James Sloyan was an American stage, screen & voice actor and fight choreographer.
He was born on February 24, 1941 in Indianapolis, Indiana. His family moved to Europe when he was a young boy, living in Italy, Switzerland, Ireland, and France.
When he was 17, his family moved back to the United States and settled in upstate New York, where he managed a theater. He received a scholarship to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and after two years he went to work for Joseph Papp at the New York Shakespeare Festival.
In 1962, he was drafted into the United States Army. After four years he returned to the NYSF and performed in 28 plays and choreographed all the onstage fights. He also appeared in the original off-Broadway stage version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Sloyan 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.
He was also the voice of Lexus (TV & radio voice-overs) from 1989 until 2009 since the automobile's introduction to the US market.
Sloyan died at his home in Sherman Oaks, California, on July 22, 2026, at the age of 85.
