Remar has spent the majority of his film career playing villains. He portrayed the violent and sexually aggressive character Ajax in the cult film The Warriors, and the murdering sociopath Albert Ganz in the hit 48 Hrs.. Both films were directed by Walter Hill. Remar also played real-life 1930s-era gangster Dutch Schultz in The Cotton Club. In contrast to these roles, Remar starred in the film Windwalker as the young Cheyenne Windwalker, for which he spoke his lines in the Cheyenne language. He also portrayed a gay man in the film Cruising. That same year, Remar had a cameo in the Western The Long Riders in a bar fight scene with David Carradine. He was the star of the 1986 film Quiet Cool and was cast as Corporal Hicks in the science-fiction/horror film Aliens, but was replaced by Michael Biehn shortly after filming began. At least one piece of footage featuring Remar made it into the final version of the film: when the Marines enter the processing station and the camera tilts down from the Alien nest, though Remar is not seen in close-up. He is also filmed from the back as the Marines first enter the compound on LV-426 and when "Hicks" approaches the cocooned woman, again filmed from the rear so the viewer is unable to tell it is Remar and not Michael Biehn. He played Quill, one of the main villains in The Phantom. He appeared in ', the sequel to the film Mortal Kombat, taking over the role of Raiden from Christopher Lambert. He then followed this with a role in the direct-to-video science fiction movieRobo Warriors. Other films include Psycho, in which he played the patrolman, Drugstore Cowboy, ', Wedlock, Boys on the Side, The Quest, Rites of Passage, ', 2 Fast 2 Furious, Fear X, ', The Girl Next Door. He played a brief role as General Bratt in the prologue of Pineapple Express. He also had a role in the horror movie The Unborn, alongside C.S. Lee, who portrays Vince Masuka in Dexter. He also played the father of Olivia Grey in "Feed". Remar was featured in the film ' and voiced the AutobotSideswipe in the film ', replacing André Sogliuzzo. He was also cast in the heist film Setup and starred in the film Arena. Remar played two different, unrelated characters in Quentin Tarantino's film Django Unchained : Ace Speck and Butch Pooch. He starred, alongside Emma Roberts, Lucy Boynton, and Lauren Holly, in the thriller filmThe Blackcoat's Daughter.
Television
Remar's television appearances include the series Miami Vice, Hill Street Blues, Sex and the City, Tales from the Crypt, Jericho, Third Watch, Justice League Unlimited, and Battlestar Galactica. He also appeared as a possessed mental patient in The X-Files ninth-season episode "Dæmonicus". He starred as Tiny Bellows on the short-lived television series The Huntress. He appeared in the miniseries The Grid as Hudson "Hud", the love interest of Julianna Margulies' character. He had a recurring guest role in the 2006 television series Jericho on CBS. Remar guest-starred in the CBS crime drama Numbers, playing a weapons dealer who later turns good and helps the FBI. From 2006 to 2013, Remar co-starred in Dexter on Showtime. He was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Dexter Morgan's adoptive father, Harry Morgan. In 2010, he played guest roles as Giuseppe Salvatore in The CW series The Vampire Diaries and as James Ermine, a general for Jericho, a black-opsmilitary contractor, on FlashForward. He also voiced Vilgax in the animated television series' and ', replacing Steve Blum. He guest-starred in Private Practice in 2010, playing a physician named Gibby, who works with Doctors Without Borders. On July 23, 2017, Remar was cast as Peter Gambi on the superhero drama Black Lightning.
