Brion James, a character actor who appeared in 103 films in roles such as a murderous replicant in "Blade Runner" and a studio executive in "The Player," died August 7 at UCLA Medical Center after suffering a heart attack in his Malibu home. He was 54.
A strapping 6-foot-3, Mr. James had key roles in the movies "Corvette Summer" with Mark Hamill and Annie Potts in 1978, "48 HRS" in 1982 and "Another 48 HRS" in 1990 with Nick Nolte, "Striking Distance" in 1993 and "Fifth Element" in 1997 with Bruce Willis.
"This is the first sequel I've ever been in," Mr. James said in a Los Angeles Times interview after "Another 48 HRS" opened in 1990, "because I rarely live through a film. I've been boiled in oil; I've had my head ripped off by a freeway overpass; I've been thrown off a cliff. . . . I've killed a lot of people, too."
Mr. James regarded his studio executive role in Robert Altman's "The Player" as a career turning point that opened up a larger variety of roles for him. Nevertheless, he remained in greatest demand for thrillers, which often went straight to video.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
In the classic science fiction film "Blade Runner," Mr. James was one of the four replicants pursued by a former cop played by Harrison Ford, and challenged Ford with the memorable line: "Wake up, . . . time to die!"
Although films were his major metier, Mr. James also appeared on the small screen in a variety of TV movies and in guest roles on such series as "The Waltons," "CHIPs," "Little House on the Prairie," "The Dukes of Hazzard," "The A-Team," "Matlock," "Miami Vice" and "Walker, Texas Ranger."
Born in Beaumont (Riverside County), Mr. James was the son of an educator who owned the local movie theater. He was a theater major in college and studied acting in New York with Stella Adler. He could not afford to pay acting coach Adler, so he earned his lessons by working as her cook and butler.
He appeared in several off-Broadway productions, including "Long Day's Journey Into Night," "Picnic," "West Side Story" and "Lady Windemere's Fan."