalibrated it gained a more watch-like shape, a green wristband, became smaller and sleeker, and the face dial became black and green. The inside of the hourglass shape glows in different colors at special moments; these colors signify the state that the Omnitrix is presently in...
and Ultimate Alien replacing Steven Blum
Steven Blum
Steven Jay Blum is an American voice actor known primarily for his work in anime dubs and video games, using his distinctive deep voice. Among his credits include the voice of Spike Spiegel of the anime series Cowboy Bebop and Mugen of the anime series Samurai Champloo...
. He guest starred in Private Practice in 2010, playing a physician named Gibby who works with Doctors Without Borders. He voiced Cpt. Jason Narville in Killzone 3
Killzone 3
Killzone 3 is a 2011 first-person shooter for the PlayStation 3, developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the fourth installment in the Killzone series, the first game in the series to be presented in 3D and the first to include motion controls using the...
. Remar was featured in the 2011 film X-Men: First Class
X-Men: First Class
X-Men: First Class is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics starring the X-Men.-Publication history:The original series was an eight-issue limited series. It began in September 2006 and ended in April 2007. It was written by Jeff Parker and penciled by Roger Cruz...
and voiced the Autobot
Autobot
Autobot, a faction of sentient robots from the planet Cybertron, are usually the main protagonists in the fictional universe of the Transformers, a collection of various toys, graphic novels, paperback books, cartoons and movies first introduced in 1984. In all but one Transformer story, the...
Sideswipe
Sideswipe
Sideswipe is the name of several characters in the Transformers universes. Because of trademark restrictions, toys of the character are sometimes marketed as Side Swipe.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
in the 2011 film Transformers: Dark of the Moon replacing André Sogliuzzo
André Sogliuzzo
André Sogliuzzo is an Italian-American voice actor, comedian, and actor.-Animated roles:* American Dad! – Dill* Avatar: The Last Airbender – King Bumi, Hakoda, Haru* The Batman – Duncan* Brandy & Mr...
. He has also been cast in the 2011 heist film Setup
Setup (film)
Set Up is a heist film directed by Mike Cunther and written by Gunther and Mike Behrman. It stars Bruce Willis, Ryan Phillippe, and 50 Cent.It was released straight to DVD and Blu Ray on 20 September 2011 in the USA.-Plot:...
and in Transformers: Prime
Transformers: Prime
Transformers: Prime, also known as Transformers: Prime –The Animated Series, is an American computer-animated television series based on the Transformers toy franchise by Hasbro. It airs on the The Hub in the United States...
. He also stars in the film Arena. Remar voiced Snowman in the video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 In September 2011 it was announced that Remar would be starring in Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
's new film Django Unchained.