# James Remar
**James Remar** (full name William James Remar) is an American character actor born in 1953 in Boston, Massachusetts, known for playing intense villains in films of the 1980s and for the long-running role of [Harry Morgan](https://www.edgepedia.org/harry-morgan), the adoptive father of the title character, on the Showtime series *Dexter*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/james-remar/) • [2](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/james-remar/credits/3000000044/) His screen career, begun in the late 1970s, spans more than 170 acting credits across film and television.[2](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/james-remar/credits/3000000044/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953, Boston, Massachusetts; birth name William James Remar[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/james-remar/) |
| Breakout role | Ajax, the volatile gang member in Walter Hill's *The Warriors* (1979)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/james-remar/) |
| Signature villains | Albert Ganz in *48 Hrs.* (1982); Dutch Schultz in *The Cotton Club* (1984)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/james-remar/) |
| Defining TV role | Harry Morgan on *Dexter* (Showtime, 2006–13), in flashbacks and as the phantom of Dexter's conscience[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/james-remar/) • [3](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/dexter-resurrection-brings-back-something-i-didnt-realize-i-was-missing-so-hard-in-the-new-blood-season) |
| Awards | SAG Award (8th annual, Outstanding Comedy Ensemble, *Sex and the City*); Saturn Lifetime Achievement Award, 2013; SAG and Emmy nominations for the *Dexter* ensemble[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001664/?showAllCredits=true) |
| Recent work | Harry Morgan in *Dexter: Resurrection* (2025–2026); General Francis Shaw in *It: Welcome to Derry* (2025); Tiresias in *The Odyssey* (2026)[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001664/?showAllCredits=true) • [5](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-12581/filmographie/) |
## Training and early career
Remar studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse and with [Stella Adler](https://www.edgepedia.org/stella-adler), and before acting worked as a roofer and house painter.[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/remar-james-1953) According to a TV Insider profile, he decided to become an actor at age seven after watching *Spartacus* (1960), left high school at 15 to tour with a rock band, later returned and graduated, and moved to New York City, where he also performed in a touring company production of the stage musical *Grease*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/james-remar/)
His film debut came in the prison drama *On the Yard*; Encyclopedia.com dates the appearance to 1978, while TV Insider and the 1995 International Television Almanac place it in 1979.[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/remar-james-1953) • [1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/james-remar/) • [7](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/1995/International-Television-Almanac-1995-Whos-Who.pdf) In 1979 he gained recognition as Ajax in [Walter Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/walter-hill)'s cult gang film *The Warriors*, and the same year earned acclaim on Broadway opposite [Richard Gere](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-gere) in *Bent*, a drama set in a concentration camp.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001664/?showAllCredits=true)
## Villain roles of the 1980s and 1990s
Director Walter Hill cast Remar repeatedly after *The Warriors*, most prominently as Albert Ganz, a homicidal escaped prisoner hunted by [Nick Nolte](https://www.edgepedia.org/nick-nolte) and [Eddie Murphy](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-murphy)'s characters in the action comedy *48 Hrs.* (1982).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/james-remar/) In Francis Ford Coppola's jazz-age film *The Cotton Club* (1984) he played the gangster [Dutch Schultz](https://www.edgepedia.org/dutch-schultz), another psychotic role that, as TV Insider puts it, had nearly become second nature for him.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/james-remar/) Further credits from the decade include *The Clan of the Cave Bear* (1986), *Rent-a-Cop* (1987), Gus Van Sant's *Drugstore Cowboy* (1989), and the "Lover's Vow" segment of *Tales from the Darkside: The Movie* (1990).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/james-remar/) • [6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/remar-james-1953)
One notable near-credit was *Aliens* (1986): Encyclopedia.com's filmography records that Remar was cast as Hicks and was replaced by [Michael Biehn](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-biehn).[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/remar-james-1953) Through the 1990s he mixed supporting film parts, including *White Fang* (1991), *Renaissance Man* (1994), *Miracle on 34th Street* (1994), and *Boys on the Side* (1995), with television movies and guest spots on series such as *Tales from the Crypt*, *Walker, Texas Ranger*, *Third Watch*, and *The X-Files*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/james-remar/) • [6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/remar-james-1953)
