James was born September 16, 1956, in Chicago, Illinois, to David James and Mary Galloway James. He has five siblings.

James's acting career began in 1979, when he appeared in a version of Shakespeare's Coriolanus, starring Earle Hyman and Morgan Freeman.

His film roles include Double Platinum, Long Day's Journey into Night (1982). In 1990, he was in a television film of Hamlet, directed by Kevin Kline. He portrayed Thurgood Marshall in The American Experience production of "Simple Justice (1993), and he played Isaac Coles in the miniseries The Wedding (1998).

He was the reader for the Recorded Books edition of Richard Wright's Native Son. The following biographical material appears on the 2000 audiobook of Mr. James's recording of Walter Mosley's Walking the Dog.

James played Raymond Parks, husband of Rosa Parks, in the television film The Rosa Parks Story in 2002. He had a recurring role as Judge Kevin Beck on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; and for playing Jahfree Neema in the HBO television series Oz. James has appeared in television series such as Gossip Girl, Law & Order: Criminal Intent (as Mr. Richmond), Law & Order, and Third Watch. In 2003, he took on the role of Clayton Boudreau on the daytime soap opera Guiding Light, a role he played until early 2004. In 2006, he returned for a single episode. In 2009, James returned to Guiding Light on a recurring basis.