James Rebhorn

James Rebhorn was an American character actor born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 1, 1948, and raised in Anderson, Indiana, where he graduated from Madison Heights High School in 1966. The son of Ardell Frances and James Harry Rebhorn, an industrial engineer and salesman, he was of German descent and a devout Lutheran. Rebhorn studied political science at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, where he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and was directed by instructor Richard S. Huffman in lead roles in Aristophanes' Lysistrata and Molière's Tricks of Scapin. After earning his undergraduate degree in 1970, he relocated to New York City and completed a Master of Fine Arts in acting from Columbia University's School of the Arts. Over the course of his career he appeared in more than 100 films, television productions, and stage works.

Rebhorn's early stage work included a performance in Butterflies Are Free at the Peterborough Players in New Hampshire in 1974 and the role of Peter Latham in Forty Carats at the GasLight Dinner Theatre in Salt Lake City during the 1970s. His Broadway career spanned from 1979 to 2007 and encompassed seven productions, among them I'm Not Rappaport, Prelude to a Kiss, Dinner at Eight, and The Man Who Had All the Luck. In 2004, he appeared on Broadway as Juror 4 in the Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Twelve Angry Men at the American Airlines Theatre. Throughout his career he also made numerous appearances with New York City's Roundabout Theatre Company beyond that production.

On screen, Rebhorn became widely recognized for portraying authority figures including lawyers, politicians, doctors, and military men, as well as characters engaged in criminal behavior. The year 1992 was particularly active for him in film: he played George Wilbur in My Cousin Vinny, Dr. McElwaine in Basic Instinct, FBI Agent Flynn in White Sands, Mr. Trask in Scent of a Woman, and Ellard Muscatine in Lorenzo's Oil. He also appeared in Carlito's Way in 1993 as an obsessed district attorney and played an FBI agent in the 1994 film Guarding Tess. Additional film credits from the mid-1990s include Fred Waters in Blank Check, Clyde Frost in 8 Seconds, and Lt. Tyler in White Squall. One of his most prominent film roles came in the 1996 blockbuster Independence Day, in which he portrayed Secretary of Defense Albert Nimziki. Later film work included John Merino in Up Close and Personal, Charlie Reynolds in My Fellow Americans, Alvin Hooks in Snow Falling on Cedars, a shipping magnate in The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Dr. Larry Banks in Meet the Parents.

Rebhorn's television career began in daytime drama, with the role of John Brady on Texas from 1981 to 1982, followed by Bradley Raines, an abusive stepfather on Guiding Light from 1983 to 1985, and Henry Lange, an abusive father on As the World Turns from 1988 to 1991. He played Ezra in the 1991 television movie and pilot Plymouth and appeared in the district attorney role in the two-part series finale of Seinfeld in 1998. Among his recurring primetime roles were Charles Garnett, a defense attorney, on Law and Order, Captain Elchisak on Third Watch, Bertram Webster on The Book of Daniel, Carl Franklin on the Comedy Central sitcom Big Lake in 2010, and Reese Hughes, the FBI white-collar division chief, on White Collar from 2009 to 2013. Beginning in 2011, he appeared in the Showtime series Homeland as Frank Mathison, the father of the series' central character Carrie Mathison, played by Claire Danes. Rebhorn's death in 2014 resulted in his character's death within the show, and the fourth-season finale of Homeland was dedicated to him.

Rebhorn was married to Rebecca Linn and was the father of two daughters. He died on March 21, 2014, at his home in South Orange, New Jersey, from melanoma, a condition he had been managing since 1992. He was 65 years old. Rebhorn wrote his own obituary.