James Rebhorn
 |
James Rebhorn | |
|---|---|
 Rebhorn at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival |
James Robert Rebhorn (born September 1, 1948) is an American actor who has appeared in over 100 television shows, feature films and plays.
Personal life
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rebhorn moved to Anderson, Indiana as a child. A devout Lutheran,[1] he attended 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. He currently resides in South Orange, New Jersey.
Career
Rebhorn is known for portraying WASPy stereotypes, 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 (he would later return to the show as defense attorney Charles Garnett) and a shipping magnate in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999). One of his best known performances came in the popular 1996 film, Independence Day, where he played Secretary of Defense Albert Nimziki. He acted against Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman (1992), and also played an expert witness in 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. An earlier daytime role was as John Brady in Texas from 1981 to 1982. In 1994 he played the role of supervillain John McFlemp in the episode "Farewell, My Little Viking" of the Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete.
In 1998, he played the District Attorney in the series finale of Seinfeld. He also appeared in a supporting role in Meet the Parents. In 2004, he appeared in the TV mini series Reversible Errors. His role in the short-lived and controversial NBC drama The Book of Daniel cast him as the father of the title character. He also appeared as a judge in Baby Mama. In the 2009 movie The Box, Rebhorn portrayed a NASA scientist. He currently has a recurring role on the USA series White Collar as Special Agent Reese Hughes.