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.
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).
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0866055
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q783369
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Filmography (Movies)
Bone Tomahawk
Character:Pianist
Release Date:23/10/2015
Back in Time
Character:Self
Release Date:20/10/2015
Phil Spector
Character:Judge Fidler
Release Date:14/06/2013
Tales from the Future
Character:Self
Release Date:26/10/2010
Looking Back to the Future
Character:Self
Release Date:10/02/2009
Heavens Fall
Character:Thomas Knight, Sr.
Release Date:20/07/2006
7 Times Lucky
Character:Dutch
Release Date:17/01/2004
Love in Ambush
Character:Agent Price
Release Date:28/02/1997
Robo Warriors
Character:Quon
Release Date:01/10/1996
Underworld
Character:Dan 'Iceberg' Eagan
Release Date:01/06/1996
Sketch Artist II: Hands That See
Character:Tonelli
Release Date:28/01/1995
Boiling Point
Character:Levitt
Release Date:16/04/1993
Bloodfist IV: Die Trying
Character:Agent Sterling
Release Date:18/11/1992
Sketch Artist
Character:Tonelli
Release Date:26/04/1992
Problem Child 2
Character:Mr. Thron
Release Date:03/07/1991
Driving Me Crazy
Character:Vince
Release Date:16/05/1991
Hangfire
Character:Patch
Release Date:11/01/1991
Guns: A Day in the Death of America
Character:Narrator
Release Date:16/06/1990
Back to the Future Part III
Character:Marshal Strickland
Release Date:25/05/1990
Dick Tracy
Character:Numbers
Release Date:05/04/1990
Opportunity Knocks
Character:Sal
Release Date:30/03/1990
Family Business
Character:Judge
Release Date:06/12/1989
Back to the Future Part II
Character:Strickland
Release Date:22/11/1989
Second Sight
Character:Coolidge
Release Date:03/11/1989
Ministry of Vengeance
Character:Colonel Freeman
Release Date:03/11/1989
True Blood
Character:Det. Joseph Hanley
Release Date:28/04/1989
The Case of the Hillside Stranglers
Character:Lt. Ed Henderson
Release Date:02/04/1989
Question of Faith
Character:Doctor Siegel
Release Date:06/10/1988
Split Decisions
Character:Benny Pistone
Release Date:11/06/1988
Weekend War
Character:Dr. Alex Thompson
Release Date:01/02/1988
Viper
Character:William Tansey
Release Date:01/01/1988
Made in Heaven
Character:Mr. Bjornstead
Release Date:06/11/1987
Masters of the Universe
Character:Detective Lubic
Release Date:07/08/1987
Little Spies
Character:Kennel Master
Release Date:05/10/1986
Armed and Dangerous
Character:Lou Brackman
Release Date:15/08/1986
Top Gun
Character:Stinger
Release Date:16/05/1986
Off Beat
Character:Harry
Release Date:10/04/1986
Flanagan
Character:Turner
Release Date:30/10/1985
Back to the Future
Character:Mr. Strickland
Release Date:03/07/1985
Turk 182!
Character:Hanley
Release Date:15/02/1985
The River
Character:Howard Simpson
Release Date:01/12/1984
Iceman
Character:Maynard
Release Date:13/04/1984
WarGames
Character:Wigan
Release Date:03/06/1983
Wings
Character:Billy
Release Date:26/04/1983
Author! Author!
Character:Lt. Glass
Release Date:18/06/1982
Hanky Panky
Character:Conferee
Release Date:04/06/1982
Prince of the City
Character:George Polito
Release Date:19/08/1981
Wolfen
Character:Baldy
Release Date:24/07/1981
The Amityville Horror
Character:Coroner
Release Date:27/07/1979
Independence
Character:Tom Paine
Release Date:04/07/1976
Love and Death
Character:Napoleon
Release Date:10/06/1975
Serpico
Character:Steiger
Release Date:18/12/1973
The Werewolf of Washington
Character:Dark Glasses
Release Date:01/10/1973
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
Character:The Man's contact man
Release Date:26/06/1973
They Might Be Giants
Character:Mr. Brown
Release Date:09/06/1971
Stiletto
Character:Edwards
Release Date:30/07/1969
The Three Sisters
Character:
Release Date:01/01/1966
Television Appearances
Leverage
Character:Dean Chesny
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
Character:Richard Wragg
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
Character:Mr. Hackett
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
Character:FBI Agent Richard Wragg
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
Character:Leo Bingham
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
Character:Bernard Quest
Early Edition
Character:Coach Philips
The Pretender
Character:FBI Special Agent Korkos
Nowhere Man
Character:Commander Cyrus Quinn
Cobra
Character:Dallas Cassel
The Hat Squad
Character:Mike Ragland
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Character:Dr. Oates
Tales from the Crypt
Character:Sgt. McClaine ("segment "The Trap")
The Wonder Years
Character:Coach Silva
Mary
Character:Lester Mintz
The Equalizer
Character:Ruger
Miami Vice
Character:Mason Mather
Remington Steele
Character:Norman Keyes
Hill Street Blues
Character:
Naked City
Character:Evan Humbolt, Mail Clerk
The Wonderful World of Disney
Character:The Kennel Master
Images
