James Tolkan

James Tolkan

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).

KNOWN FOR
CREDITS
PHOTOS

TV Series

Remington Steele

Remington Steele

7.093
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

7.9
The Pretender

The Pretender

7.4
Early Edition

Early Edition

7.3
Naked City

Naked City

5.5
Hill Street Blues

Hill Street Blues

7.59
Cobra

Cobra

6.579
The Equalizer

The Equalizer

7.197
The Wonder Years

The Wonder Years

8.328
Mary

Mary

5
The Hat Squad

The Hat Squad

6.8
Nowhere Man

Nowhere Man

7.6
A Nero Wolfe Mystery

A Nero Wolfe Mystery

7.8
A Nero Wolfe Mystery

A Nero Wolfe Mystery

7.8
A Nero Wolfe Mystery

A Nero Wolfe Mystery

7.8
Leverage

Leverage

7.6
Tales from the Crypt

Tales from the Crypt

7.953
Miami Vice

Miami Vice

7.447
The Wonderful World of Disney

The Wonderful World of Disney

7.8
A Nero Wolfe Mystery

A Nero Wolfe Mystery

7.8
A Nero Wolfe Mystery

A Nero Wolfe Mystery

7.8

Movies

Back to the Future

Back to the Future

8.322
Back to the Future Part II

Back to the Future Part II

7.774
Back to the Future Part III

Back to the Future Part III

7.49
WarGames

WarGames

7.077
Top Gun

Top Gun

7.061
Family Business

Family Business

5.7
Boiling Point

Boiling Point

4.955
Opportunity Knocks

Opportunity Knocks

5.7
Masters of the Universe

Masters of the Universe

5.729
Iceman

Iceman

6.123
Made in Heaven

Made in Heaven

6.662
Heavens Fall

Heavens Fall

6.941
Problem Child 2

Problem Child 2

5.878
Off Beat

Off Beat

4.7
7 Times Lucky

7 Times Lucky

6.3
Bloodfist IV: Die Trying

Bloodfist IV: Die Trying

5.1
Little Spies

Little Spies

6.1
Split Decisions

Split Decisions

5.1
True Blood

True Blood

5.5
Phil Spector

Phil Spector

5.724
Looking Back to the Future

Looking Back to the Future

7.3
The Case of the Hillside Stranglers

The Case of the Hillside Stranglers

6.2
Love and Death

Love and Death

7.501
They Might Be Giants

They Might Be Giants

7
Hangfire

Hangfire

4.2
The Amityville Horror

The Amityville Horror

6.3
Armed and Dangerous

Armed and Dangerous

5.657
Robo Warriors

Robo Warriors

5.2
Turk 182!

Turk 182!

5.8
Second Sight

Second Sight

4.219
Weekend War

Weekend War

1.5
Serpico

Serpico

7.531
Driving Me Crazy

Driving Me Crazy

3.7
Prince of the City

Prince of the City

7.031
Viper

Viper

3.5
The River

The River

6.304
Sketch Artist II: Hands That See

Sketch Artist II: Hands That See

5.921
Bone Tomahawk

Bone Tomahawk

6.87
Underworld

Underworld

4.952
Hanky Panky

Hanky Panky

5.294
Dick Tracy

Dick Tracy

6.154
Back in Time

Back in Time

6.524
Ministry of Vengeance

Ministry of Vengeance

3
Flanagan

Flanagan

0
The Three Sisters

The Three Sisters

0
Tales from the Future

Tales from the Future

6.714
Wolfen

Wolfen

5.924
The Friends of Eddie Coyle

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

7.3
Question of Faith

Question of Faith

0
Author! Author!

Author! Author!

5.944
Sketch Artist

Sketch Artist

5.468
Stiletto

Stiletto

5
The Werewolf of Washington

The Werewolf of Washington

3.7
Wings

Wings

0
Love in Ambush

Love in Ambush

0
Independence

Independence

0
Guns: A Day in the Death of America

Guns: A Day in the Death of America

0