James began his acting career as a clown and wire walker for the Carson and Barnes Wild Animal Circus and served his theatrical apprenticeship with the Alaska Repertory Theatre in 1977-79. Since then, he has appeared at the McCarter Theatre, the La Jolla Playhouse, the Mark Taper Forum, the L.A. Stage Company, The Jupiter Theatre, The Old Globe, and The Pasadena Playhouse with such renowned directors as Emily Mann, Des McAnuff, Jack O'Brien, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Jose Quintero.
He is a recipient of the Los Angels Drama Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Performance and three Drama-Logue Awards. He appeared in the London premiere of Emily Mann's Still Life at the West End's Donmar Warehouse and the Riverside Studios after a stint in The Edinburgh Festival at the Traverse Theatre, where the production received a Fringe First Award.
On television, James appeared as McQueen on twenty-two episodes of the FOX Television series, Space: Above And Beyond, in addition to numerous assignments including Millennium, L.A. Law, Quantum Leap, Frasier, Brooklyn South, and Prey. He can be heard in the BBC radio production of Julius Caesar and seen in the American Playhouse production of Ibsen's An Enemy of the People. He also appears in Ruby McCollum, a radio drama for National Public Radio. His film credits include Grace, Desert Cross, Falling Down, Reasonable Doubt, and Abilene.
