James Christopher Read (born July 31, 1953) is an American actor.

Read was born in Buffalo, New York. He stared acting as student of the University of Oregon where he graduated in 1976. He studied acting in New York then and he did several off-Broadway and regional theatres like The Denver Center Theatre Company, where he had couple of leading roles and spent there three seasons.

Read is perhaps best known for his role of George Hazard in the TV miniseries based on the "North and South" novels by John Jakes and for his co-starring role on the movie "Beaches". Read is married to actress Wendy Kilbourne, whom he met on the set of North & South. He had a recurring role on The WB series Charmed as Victor Bennett and was also a regular during the first season of Remington Steele. Currently, he may be seen as Ken Davis in the ABC family drama "Wildfire". In 1998, he also earned Masters Degree in psychology from Pepperdine University.

James Christopher Read was born on July 31st, 1953 in Buffalo, New York into a well prospered family. He had never dreamt about acting until his collegiate years. He started studying law at Oregon University, but close to his graduation, he discovered his love for theatre. He left the university and joined a theatrical group in Denver. His movie and TV career started in 1982 when he played one of the main roles in the "Remington Steele" (1982) series as well as guest-starring in other different series. His most important career moment was in the year 1985 when he received the role of "George Hazard" in one of the most popular and successful mini-series ever in "North and South" (1985) (mini) (although he had not been convinced if he should accept the role!). Before starting doing the show, Read has spent a few weeks at Patrick Swayze's ranch, where Swayze taught him to ride a horse. During his first month on "North and South" set, Read met Wendy Kilbourne. They started dating, got married soon thereafter, and are still together to this day. In 1986, Read played Hazard once again in the "North and South" sequel entitled "North and South, Book II" (1986) (mini). He re-prised the role once again in 1994 in "Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III" (1994) (mini). Read has performed in dozens of other movies and series, but none of them reached the same popularity as the three North and South mini-series. Though he has never been "a Star", he is well-liked and his work is enjoyed by viewers all over the world. He lives with Kilbourne, their son Jackson (born 1991), daughter Sydney, 2 dogs (Charlie and Hank), and cat Mable in California.