James Mccaffrey
About
Biography
Biography
As the ghost of Jimmy Keefe, a firefighter who lost his life on 9/11, James McCaffrey provided a near supernatural element to the edgy FX drama "Rescue Me." A friend and cousin to lead character Tommy Gavin, played by series star and co-creator Denis Leary, McCaffrey's character acts as both a conscience and a disturbing reminder of mortality.
McCaffrey was born in Ireland but grew up in Albany New York, where he developed interests in both sports and art. He studied Fine Arts on scholarship at New Haven College, where he landed baseball and football scholarships. After he finishes school, he moved to Boston, where he worked as a graphic designer and art director. He also began doing theater, and a performance in "Electra: A Central American Tragedy," drew high praise from critics. Stage acting led McCaffrey to New York City and the Actor's Studio. He soon started his own company, The Workhouse Theater, which produced several off-Broadway plays, including "The Scape," "The Florentine," and "Gross Points."
McCaffrey's television debut was a recurring guest spot on the Mariel Hemmingway law drama "Civil Wars," (ABC). Although the show was cancelled shortly thereafter (and born again as "L.A. Law"), McCaffrey made enough of an impact to land the lead role in the actioner, "Viper." (NBC, 1994). A close cousin to "Knight Rider," the show was short-lived as well. But McCaffrey was off and running, and next accepted the lead in "Swift Justice," a Dick Wolf action drama, playing ex-special-forces operative-turned private investigator Max Swift.
A slew of television guest appearances followed, on such shows as "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," as well as "Sex & The City," where he appeared in two episodes playing two different roles. Movie roles included bit parts in the romantic comedy "Cats & Dogs" (1996) the highly acclaimed "American Splendor" (2003) and Spike Lee's "She Hate Me (2004).
McCaffrey also landed a small part in an episode of another edgy Denis Leary drama, "The Job." He joined the lineup of long-running CBS daytime soap "As the World Turns," as Charley Spangler, before being called to duty by Leary for "Rescue Me."
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1985
Moved to New York City and joined The Actors Studio, studying and working in several productions
1991
Formed The Workhouse Theatre in Tribecca with directors/writers Damien Gray and Andrew Heckler
1992
Co-starred with Mariel Hemingway in four episodes of "Civil Wars" (ABC)
1994
Cast in the original role of Joe Astor on "Viper" (NBC)
1996
Appeared in "The Truth About Cats and Dogs" with Uma Thurman and Janeane Garofalo
1996
Co-starred as Captain Arthur O' Bryne on Fox's "New York Undercover"
1996
Cast in the lead role of Max Swift in the short-lived UPN series, "Swift Justice"
2000
Appeared in "The Tic Code" with Gregory Hines and Polly Draper
2001
Voiced the famous video game character, Max Payne, a fugitive cop framed for murdering his partner
2003
Had a small role in the critically acclaimed "American Splendor," with Paul Giamatti
2003
Guest-starred on NBC's "Law & Order: SVU" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"
2003
Played the recurring character Charley Spangler on the daytime soap "As The World Turns"
2004
Cast as Jimmy Keefe in the drama series, "Rescue Me" (FX)
