James Remar

Early life

William James Remar was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 31, 1953. He is the son of Elizabeth (née Boyle), who worked in mental health affairs for the state of Massachusetts, and Roy Remar, who was an attorney. His father was of Russian-Jewish descent, while his mother was a native of England and of Irish descent. He has three sisters and two brothers. Remar grew up with his family in Newton, Massachusetts.

Remar dropped out of high school when he was 15, although he attended what he described as "kind of an alternative school" for a year afterwards. He then traveled around the United States, briefly playing guitar in a rock band. Eventually, he returned home and went back to high school, although he decided not to attend college after graduating. Remar has said he decided to become an actor when he was 20; after he was laid off from his job as a roofer, he remembered a previous job performing at a summer camp, and said he would give himself three years to attempt an acting career before he would try something else.

In Florida, Remar earned a role in a state production of Cross and Sword. Afterwards, he studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, but was not asked back after his first year, which he described as "a devastating experience". Remar continued searching for other acting jobs, eventually landing the part of Kenickie in a touring production of Grease, and also performed at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, before making his film debut in On the Yard.

Career

Films

Remar has spent the majority of his film career playing villains. He portrayed the violent gang member Ajax in the cult film The Warriors (1979), 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).

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. 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 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 into filming after being arrested for drug possession. 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 the viewer is unable to tell it is Remar and not Michael Biehn.

He played Quill, one of the main villains in The Phantom (1996). In 1994 he played a supporting role in the film Renaissance Man, then 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 film Robo Warriors (1996). Other films include Psycho (1998), in which he played the patrolman, 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), and 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 film 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 appeared 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. 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): Ace Speck and Butch Pooch. He starred, alongside Emma Roberts, Lucy Boynton, and Lauren Holly, in the thriller film The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015).

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), Tales from the Crypt, Jericho, Third Watch, Justice League Unlimited, and Battlestar Galactica. He also appeared as a possessed mental patient in The X-Files ninth-season episode "Dæmonicus". He starred as Tiny Bellows on the short-lived television series The Huntress (2000–2001). He appeared in the miniseries The Grid (2004) as Hudson "Hud", the love interest of Julianna Margulies's character. 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.

In 2010, he played guest roles as Giuseppe Salvatore in The CW series The Vampire Diaries 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. On July 23, 2017, Remar was cast as Peter Gambi on the superhero drama Black Lightning. The series would run for four seasons from January 2018 to May 2021, Remar's Gambi a series regular for its entirety. He would then be cast in a recurring role on The Rookie as Tom Bradford, Tim’s father. He was later cast as General Shaw in It: Welcome to Derry, a television series prequel to the 2017 supernatural horror film It, which released on HBO in 2025. In December 2024, it was reported that he would reprise his role as Harry Morgan in Dexter: Resurrection, which premiered in 2025.

Personal life

In 1984, he married Atsuko Remar. They have two children. He speaks conversational Japanese.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

