Bio
James McDaniel is an American actor best known for his role as Lt. Arthur Fancy on the television police procedural NYPD Blue, from 1993-2001.
He also starred as Sergeant Jesse Longford in the police procedural crime drama television series Detroit 1-8-7, from 2010-2011.
The one-time veterinary medicine major at the University of Pennsylvania garnered a 1996 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor for a Drama Series in recognition of his standout role on NYPD Blue.
He has scored an Emmy and a Peabody Award for his work in Edge of America, a Showtime movie, as well as an Emmy nomination for Storytime on public television. McDaniel also received a Screen Actors Guild Award as a member of the ensemble cast of NYPD Blue.
Other TV credits span The Good Wife, Civil Wars, L.A. Law, Las Vegas, Cop Rock, Gabriel's Fire, Law & Order, Taken, A Man Called Hawk, Crime Story and Kate and Allie.
He has appeared in such broadcast and cable TV movies and miniseries as Common Ground, Out of Time, Love Kills, The Old Man and the Sea, Murder in Black and White, Internal Affairs and The Road to Galveston, opposite Cicely Tyson.
One of his early television roles was a militant cop on the hit series Hill Street Blues.
From a first job in a soft-drink commercial, McDaniel has gone on to receive the prestigious Obie Award and a Drama Desk Award nomination for his portrayal of Wendall in the New York stage production of Before It Hits Home.
In addition, he has been honored with the Clarence Derwent Award for his portrayal of Paul Portier in the Tony Award-winning Broadway play, Six Degrees of Separation.
Other noteworthy stage performances include Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Balm and Gilead and A Soldier's Play.
Among McDaniel's diverse feature film credits are Spike Lee's critically acclaimed Malcolm X, Woody Allen's Alice, The Battle for Bunker Hill, Sunshine State, War Eagle, El Cortez, Truth or Consequences, Living Hell, Strictly Business, Rocket Gibraltar, Crack in the Mirror, Bonzai and Risky Business.
McDaniel and his wife, Hannelore, have two sons.