James Sloyan

James J. Sloyan Jr.,^[1][2] (born February 24, 1940) is an American character actor of stage and screen, as well as a much-employed voice actor, most notably via his two-decade tenure as the voice of Lexus.

Sloyan was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on February 24, 1940.^[3] One of four children, two girls and two boys, born to James J. Sloyan and Annamae O'Brien^[1][2] (another being Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Patrick J. Sloyan^[4]), Sloyan Jr. spent the lion's share of the next nine and a half years in Europe, namely Italy, Switzerland, Ireland, and—if only long enough to board the next ship bound for home—Paris, France,^[5] before dividing the remainder of his preteens/adolescence between three decidedly disparate New York State municipalities. 1) Mechanicville, the birthplace of Sloyan's mother^[1]; 2) Albany, the state capitol, where, by his own count, Sloyan was "actually thrown out of five [or] six high schools"^[6], and 3) the nation's theatrical Mecca, itself, where, in 1957, Sloyan embarked on his scholarship-subsidized two years of study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.^[3]

Sloyan's acting career was interrupted in 1962, when he was drafted into the United States Army during the Vietnam War.^[3]

Sloyan's television career includes numerous brief performances on daytime dramas The Young and the Restless, General Hospital, and Ryan's Hope, and guest appearances on prime-time series Hawaii Five-O; The Streets of San Francisco; Wonder Woman; Baywatch; Moonlighting; Quantum Leap; The X-Files; MacGyver; Party of Five; Matlock; Murder, She Wrote; and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. He appeared in the television movies Blind Ambition, Billionaire Boys Club, and My Son Is Innocent.

In 1972, Sloyan co-starred with James Coco in Neil Simon's "The Greasy Spoon", one of five sketches that comprise his dark comedy, The Trouble With People, presented by Bell System Television Theatre on NBC-TV.^[7]

Sloyan has appeared in a number of science fiction television series, including Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, in which he portrayed Barnard "Barney" Smith in the episode "The Plot to Kill a City", and several roles in the Star Trek franchise. In Star Trek: The Next Generation, he portrayed Alidar Jarok (a defecting Romulan admiral) in "The Defector", and Alexander Rozhenko (Worf's son) as an adult in the future, in "Firstborn" using the alias "K'mtar". In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, he portrayed the Bajoran scientist Doctor Mora Pol, Odo's guardian scientist in the episodes "The Begotten" and "The Alternate". The Star Trek: Voyager episode "Jetrel" features Sloyan as the title character.

Sloyan is featured in The Sting as Mottola, who is used to illustrate the concept of a griftee, in a variation on the pigeon drop scam.

He has played roles in The Traveling Executioner (1970),^[8] The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971), and Xanadu (1980). The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971), and Xanadu (1980).

For 20 years, Sloyan was the voice of Lexus. The company's first commercial, "Balance," aired in 1989 and went on to win several awards as well as homages in pop culture and media. Sloyan served as Lexus' sole voice actor until 2009.^[3] He later narrated ads for Mitsubishi. Sloyan was also a voice actor for Sprint Nextel long-distance services, and in film trailers for movies such as Jumper, The Shadow, and How to Make an American Quilt.^[9]

Sloyan and actress Deirdre Lenihan began dating in 1963 and became engaged five years later.^[10] By November 1973, they were openly living together, and seemed poised to take the plunge.^[11] By April 1977, they had not only tied the knot, but securely fastened it by means of their first child (by then six months old),^[12] who would soon have a sibling, actress Samantha Sloyan.^[3]

• James Sloyan at IMDb