James Leo Colby (September 20, 1961 – February 23, 2018) was an American actor in film, television and stage. Colby appeared in multiple Broadway plays and few stage productions in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. Colby was notable for his film roles in '' The Peacemaker'' (1997), '' Tower Heist'' (2011), ''

Safe A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and ...

'' (2012), ''

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' (internationally titled ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Rise of Electro'') is a 2014 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. The film was directed by Marc Webb and produced by Avi A ...

'' (2014) and in ''

Patriots Day Patriots' Day (Patriot's Day in Maine) is an annual event, formalized as a legal holiday or a special observance day in six states, commemorating the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Menotomy, some of the first battles of the American Revo ...

'' (2016). In television, he was known for his role as Sergeant Ray Dwyer in ''

Chicago P.D. The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind th ...

'', Burleson in ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

''.

Early life

Colby was born in Arlington, Massachusetts. He studied at

Bridgewater State University Bridgewater State University is a public university with its main campus in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. It is the largest of nine state universities in Massachusetts. Including its off-campus sites in New Bedford, Attleboro, and Cape Cod, BSU ha ...

and

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

. He moved to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

in the 1980s to pursue his stage career.

Career

In stage, Colby was seen in the 1992 Broadway production of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''. He performed extensively Off-Broadway at The Public Theater,

Roundabout Theatre Company The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizabet ...

Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has gr ...

, Playwrights Horizons,

New York Theatre Workshop __NOTOC__ New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) is an Off-Broadway theatre noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 4th Street (Manhattan), East 4th Street between Second Avenue (Manhattan), Second Avenue and Bowery in the East Village, ...

Westside Theatre The Westside Theatre is an off-Broadway performance space at 407 West 43rd Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The building houses two auditoriums: the Upstairs Theatre, which s ...

and

Symphony Space Symphony Space, founded by Isaiah Sheffer and Allan Miller, is a multi-disciplinary performing arts organization at 2537 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Performances take place in the 760-seat Peter Jay Sharp Theatre (also called Pe ...

. Colby had a long association with Hartford Stage included

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

's ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of person ...

'', '' Camino Real'', '' The Night of the Iguana'', and ''

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams. An adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", the play was written by him between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his p ...

''. His stage roles include ''Blade to the Heat'' (1994), '' The Food Chain'' (1995), '' The Devils'' (1997), '' The Butterfly Collection'' (2000), ''

The Day Emily Married ''The Day Emily Married'' is a play by Horton Foote. The play takes place in the fictitious town of Harrison, Texas, where Foote has set many of his plays. Setting The setting is in the early summer of 1955 and takes place in Harrison, Texas. ...

'' (2004) and ''

Dividing the Estate ''Dividing the Estate'' is a play by Horton Foote. The play premiered at the McCarter Theatre in 1989 and Off-Broadway in 2007, winning the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play. Overview Set in the fictional town of ...

'' (2007). He originated the role of Stan in the off-Broadway production of

Lynn Nottage Lynn Nottage (born November 2, 1964) is an American playwright whose work often focuses on the experience of working-class people, particularly working-class people who are Black. She has received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice: in 2009 for he ...

's ''Sweat'' (2016), later reprising his turn in the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winning play's Broadway premiere. His non-stage credits include television roles ranging from ''

Taxi Brooklyn ''Taxi Brooklyn'' is a French-American action comedy police procedural television series, produced by EuropaCorp Television. The series stars Chyler Leigh and Jacky Ido, and is based upon the film ''Taxi'' written by Luc Besson. On March 6, 2015, N ...

'', ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'', '' Limitless'', ''

Jessica Jones Jessica Campbell Jones Cage is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos and first appeared in ''Alias'' #1 (November 2001) ...

'', '' Blue Bloods'', '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''

Deception Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight o ...

'', and '' The Blacklist''. His film roles include ''

Demolition Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...

'', '' Tower Heist'', ''

'', '' Solitary Man'', ''

The Company Men ''The Company Men'' is 2010 American drama film, written and directed by John Wells. It features Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Chris Cooper and Tommy Lee Jones. It premiered at the 26th Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2010 and had a on ...

'', and in '' The Opponent''. His last role was in the TV series '' Taken'', Season 2, Episode 11. Colby appeared as Lieutenant Bill Cranston in '' Gotham'' in 2014. In 2016, he starred as Ed Manion in the miniseries ''

Madoff Bernard Lawrence Madoff ( ; April 29, 1938April 14, 2021) was an American fraudster and financier who was the admitted mastermind of the largest Ponzi scheme in history, worth about $64.8 billion. He was at one time chairman of the NASDAQ s ...

'', from 2017 to 2018 Colby starred as Burleson in ''

'' and FBI SWAT Jackson in '' Tell Me a Story'' in season 2. Colby starred as

William B. Evans William B. Evans (born February 23, 1958) is currently serving as the executive director of public safety and chief of police of Boston College. Previously, Evans was the commissioner of the Boston Police Department from January 2014 until August ...

in the 2016 crime-drama-thriller film ''

'' alongside

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three ...

Personal life

Colby met his wife, actress Alyssa Bresnahan, when she played Stella to his Stanley, during a production of ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' in 1998. They were married in December 2008 and had one daughter together.

Death

Colby died on February 23, 2018, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

at the age of 56.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Colby, James 1961 births 2018 deaths People from Arlington, Massachusetts Brooklyn College alumni Bridgewater State University alumni American male film actors American male television actors American male stage actors Male actors from Massachusetts 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors