An American actor born in Minneapolis, on February 22, 1929. James married actress Pearl Huang (1967-1973), then married actress Susan Hong (1977), with whom he has a child. He studied civil engineering at the University of Minnesota, and he was interested in technical work and studied at the University of Southern California. He worked for a year and a half as a road engineer in Los Angeles, then took an unpaid leave to work in the cinema. He finally resigned from his job as an engineer to devote himself to technical work.He won the Annie Television Award in 2011 and the Lifetime Award in 2007. Due to his of Asian descent, he contributed to the establishment of the Asian American Theater in Los Angeles and was a member and president of the Association of Asian American Artists.Among his most important works: General Hospital (1963), Blade Runner (1982), Mulan (1998) and Kung Fu Panda (2008).