Harris Yulin was especially useful when authority needed to look untrustworthy. His menacing supporting roles gave crime films a dependable source of unease, though the repeated casting as corrupt officials could make the parts feel familiar.
Fi1m perspective
In Scarface (1983), Harris Yulin's Mel Bernstein is a corrupt Miami detective, an introduction to the sort of authority he so often played. Brian De Palma's film is driven by Al Pacino's ferocity, but Bernstein gives its criminality an official foothold. Yulin was a dependable choice for a menacing supporting role, and that is work we value. He does not have to be the chief attraction for his presence to matter.
Ghostbusters II (1989) gave him a comic variation as Judge Stephen Wexler, while Clear and Present Danger (1994) cast him as the corrupt national security adviser James Cutter. These are different jobs, but the casting repeatedly returns to men with authority. The risk is that the next official feels familiar before the character has had much chance to emerge. The comedy matters because it keeps that run of disreputable officials from becoming the only account of his screen work.
Training Day (2001) finds him on familiar ground as Doug Rosselli, another corrupt policeman, in Antoine Fuqua's thriller. We were unnerved by the film because Denzel Washington makes corruption frighteningly persuasive. The part continues an association between Yulin and crooked lawmen that Scarface had already established, though Washington and Ethan Hawke provide the strongest reason to watch. David Ayer's script becomes disappointingly ordinary when it ought to tighten its grip. We recommend the film with that reservation; affection for a reliable supporting actor cannot excuse the writing.
His television work included crime boss Jerome Belasco in Frasier (1996) and the recurring part of Buddy Dieker in Ozark (2017), alongside repeated stage appearances and directing. The theatre work included Shakespeare, a useful reminder of how much the familiar screen casting leaves out. Those credits warrant curiosity about the work beyond the thrillers, without requiring us to turn every small appearance into a neglected triumph. Start with Scarface, accepting its ugliness and occasional over-insistence, and spare some attention for Bernstein.
Biography
Harris Yulin was an American actor whose career spanned more than six decades in film, television and theatre. Born in Los Angeles on 5 November 1937, he made his screen debut in End of the Road (1970) and went on to appear in over a hundred roles.
He is known for performances in Scarface (1983), Ghostbusters II (1989), Clear and Present Danger (1994), Training Day (2001), Rush Hour 2 (2001), The Place Beyond the Pines (2013) and Bean (1997), as well as television work in The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Blacklist, Ozark and an Emmy-nominated guest role in Frasier. Yulin also worked extensively on stage, including multiple Broadway productions, and taught and directed at the Juilliard School.
