People
James Tolkan
Acting · follow into films and chains
Biography
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).
Notable films
Where to start
Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.
Chains
KinoChain journeys
Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.
The Reckless Edge - Talent as a Double-Edged Sword
Forty years after Top Gun roared into cinemas, Maverick's need for speed still feels as exhilarating as ever. But Pete Mitchell is part of a much bigger movie t...
7 films
Game On: Cinematic Journeys Through Digital Worlds
From arcade nostalgia to virtual reality epics, these films explore the thrill and terror of living inside the game.
8 films
Related people
Collaborators & neighbours
Acted
Bone Tomahawk
2015 · Pianist
Underworld
1996 · Dan 'Iceberg' Eagan
Sketch Artist II: Hands That See
1995 · Tonelli
Dick Tracy
1990 · Numbers
Back to the Future Part III
1990 · Marshal Strickland
Family Business
1989 · Judge
Back to the Future Part II
1989 · Strickland
Masters of the Universe
1987 · Lubic
Top Gun
1986 · Stinger
Off Beat
1986 · Harry
Back to the Future
1985 · Mr. Strickland
WarGames
1983 · Wigan
The Amityville Horror
1979 · Coroner
Serpico
1973 · Steiger
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
1973 · The Man's Contact Man