Sources

References

1. Barry, Keith. (2009-03-16). "Lexus Pursues a New Pitchman".
2. "James Remar".
3. (January 2022). "Can You Dig It: The Phenomenon of The Warriors". BearManor Media.
4. "Remar, Robert: Part 1".
5. "James Remar in town during 'Hatfields' shoot".
6. (January 2022). "Can You Dig It: The Phenomenon of The Warriors". BearManor Media.
7. Maslin, Janet. (February 10, 1979). "Movie: 'Warriors' Creates Visual Style That Is Stark:The Cast". [[The New York Times]].
8. Gussow, Mel. (March 22, 1984). "PARTING FILM SHOTS:COPPOLA AND DUTCH". The New York Times.
9. Maslin, Janet. (March 13, 1981). "PLAINS WARRIOR REUNITES WITH HIS SON". The New York Times.
10. (2012-03-12). "Aliens: The Colonial Marines {{!}} {{!}} Empire {{!}} www.empireonline.com".
11. (2003). "Making of Aliens".
12. Laskin, Nicholas. (November 14, 2014). "Rare Pics Of James Remar In James Cameron's 'Aliens' Before He Was Fired".
13. Petrakis, John. (June 7, 1996). "HIGH-FLYING 'PHANTOM' A THROWBACK TO COMIC-STRIP INNOCENCE". [[Chicago Tribune]].
14. Johnson, Malcolm. (December 5, 1998). "ANALYZING 'PSYCHO'". [[Hartford Courant]].
15. Trumbore, Dave. (May 28, 2013). "TRANSFORMERS 4 Autobot Images".
16. Sneider, Jeff. (November 9, 2011). "Thesps line up for 'Django Unchained'". [[Variety (magazine).
17. (February 25, 2015). "James Remar Gets Possessed In 'February'".
18. Shaw, Gabbi. (March 23, 2018). "WHERE ARE THEY NOW: The cast of 'Sex and the City' 20 years later".
19. (August 18, 2013). "'Grey's Anatomy' Taps James Remar For Season 10 Role". [[HuffPost]].
20. Schneider, Michael. (April 19, 2004). "Remar moves to 'Shore'". Variety.
21. Wertheimer, Ron. (July 26, 2000). "TELEVISION REVIEW; Mama Is a Bounty Hunter, Just Making an Honest Living". The New York Times.
22. Martin, Denise. (February 11, 2004). "'The Grid' locates thesp". Variety.
23. "Paleyfest 2010: Dexter Panel Reveals a Few Clues for Season Five".
24. Keck, William. (November 20, 2009). "Dexter's Dad Does Vampire Diaries". TV Guide Magazine.
25. "James Remar to star in Private Practice season 4".
26. Petski, Denise. (July 23, 2017). "'Black Lightning' Casts James Remar & Damon Gupton As Series Regulars, Watch Trailer – Comic-Con".
27. (May 25, 2021). "Black Lightning Series Finale Recap: The Passing of the Torch — Grade It!".
28. (November 2, 2021). "The Rookie Casts Peyton List as Tim's Sister, James Remar as Their Father".
29. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (April 5, 2023). "HBO Max 'It' Prequel Series 'Welcome To Derry' Sets Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, James Remar & Chris Chalk".
30. Onder, Cade. (December 30, 2024). "Dexter: Resurrection Actor Confirms Return of Fan Favorite Character".
31. Cordero, Rosy. (January 7, 2025). "Showtime's 'Dexter: Resurrection' Casts David Zayas, Jack Alcott & James Remar As Series Regulars".
32. "James Remar Has Been Secretly Married For 36 Years But Who Is His Wife Atsuko Remar".
33. "Lisa Remar {{!}} 'Still Good' EP Centered On Overcoming Isolation".
34. "Jason Remar".
35. (12 August 2015). "James Remar Speaks Japanese, Interviewer Kaoru Koike".
36. "James Remar".
37. "James Remar List of Movies and TV Shows".
38. "James Remar (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors.
39. Lincoln, Ross A.. (May 18, 2016). "'The Night Watchmen' Trailer: Killer Clowns From Beyond The Grave".
40. Squires, John. (April 5, 2023). ""Welcome to Derry" – James Remar, Taylour Paige and More Cast in Pennywise Prequel Series".
41. Grobar, Matt. (August 31, 2022). "'Megalopolis': Shia LaBeouf & Jason Schwartzman Among Six New Additions To Francis Ford Coppola Epic".
42. Gardner, Chris. (November 14, 2025). "James Remar Is Still Thinking About Christopher Nolan Standing for 12 Hours on ‘The Odyssey’".
43. Hipes, Patrick. (February 26, 2019). "'City On A Hill': James Remar & Gloria Reuben To Recur On Showtime Series". Deadline Hollywood.
44. Andrew, Stephen. (October 1, 2021). "'Creepshow' Season 3: Greg Nicotero and James Remar Praise Working Together on 'Skeletons in the Closet' Episode (Exclusive)".
45. "'It: Welcome to Derry' stars introduce the Hanlon family and horrors of the 1960s (exclusive)".
46. Cordero, Rosy. (July 11, 2025). "James Remar, Robert Wisdom, Bruce Greenwood & Kirk Acevedo Among 7 To Recur In Netflix’s ‘Trinity’".
47. (2014-09-11). "Destiny - End Credits - IGN Video". IGN Video.
48. Hipes, Patrick. (January 27, 2026). "‘Sinners’, ‘Avatar: Fire And Ash’, ‘Fantastic Four’ And ‘Dexter: Resurrection’ Lead Saturn Awards Nominations".