James Rebhorn
James Robert Rebhorn (born
September 1,
1948) is an American character actor who has appeared in over one hundred television shows, feature films, and plays.
Born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on
September 1,
1948, Rebhorn moved to
Anderson, Indiana as a child. A devout
Lutheran, he attended the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's
Wittenberg University in
Springfield,
Ohio, where he studied
political science. While there, he was a member of the
Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. After graduating in
1970, Rebhorn moved to
New York City, where he earned a
Masters of Fine Arts in acting from
Columbia University's School of the Arts and joined the metropolitan theater scene.
Rebhorn is best known for portraying lawyers, politicians, doctors, and military men, and often plays the bad guy. He has delivered equally notable performances in a variety of other roles, including that of a brutal serial killer on NBC's
Law & Order which eventually got him a recurring role as defense lawyer Charles Garnett and a shipping magnate in
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999). He acted against
Al Pacino in
Scent of a Woman (1992), and was also in the final scene of
My Cousin Vinny (1992) with
Marisa Tomei; thus, he acted in scenes with the 1993
Oscar winners for both best actor and best supporting actress. He also appeared again with
Al Pacino in
Carlito's Way (1993) the following year.
On television, he played several daytime roles, including an abusive stepfather, Bradley Raines, on the
soap opera Guiding Light from
1983 to
1985, and an abusive father, Henry Lange, on sister soap
As The World Turns from 1988-91. His most recent role, in the short-lived and controversial
NBC drama
The Book of Daniel, cast him as the father of the title character, played by
Aidan Quinn.
*
