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James Tolkan‌

Gender

Male

Birthday

calendar1931-06-20

Popularity

star7.8

James Tolkan

Calumet, Michigan, USA

James Tolkan

Calumet, Michigan, USA

Gender

Male

Birthday

calendar1931-06-20

Popularity

star7.8

Biography

Fiery, forceful and intimidating character actor James Tolkan has carved out a nice little niche for himself in both movies and television alike as a formidable portrayer of fierce and flinty hard-boiled tough guy types. James Stewart Tolkan was born on June 20, 1931 in Calumet, Michigan. His father, Ralph M. Tolkan, was a cattle dealer. James attended the University of Iowa, Coe College and Eastern Arizona College. After serving a year-long stint in the United States Navy, Tolkan went to New York and studied acting with both Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler at the Actors Studio. Short and bald, with beady, intense eyes, a wiry, compact, muscular build, a gruff, jarring, high-decibel voice, and an aggressive, confrontational, blunt-as-a-battle-ax, rough-around-the-edges demeanor, Tolkan has been often cast as rugged, cynical no-nonsense cops, mean, domineering authority figures, and various ruthless and dangerous criminals. Tolkan first began acting in movies in the late 1960s and was highly effective in two pictures for Sidney Lumet: He was a rabidly homophobic police lieutenant in the superbly gritty Serpico (1973) and a sneaky district attorney in the equally excellent Prince of the City (1981). Best known as the obnoxiously overzealous high school principal Gerard Strickland in the Back to the Future films, Tolkan's other most memorable roles include Napolean in Woody Allen's Love and Death (1975), a ramrod army officer in WarGames (1983), mayor Robert Culp's mordant, wisecracking assistant in Turk 182 (1985), the hard-nosed Stinger in Top Gun (1986), the choleric Detective Lubric in Masters of the Universe (1987), meek mob accountant Numbers in Dick Tracy (1990), and Wesley Snipes' bullish superior in Boiling Point (1993).

Movie Credits

Back to the Future

Back to the Future‌
star8.3
calendar 1985

Back to the Future Part II

Back to the Future Part II‌
star7.8
calendar 1989

Back to the Future Part III

Back to the Future Part III‌
star7.5
calendar 1990

WarGames

WarGames‌
star7.1
calendar 1983

Val

Val‌
star7.1
calendar 2021

Top Gun

Top Gun‌
star7.1
calendar 1986

Family Business

Family Business‌
star5.7
calendar 1989

Boiling Point

Boiling Point‌
star4.9
calendar 1993

Opportunity Knocks

Opportunity Knocks‌
star5.7
calendar 1990

Masters of the Universe

Masters of the Universe‌
star5.7
calendar 1987

Iceman

Iceman‌
star6.1
calendar 1984

Made in Heaven

Made in Heaven‌
star6.7
calendar 1987

Heavens Fall

Heavens Fall‌
star7.3
calendar 2006

Problem Child 2

Problem Child 2‌
star5.9
calendar 1991

Off Beat

Off Beat‌
star4.9
calendar 1986

7 Times Lucky

7 Times Lucky‌
star6.2
calendar 2004

Bloodfist IV: Die Trying

Bloodfist IV: Die Trying‌
star5.3
calendar 1992

Little Spies

Little Spies‌
star6.4
calendar 1986

Split Decisions

Split Decisions‌
star5.1
calendar 1988

True Blood

True Blood‌
star5.5
calendar 1989

Phil Spector

Phil Spector‌
star5.7
calendar 2013

Looking Back to the Future

Looking Back to the Future‌
star8.0
calendar 2009

The Case of the Hillside Stranglers

The Case of the Hillside Stranglers‌
star6.3
calendar 1989

Love and Death

Love and Death‌
star7.5
calendar 1975

They Might Be Giants

They Might Be Giants‌
star6.9
calendar 1971

Hangfire

Hangfire‌
star4.2
calendar 1991

The Amityville Horror

The Amityville Horror‌
star6.3
calendar 1979

Armed and Dangerous

Armed and Dangerous‌
star5.6
calendar 1986

Robo Warriors

Robo Warriors‌
star5.3
calendar 1997

Turk 182!

Turk 182!‌
star5.8
calendar 1985

Second Sight

Second Sight‌
star4.4
calendar 1989

Weekend War

Weekend War‌
star2.0
calendar 1988

Serpico

Serpico‌
star7.5
calendar 1973

Driving Me Crazy

Driving Me Crazy‌
star3.7
calendar 1991

Prince of the City

Prince of the City‌
star7.0
calendar 1981

Viper

Viper‌
star3.3
calendar 1988

The River

The River‌
star6.2
calendar 1984

Sketch Artist II: Hands That See

Sketch Artist II: Hands That See‌
star6.0
calendar 1995

Bone Tomahawk

Bone Tomahawk‌
star6.9
calendar 2015

Underworld

Underworld‌
star5.2
calendar 1996

Hanky Panky

Hanky Panky‌
star5.3
calendar 1982

Dick Tracy

Dick Tracy‌
star6.1
calendar 1990

Back in Time

Back in Time‌
star6.5
calendar 2015

Ministry of Vengeance

Ministry of Vengeance‌
star3.0
calendar 1989

Flanagan

Flanagan‌
star0.0
calendar 1985

The Three Sisters

The Three Sisters‌
star0.0
calendar 1966

Tales from the Future

Tales from the Future‌
star7.4
calendar 2010

Wolfen

Wolfen‌
star5.9
calendar 1981

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

The Friends of Eddie Coyle‌
star7.2
calendar 1973

Question of Faith

Question of Faith‌
star0.0
calendar 1988

Author! Author!

Author! Author!‌
star5.8
calendar 1982

Sketch Artist

Sketch Artist‌
star5.5
calendar 1992

Stiletto

Stiletto‌
star5.3
calendar 1969

The Werewolf of Washington

The Werewolf of Washington‌
star3.9
calendar 1973

Tv Credits

Remington Steele

Remington Steele‌
star7.1
calendar 1982

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air‌
star7.9
calendar 1990

The Pretender

The Pretender‌
star7.4
calendar 1996

Early Edition

Early Edition‌
star7.3
calendar 1996

Naked City

Naked City‌
star5.3
calendar 1958

Hill Street Blues

Hill Street Blues‌
star7.6
calendar 1981

Cobra

Cobra‌
star6.6
calendar 1993

The Equalizer

The Equalizer‌
star7.1
calendar 1985

The Wonder Years

The Wonder Years‌
star8.3
calendar 1988

Mary

Mary‌
star5.0
calendar 1985

The Hat Squad

The Hat Squad‌
star6.8
calendar 1992

Nowhere Man

Nowhere Man‌
star7.5
calendar 1995

A Nero Wolfe Mystery

A Nero Wolfe Mystery‌
star7.8
calendar 2001

A Nero Wolfe Mystery

A Nero Wolfe Mystery‌
star7.8
calendar 2001

A Nero Wolfe Mystery

A Nero Wolfe Mystery‌
star7.8
calendar 2001

Leverage

Leverage‌
star7.6
calendar 2008

Tales from the Crypt

Tales from the Crypt‌
star8.0
calendar 1989

Miami Vice

Miami Vice‌
star7.5
calendar 1984

The Wonderful World of Disney

The Wonderful World of Disney‌
star7.6
calendar 1954