 His first movie appearance was in action film "An Eye for an Eye" (1981) in which he played a tow-truck driver who minces words with Chuck Norris.In addition to this role and the three mentioned before, his other notable film contributions include "Ruthless People" (1986) as the "Bedroom Killer", "Patriot Games" (1992) as the bearded CIA agent Marty Cantor, "Copycat" (1995) as the police lieutenant Thomas Quinn, and "Go" (1998) as the enraged strip-club owner Vic Sr.

James E. Freeman attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn, New York.He was a three-year member of the track team.