HG Spotlight on
Brion James
| Brion James isn't a name you have probably heard before, yet I can almost guarentee that you've seen him in some film. |
| Brion was born in 1945. His parents "Jimmy" and Ida Mae James built and operated a movie theater, where stars such as Gene Autry would stop by. Graduating from Beaumont High School in 1962, he then majored in Theater Arts, graduating from San Diego State University. Upon graduation from college, Brion relocated to New York to study acting, working a variety of jobs to support himself in the early years. He also did a stint in the National Guard (years unknown). Fellow actor and friend since childhood, Tim Thomerson and he served in the Armed Forces together and have made several films together. |  |
| Brion, a known figure in pop culture, has around 100 films usually played a villian. A great deal of his films were of the straight to video variety, but with Robert Altman's "The Player", he got to show his acting chops to a much larger audience. He's had at least one film in almost every genre known. While on the press tour for "Another 48 Hours" he had the following to say. ``This is the first sequel I've ever been in because I rarely live througha film,'' he facetiously told the L A Times about his part in the the second of the highly successful films. ``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.'' |  |
| In most fans minds, however, he is best remembered as the nervous replicant Leon, who issued forth the chilling line: "Wake up ... time to die" in the futuristic detective thriller "Blade Runner" . |  |
| One thing that many of you may not know is that he was well known off camera for helping wean young Hollywood actors from drugs and alcohol. As menacing as James could be on screen, he had a real-life reputation as an amiable, good-natured person who, with his own history of substance abuse, was active in helping young actors struggling to get off drugs or alcohol. "He was really loved in the acting community because he did try and help young actors" with addiction problems, said a friend in an interview after his death. |  |
Filmography
Blue Sunshine 1976
Harry and Walter Go to New York 1976
Nickelodeon 1976
Treasure of Matecumbe 1976
Corvette Summer 1978
Flying High 1978
KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park 1978
Killing at Hell's Gate 1981
The Postman Always Rings Twice 1981
Southern Comfort 1981
48 HRS. 1982
The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez 1982
Blade Runner 1982
Hear No Evil 1982
Kenny Rogers as The Gambler - The Adventure Continues 1983
A Breed Apart 1984
Crimewave 1985
Enemy Mine 1985
Flesh & Blood 1985
Silverado 1985
Annihilator 1986
Armed and Dangerous 1986
Cherry 2000 1987
Dead Man Walking 1987
Love Among Thieves 1987
Steel Dawn 1987
D.O.A. 1988
Red Heat 1988
The Wrong Guys 1988
Desperado: The Outlaw Wars 1989
Dead Man Out 1989
The Horror Show 1989
Red Scorpion 1989
Tango & Cash 1989
Another 48 HRS. 1990
Enid Is Sleeping 1990 
Mom 1990
Mutator 1990
Nightmare at Noon 1990
Street Asylum 1990
Wishman 1990
Black Magic 1992
Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story 1992
The Player 1992
Ultimate Desires 1992
Brain Smasher... A Love Story 1993
Frogtown II 1993
Future Shock 1993
Nemesis 1993
Precious Victims 1993
Rio Diablo 1993
Striking Distance 1993
Time Runner 1993
Art Deco Detective 1994
Cabin Boy 1994
The Companion 1994
The Dark 1994
F.T.W. 1994
Hong Kong 97 1994
Knight Rider 2010 1994
Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills 1994
Radioland Murders 1994
Savage Land 1994
Scanner Cop 1994
Showdown 1994
The Soft Kill 1994
Spitfire 1994
Dominion 1995
Malevolence 1995
"The Marshal" 1995
Nature of the Beast 1995
Sketch Artist II: Hands That See 1995
Steel Frontier 1995
American Strays 1996
Assault on Dome 4 1996
Billy Lone Bear 1996
The Killing Jar 1996
Marco Polo: Haperek Ha'aharon 1996
Precious Find 1996
Back in Business 1997
The Fifth Element 1997
"Spawn" 1997
The Underground 1997
Black Sea 213 1998
Border to Border 1998
Brown's Requiem 1998
In God's Hands 1998
Kai Rabe gegen die Vatikankiller 1998
Men In White 1998
A Place Called Truth 1998
Snide and Prejudice 1998
The Thief & the Stripper 1998
Arthur's Quest 1999
Dirt Merchant 1999
Farewell, My Love 1999
The Operator 1999
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Brion Trivia
Birth name: Brion Howard James Birth date and place: February 20, 1945; Beaumont California Date of Death: August 7, 1999 Vietnam buddy with actor Tim Thomerson Brion is survived by two brothers, Craig James of Scottsdale, Arizona, Chester James of Beaumont, CA and their families.
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