Fiery, forceful and intimidating character actor James Tolkan 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).

Filmography

• 2015Bone Tomahawk — Pianist
• 2013Phil Spector — Judge Fidler
• 2009Looking Back to the Future — Self, Thanks
• Leverage — Dean Chesny
• 2006Heavens Fall — Thomas Knight, Sr.
• 20047 Times Lucky — Dutch
• A Nero Wolfe Mystery — Special Agent In Charge Richard Wragg, Mr. Hackett, FBI Agent Richard Wragg, Leo Bingham, Bernard Quest, W.J., Mr. Joseph Pitcairn, Percy Ludlow, Avery Ballou, Loftus, Dog Expert, Adrian Dart, Benedict Aiken, Ben Jenson, Ed Graboff, Producer
• 1997Love in Ambush — Agent Price
• Early Edition — Coach Philips
• 1996Robo Warriors — Quon
• The Pretender — FBI Special Agent Korkos
• 1996Underworld — Dan 'Iceberg' Eagan
• Nowhere Man — Cyrus Quinn
• 1995Sketch Artist II: Hands That See — Tonelli
• 1994Beyond Betrayal — Joe Maloney
• 1993Boiling Point — Levitt
• Cobra — Dallas Cassel
• 1992Bloodfist IV: Die Trying — Agent Sterling
• 1992Sketch Artist — Tonelli
• The Hat Squad — Mike Ragland
• 1991Driving Me Crazy — Vince
• 1991Hangfire — Patch
• 1991Problem Child 2 — Mr. Thron
• 1990Back to the Future Part III — Marshal Strickland
• 1990Dick Tracy — Numbers
• 1990Guns: A Day in the Death of America — Narrator
• 1990Opportunity Knocks — Sal
• Sunset Beat — Ray Parker
• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air — Dr. Oates
• 1989Back to the Future Part II — Strickland
• 1989Family Business — Judge
• 1989Ministry of Vengeance — Colonel Freeman
• 1989Second Sight — Coolidge
• Tales from the Crypt — Sgt. McClaine ("segment "The Trap")
• 1989The Case of the Hillside Stranglers — Lt. Ed Henderson
• 1989True Blood — Det. Joseph Hanley
• 1988Question of Faith — Doctor Siegel
• 1988Split Decisions — Benny Pistone
• The Wonder Years — Coach Silva
• 1988Viper — William Tansey
• 1988Weekend War — Dr. Alex Thompson
• 1987Made in Heaven — Mr. Bjornstead
• 1987Masters of the Universe — Lubic
• 1986Armed and Dangerous — Lou Brackman
• 1986Little Spies — Kennel Master
• 1986Off Beat — Harry
• 1986Top Gun — Stinger
• 1985Back to the Future — Mr. Strickland
• 1985Flanagan — Turner
• Mary — Lester Mintz
• The Equalizer — Ruger
• 1985Turk 182! — Hanley
• 1984Iceman — Maynard
• Miami Vice — Mason Mather
• 1984The River — Howard Simpson
• 1983WarGames — Wigan
• 1983Wings — Billy
• American Playhouse — Billy
• 1982Author! Author! — Lt. Glass
• 1982Hanky Panky — Conferee
• Remington Steele — Norman Keyes
• Hill Street Blues
• 1981Prince of the City — George Polito
• 1981Wolfen — Baldy
• 1979The Amityville Horror — Coroner
• 1976Independence — Tom Paine
• 1975Love and Death — Napoleon
• 1973Serpico — Steiger
• 1973The Friends of Eddie Coyle — The Man's Contact Man
• 1973The Werewolf of Washington — Dark Glasses
• 1971They Might Be Giants — Mr. Brown
• 1969Stiletto — Edwards
• 1966The Three Sisters
• Naked City — Evan Humbolt, Mail Clerk
• The Wonderful World of Disney — The Kennel Master

Appearances as themselves (3)

• 2021Val — Self (archive)
• 2015Back in Time — Self
• 2010Tales from the Future — Self