Product Code Database
James McDaniel Jr. (born March 25, 1958) is an American stage, film and television actor. He is best known for playing Lt. Arthur Fancy on the television show NYPD Blue. He played the role of Paul in the hit Lincoln Center play Six Degrees of Separation. He played a police officer in the ill-fated 1990 series Cop Rock, and a close advisor to the director Spike Lee regarding the activist Malcolm X in the 1992 film Malcolm X. He also played Sgt. Jesse Longford in the ABC television series Detroit 1-8-7.
Early roles on television include guest appearances on sitcom Kate & Allie and crime drama Gabriel's Fire. He portrayed police officer Franklin Rose on the short-lived and poorly received series Cop Rock. McDaniel had a minor role in the Woody Allen film Alice (1990), was a banker in Strictly Business (1991) and portrayed Brother Earl in Spike Lee's Malcolm X (1992).
McDaniel guest starred as a cop on Hill Street Blues, created by Steven Bochco. Thereafter, he appeared often in productions with Bochco's involvement, including L.A. Law and Civil Wars. He played Lt. Arthur Fancy on NYPD Blue for eight seasons, between 1993 and 2001. The series attracted some criticism regarding McDaniel being underutilized during his time on the show. McDaniel himself alluded to this, claiming to be "the highest paid extra on television." He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1996 for his work on the series. He also received three consecutive NAACP Image Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
He portrayed the role of Sgt. Jesse Longford in crime drama Detroit 1-8-7. McDaniel appeared as an investigator in The Following and was Ezra Mills, Abbie's father, in Sleepy Hollow. McDaniel made a guest appearance as a jazz trumpeter in . McDaniel appeared in Tamara Tunie's See You in September (2010) and in the Jordana Spiro film Night Comes On (2018).
McDaniel has also appeared extensively in television films, namely Silencing Mary (1996), Unforgivable (1996), and Out of Time (2000), the latter in a rare role as the main character. He portrayed Nat King Cole in (2000). Natalie Cole personally handpicked McDaniel to play her father.
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| Episode: "Thanksgiving" |
| Episode: "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Part 1" |
| Episode: "More Skinned Against Than Skinning" |
| 2 episodes |
| Television movie |
| Episode: "Death and Taxis" |
| Episode: "The Divided Child" |
| 11 episodes |
| Episode: "Fire Down Below" |
| Television movie |
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| Episode: "Rest in Pieces" |
| Episode: "Mushrooms" |
| Episode: "One Flew Over the Bird's Nest" |
| Episode: "Daveja-Vu All Over Again" |
| Television movie |
| 2 episodes |
| 167 episodes Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated—Image Awards (1998–2000) Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1996–2000) Nominated—Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Drama Series |
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| Episode: "The Contest" |
| 3 episodes |
| 4 episodes |
| Episode: "Illegal Alien" |
| Television movie |
| Television movie |
| 3 episodes |
| 2 episodes |
| Episode: "Criminal" |
| 6 episodes |
| 4 episodes |
| Episode: "Hostage" |
| Television movie |
| Episode: "Under Pressure" |
| Television movie |
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| Television movie |
| 18 episodes |
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| 2 episodes |
| Episode: "Musician Heal Thyself" |
| Episode: "6 A.M." |
| Episode: "Pilot" |
| Episode: "In The Box" |
| Episode: "The Show Must Go On" |
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| Episode: "Pilot" |
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| Episode: "Pilot" |
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