Hawthorne James is an American character actor and director, known for his role as Big Red Davis in the 1991 film The Five Heartbeats. He is also known for his role as Sam, the injured bus driver, in Speed[2] and for films and television series such as Seven,  NYPD Blue[2] and guest-starring on Frasier as Bill in the season one episode "Miracle on Third or Fourth Street". He was born James Hawthorne in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Robert Hawthorne and A. M. Alene. He earned a bachelor's degree in Theater from the University of Notre Dame, a master's degree from the University of Michigan, and taught Theater at Illinois State University. James was responsible for his appearance in the funeral scene of Jimmy Potter in The Five Heartbeats, which he based on a scene Shakespeare's Richard III.