Steve James

Acting

Steve James

Born 1952-02-19 · New York City, New York

Steven Wall James (February 19, 1952 – December 18, 1993) was an American actor and stunt performer. He was best-known for his roles in 1980s action films, often from Cannon Films, such as the American Ninja series, The Delta Force (1986), The Exterminator (1980), and Avenging Force (1986). He also portrayed Kung Fu Joe in the 1988 comedy/spoof film I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, and its 1990 television pilot spinoff Hammer, Slammer, & Slade. Description above from the Wikipedia article Steve James, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

The Player poster
7.2

A Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected - but which one?

The Player

1992

The Warriors poster
7.7

Prominent gang leader Cyrus calls a meeting of New York's gangs to set aside their turf wars and take over the city. At the meeting, a rival leader kills Cyrus, but a Coney Island gang called the Warriors is wrongly blamed for Cyrus' death. Before you know it, the cops and every gangbanger in town is hot on the Warriors' trail.

The Warriors

1979

The Delta Force poster
6.0

A 707 aircraft jetliner, en route from Athens to Rome and then to New York City, is hijacked by Lebanese terrorists, who demand that the pilot take them to Beirut. What the terrorists don't realize is that an elite team of commandos have been called in to eliminate all terrorists on the jetliner.

The Delta Force

1986

Weird Science poster
6.5

Two unpopular teenagers, Gary and Wyatt, fail at all attempts to be accepted by their peers. Their desperation to be liked leads them to "create" a woman via their computer. Their living and breathing creation is a gorgeous woman, Lisa, whose purpose is to boost their confidence level by putting them into situations which require Gary and Wyatt to act like men.

Weird Science

1985

American Ninja 2: The Confrontation poster
5.6

On a remote Caribbean island, Army Ranger Joe Armstrong investigates the disappearance of several marines, which leads him to The Lion, a super-criminal who has kidnapped a local scientist and mass-produced an army of mutant Ninja warriors.

American Ninja 2: The Confrontation

1987

To Live and Die in L.A. poster
7.1

When his longtime partner on the force is killed, reckless U.S. Secret Service agent Richard Chance vows revenge, setting out to nab dangerous counterfeit artist Eric Masters.

To Live and Die in L.A.

1985

The Land That Time Forgot poster
5.7

During World War I, a German U-boat sinks a British passenger ship and takes the survivors aboard. After getting lost in fog, the submarine surfaces near the unknown island of Caprona, a lost world where they find dinosaurs and Neanderthals.

The Land That Time Forgot

1974

Times Square poster
6.4

When a 13-year-old girl befriends a defiant antisocial child of the streets, the mismatched runaways set off to the Big Apple to find their own adventure.

Times Square

1980

Mask poster
7.3

A significantly deformed but highly intelligent teenage boy and his biker gang mother attempt to live as normal a life as possible under the circumstances.

Mask

1985

American Ninja poster
6.0

Joe Armstrong, an orphaned drifter with little respect for much other than martial arts, finds himself on an American Army base in the Philippines after a judge gives him a choice of enlistment or prison. On one of his first missions driving a convoy, his platoon is attacked by a group of rebels who try to steal the weapons the platoon is transporting and kidnap the base colonel's daughter.

American Ninja

1985

I'm Gonna Git You Sucka poster
6.4

Jack Spade returns from the army in his old ghetto neighbourhood when his brother, June Bug, dies. Jack declares war on Mr. Big, powerful local crimelord. His army is led by John Slade, his childhood idol who used to fight bad guys in the 70s.

I'm Gonna Git You Sucka

1988

Arthur poster
6.5

Arthur is a 30-year-old child who will inherit $750 million if he complies with his family's demands and marries the woman of their choosing.

Arthur

1981

American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt poster
4.8

Jackson is back, and now he has a new partner, karate champion Sean, as they must face a deadly terrorist known as "The Cobra", who has infected Sean with a virus. Sean and Jackson have no choice but to fight the Cobra and his bands of ninjas.

American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt

1989

Hollywood Shuffle poster
6.5

Aspiring actor and hot-dog stand employee Bobby Taylor catches the ire of his grandmother for auditioning for a role in the regrettably titled exploitation film "Jivetime Jimmy's Revenge." When Tinseltown Studios casts Taylor in the title role, he has a series of conflicted dreams satirizing African-American stereotypes in Hollywood, and must reconcile his career goals with his desire to remain a positive role model for his little brother.

Hollywood Shuffle

1987

Johnny Be Good poster
4.5

It's recruiting time and despite being short and scrawny, Johnny Walker is America's hottest young football prospect. His dilemma: should he take one of the many offers from college talent scouts or should he attend the local state college with his girlfriend and give up his football career?

Johnny Be Good

1988

The Exterminator poster
5.5

When a man's best friend is killed on the streets of New York, he transforms into a violent killer, turning New York into a war zone.

The Exterminator

1980

P.O.W. The Escape poster
4.6

Col. Cooper leads a group of American P.O.W.s, battling their way to freedom as Saigon falls to the Viet Cong.

P.O.W. The Escape

1986

Vigilante poster
6.2

New York City factory worker Eddie Marino is a solid citizen and regular guy, until the day a sadistic street gang brutally assaults his wife and murders his child. When a corrupt judge sets the thugs free, he goes berserk and vows revenge.

Vigilante

1983

M.A.N.T.I.S. poster
5.2

A brilliant, wheelchair-bound scientist invents a form of exo-skeleton called the Mechanically Augmented Neuro Transmitter Interception System (M.A.N.T.I.S.) that turns him into a superhero and gives him the ability to fight the crime wave that is engulfing his city.

M.A.N.T.I.S.

1994

McBain poster
4.3

Santos attempts to lead a people's revolt in Colombia to overthrow the Presidente. When his revolt fails and he is killed, his sister Christina goes to New York to find McBain, a lieutenant Santos rescued during the Vietnam War. McBain agrees to help, recruits his old war buddies, raises some cash by killing a few drug dealers, then leads an attack to topple the Colombian government.

McBain

1991

Weekend at Bernie's II poster
5.1

Everybody's favorite stiff is back! Working fools Larry Wilson and Richard Parker have uncovered a dirty, little secret: Their former boss, Bernie Lomax, embezzled $2 million and placed it in a safe deposit box in the Caribbean. Now, the boys are ready to go after the loot, but they can't do it alone -- they need poor Bernie's help. Can the buddies give their ex-boss new life?

Weekend at Bernie's II

1993

The Brother from Another Planet poster
6.7

A mute alien with the appearance of a black human is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem.

The Brother from Another Planet

1984

Avenging Force poster
5.7

A senator is targeted by the Pentangle, a right wing paramilitary group. His pal, a former CIA agent and martial artist, tries to help him. The group kidnaps the agent's sister and tries to hunt him down, "The Most Dangerous Game" style.

Avenging Force

1986

Hero and the Terror poster
5.4

Danny O'Brien is back in action fighting the notorious Simon Moon, also known as The Terror. Three years earlier O'Brien had single-handedly captured The Terror and was called Hero by the people of L.A. Now Simon has escaped and has started killing women again, and O'Brien is the only man who can stop him.

Hero and the Terror

1988

Behind the camera