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IMDbPro

James Tolkan

  • Actor
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
James Tolkan as Thomas Knight Sr. in Heavens Fall
Trailer for Back in Time
Play trailer2:33
Back in Time (2015)
9 Videos
12 Photos
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).

James has had recurring parts on the television series A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001) (he also directed two episodes), Mary (1985), Cobra (1993), The Hat Squad (1992) and Remington Steele (1982). Among the television series James has done guest spots on are Naked City (1958), Hill Street Blues (1981), Miami Vice (1984), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990), The Equalizer (1985), The Wonder Years (1988) and The Pretender (1996). Besides his film and television work, Tolkan has also performed on stage in productions of such plays as "Between Two Thieves", "Wings", "One Tennis Shoe", "The Front Page", "Twelve Angry Men", "Full Circle", "The Tempest", "Golda", "The Silent Partner" and the original 1984 Broadway production of David Mamet's "Glengary, Glen Ross". When he isn't acting, James Tolkan spends his spare time collecting folk art.
BornJune 20, 1931
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJune 20, 1931
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro

Photos12

James Tolkan in Top Gun (1986)
James Tolkan in Top Gun (1986)
Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, and James Tolkan in Love and Death (1975)
Diane Keaton and James Tolkan in Love and Death (1975)
Diane Keaton and James Tolkan in Love and Death (1975)
James Tolkan in Love and Death (1975)
Michael J. Fox and James Tolkan in Back to the Future (1985)
Val Avery and James Tolkan in The Amityville Horror (1979)
Jeff Fahey and James Tolkan in True Blood (1989)
James Tolkan in True Blood (1989)
James S. Tolkan as Thomas Knight Sr. in Heavens Fall

Known for:

Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis in Top Gun (1986)
Top Gun
6.9
  • Stinger
  • 1986
WarGames (1983)
WarGames
7.1
  • Wigan
  • 1983
Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future (1985)
Back to the Future
8.5
  • Mr. Strickland
  • 1985
Dolph Lundgren, Robert Duncan McNeill, and Courteney Cox in Masters of the Universe (1987)
Masters of the Universe
5.3
  • Detective Lubic
  • 1987

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Poppy Kampalis, Ariel Turobiner, Paul G.M. Lambert, Chermilla, Nicholas Smith, and Tyler Dunivan in BTTF Project 85: The Back to the Future Fan Remake (2020)
    BTTF Project 85: The Back to the Future Fan Remake
    • Mr. Strickland (uncredited)
    • 2020
  • Kurt Russell, Matthew Fox, Richard Jenkins, and Patrick Wilson in Bone Tomahawk (2015)
    Bone Tomahawk
    • Pianist
    • 2015
  • Al Pacino and Helen Mirren in Phil Spector (2013)
    Phil Spector
    • Judge Fidler
    • TV Movie
    • 2013
  • Back to the Future Part III: Deleted Scene (2011)
    Back to the Future Part III: Deleted Scene
    • Marshal Strickland
    • Video
    • 2011
  • Timothy Hutton, Gina Bellman, Aldis Hodge, Christian Kane, and Beth Riesgraf in Leverage (2008)
    Leverage
    • Dean Chesny
    • TV Series
    • 2011
  • Timothy Hutton, David Strathairn, Leelee Sobieski, and Anthony Mackie in Heavens Fall (2006)
    Heavens Fall
    • Thomas Knight, Sr.
    • 2006
  • Seven Times Lucky (2004)
    Seven Times Lucky
    • Dutch
    • 2004
  • A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001)
    A Nero Wolfe Mystery
    • Ed Graboff
    • FBI Agent Richard Wragg
    • Ben Jenson ...
    • TV Series
    • 2001–2002
  • Wings: Thrill of Flight
    • Host
    • 1999
  • Andrea Parker and Michael T. Weiss in The Pretender (1996)
    The Pretender
    • FBI Special Agent Korkos
    • TV Series
    • 1997
  • Love in Ambush (1997)
    Love in Ambush
    • Agent Price
    • TV Movie
    • 1997
  • Top Gun: Fire at Will (1996)
    Top Gun: Fire at Will
    • Commander Hondo
    • Video Game
    • 1996
  • Early Edition (1996)
    Early Edition
    • Coach Philips
    • TV Series
    • 1996
  • Robo Warriors (1996)
    Robo Warriors
    • Quon
    • 1996
  • Denis Leary, Joe Mantegna, and Annabella Sciorra in Underworld (1996)
    Underworld
    • Dan 'Iceberg' Eagan
    • 1996

Director

  • A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001)
    A Nero Wolfe Mystery
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2002

Videos9

Back to the Future: 30th Anniversary
Clip 2:13
Back to the Future: 30th Anniversary
Trailer: Seven Times Lucky
Trailer 1:59
Trailer: Seven Times Lucky
Back in Time
Trailer 2:33
Back in Time
Back to the Future: The Trilogy: 25th Anniversary Trilogy
Trailer 1:06
Back to the Future: The Trilogy: 25th Anniversary Trilogy
Back to the Future
Trailer 1:21
Back to the Future
Top Gun
Trailer 0:13
Top Gun
Heavens Fall
Trailer 2:04
Heavens Fall
Heavens Fall
Trailer 2:06
Heavens Fall
Parody Trailer
Featurette 1:22
Parody Trailer

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative names
    • James B. Tolkan
  • Height
    • 5′ 6″ (1.68 m)
  • Born
    • June 20, 1931
    • Calumet, Michigan, USA
  • Spouse
    • Parmelee WellesAugust 28, 1971 - present
  • Parents
      Ralph M. Tolkan
  • Relatives
      Anna Tolkan(Grandparent)
  • Other works
    Played Tola in a Broadway stage production of "Narrow Road to the Deep South" which ran from January 6, 1972 to February 12, 1972

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Attended the University of Iowa, Coe College and Eastern Arizona College (EAC).
  • Trademarks
      Often plays strict, overbearing authority figures

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