## Television: Sex and the City and Dexter
Remar's shift toward television produced his two best-known recurring roles. On HBO's *Sex and the City* he played Richard Wright, a billionaire playboy who romances [Kim Cattrall](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-cattrall)'s Samantha before breaking her heart.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/james-remar/) He won the 8th annual Screen Actors Guild Award as a member of the show's Outstanding Comedy Ensemble.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001664/?showAllCredits=true)
**Harry Morgan.** On *Dexter* (Showtime, 2006–13), Remar played the adoptive father and mentor of [Michael C. Hall](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-c-hall)'s serial killer, appearing both in flashbacks as the canonical Harry and as the phantom-ification of Dexter's conscience, the voice of the code by which Dexter lives.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/james-remar/) • [3](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/dexter-resurrection-brings-back-something-i-didnt-realize-i-was-missing-so-hard-in-the-new-blood-season) • [8](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/11/qa-dexters-james-remar) In a 2008 Vanity Fair interview, Remar described the technical challenge of playing a specter who is present but not present, and said he had auditioned for the part in the ordinary way after loving the script.[8](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/11/qa-dexters-james-remar) As a member of the *Dexter* ensemble he was nominated for both a SAG Award and an Emmy.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001664/?showAllCredits=true) In 2013 he received the Saturn Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in science fiction, fantasy, and horror.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001664/?showAllCredits=true)
## Later film and the Dexter franchise
Remar's later film work includes *2 Fast 2 Furious* (2003), *Pineapple Express* (2008), *Django Unchained* (2012), in which, per his IMDb biography, he has the distinction of dying twice as two different characters, and [Quentin Tarantino](https://www.edgepedia.org/quentin-tarantino)'s *Once Upon a Time in Hollywood* (2019).[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/remar-james-1953) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001664/?showAllCredits=true) On television he co-starred as Peter Gambi on [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw)'s *[Black Lightning](https://www.edgepedia.org/black-lightning-tv-series)* (2018–2021) and appeared in *Grey's Anatomy* as Karev's long-lost father.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001664/?showAllCredits=true)
He has remained closely tied to the *Dexter* franchise. [Christopher Nolan](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-nolan)'s *Oppenheimer* (2023) cast him as Henry Stimson, and 2024 brought [Francis Ford Coppola](https://www.edgepedia.org/francis-ford-coppola)'s *Megalopolis*, as Charles Cothope, and the animated *Transformers One*, as the voice of Zeta Prime.[5](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-12581/filmographie/) • [9](https://buzzmelt.com/person/james-remar) Remar returned as Harry Morgan in *Dexter: Resurrection*, credited by IMDb for 20 episodes across 2025 and 2026; CinemaBlend noted that his scenes with Michael C. Hall were among the sequel series' most enjoyable, and that Harry had been absent from the previous installment, *New Blood*.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001664/?showAllCredits=true) • [3](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/dexter-resurrection-brings-back-something-i-didnt-realize-i-was-missing-so-hard-in-the-new-blood-season) In 2025 he also played General Francis Shaw in HBO's Stephen King prequel series *It: Welcome to Derry*, listed by IMDb for 7 episodes (BuzzMelt lists 8).[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001664/?showAllCredits=true) • [9](https://buzzmelt.com/person/james-remar) • [10](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/it-welcome-to-derry-cast/) Upcoming credits include Tiresias in Nolan's *The Odyssey* (2026) and a voice role as The Pig's Head in *They Will Kill You* (2026).[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001664/?showAllCredits=true)
## References
1. [James Remar, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/james-remar/)
2. [James Remar List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/james-remar/credits/3000000044/)
3. [Dexter: Resurrection Brings Back Something I Didn't Realize I Was Missing So Hard, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/dexter-resurrection-brings-back-something-i-didnt-realize-i-was-missing-so-hard-in-the-new-blood-season)
4. [James Remar, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001664/?showAllCredits=true)
5. [James Remar : Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-12581/filmographie/)
6. [Remar, James 1953–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/remar-james-1953)
7. [REMAR, JAMES: Actor, International Television Almanac 1995](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/1995/International-Television-Almanac-1995-Whos-Who.pdf)
8. [Q&A: Dexter's James Remar, Vanity Fair (November 2008)](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/11/qa-dexters-james-remar)
9. [James Remar, BuzzMelt](https://buzzmelt.com/person/james-remar)
10. [Your Guide to the Cast of 'It: Welcome to Derry', Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/it-welcome-to-derry-cast/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Q to Ri*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license