James Tolkan

Age: 94

born June 20, 1931

male99 suggestions0 votes

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

Back to the Future

Back to the Future Part II

Back to the Future Part III

Top Casting Suggestions

James Tolkan has been suggested to play 99 roles. Click below to see other actors suggested for each role, and vote for who you think would play the role best.

James Tolkan

Vulture

Spider-Man: Web of Lies (1986)

Vulture

James Tolkan

Mr.Strickland

The Perfect Back To The Future Movie

Mr.Strickland

James Tolkan

Admiral Timothy Benedek

Godzilla '94

Admiral Timothy Benedek

James Tolkan

Dean Vernon wormer

National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978 recast)

Dean Vernon wormer

James Tolkan

Principal Snyder

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1987-1993)

Principal Snyder

James Tolkan

Reese Bobby

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (1996)

Reese Bobby

James Tolkan

Victor Lazarro

Face/Off

Victor Lazarro

James Tolkan

Principal

Calvin and Hobbes live action

Principal

James Tolkan

Dan Turpin

Superman and the Last Son Of Krypton (1994)

Dan Turpin

James Tolkan

Butch Pooch

Django Unchained (1992)

Butch Pooch

James Tolkan

Major General Joseph W. Stilwell

1941 (1989)

Major General Joseph W. Stilwell

James Tolkan

Walter Skinner

The X-Files (1973 - 1998)

Walter Skinner

James Tolkan

Mr. Howard

iCarly (1992-1997)

Mr. Howard

James Tolkan

J. Jonah Jameson

Robert Zemeckis' The Marvelous Spider-Man (1986)

J. Jonah Jameson

James Tolkan

Gerald Strickland

Back to the Future: Life After Time

Gerald Strickland

James Tolkan

Back to the Future

Face Claims V5

Back to the Future

James Tolkan

"Lady" Aster

War and Remberance

"Lady" Aster

James Tolkan

Fancy Dan

Spider-Man: The Movie (1987)

Fancy Dan

James Tolkan

Hyrum Cain, Highlanders owner and father of Anders

Goon: Last of the Enforcers (1993)

Hyrum Cain, Highlanders owner and father of Anders

James Tolkan

Sheriff Burke

Scream (1987)

Sheriff Burke

James Tolkan

Mr. Strickland

Back To The Future Part 4

Mr. Strickland

James Tolkan

Vulture

Spider-Man Villains

Vulture

James Tolkan

Adrian Toomes

Spider-Man PS4

Adrian Toomes

James Tolkan

Principal Snyder

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1987-1993)

Principal Snyder

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James Tolkan

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