James Adam Belushi, born on June 15, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois, is an American actor and comedian who carved his own path in Hollywood while forever linked to his legendary older brother, John Belushi. Over a career spanning more than four decades, Belushi has proven his versatility across television and film, becoming best known for his starring role in the long-running sitcom According to Jim and for a series of popular buddy-cop and comedy movies in the late 1980s and 1990s. He is also the father of actor Robert Belushi.

Belushi grew up in the Chicago suburb of Wheaton, where he developed a passion for performance, partly inspired by his brother’s early success. He attended the College of DuPage and later Southern Illinois University, but left to pursue acting. After honing his craft in Chicago theater, he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1983, following in John’s footsteps. His three seasons on the iconic sketch show from 1983 to 1985 allowed him to showcase his comedic timing and physical humor, though he was often compared to his brother. During this period, he also began landing film roles, appearing in Thief (1981) and the classic comedy Trading Places (1983) alongside Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. He continued building his filmography with comedies like The Man with One Red Shoe (1985) and the dramatic turn in Salvador (1986), directed by Oliver Stone.

The late 1980s and early 1990s marked a particularly productive era for Belushi, as he headlined a string of popular action-comedies. He starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Red Heat (1988), played a detective partnered with a dog in K-9 (1989), and took the lead in the comedy Taking Care of Business (1990). These films cemented his reputation as a reliable leading man in the genre. He later appeared in Destiny Turns on the Radio (1995), Angel's Dance (1999), and the family comedy Joe Somebody (2001). In 2007, he voiced the villain in the live-action adaptation of Underdog. Belushi also took on more dramatic roles, appearing in The Ghost Writer (2010) directed by Roman Polanski and Wonder Wheel (2017) by Woody Allen, showing his range beyond comedy.

Belushi’s most significant television success came with the ABC sitcom According to Jim, which ran for eight seasons from 2001 to 2009. In the series, he played Jim, a lovable but often clueless suburban father and husband, opposite Courtney Thorne-Smith. The show was a ratings hit and became a staple of network comedy, though it received mixed critical reviews. Following the series, he took on a dramatic role in the Amazon series Good Girls Revolt (2015–2016), which explored the fight for gender equality at a news magazine in the late 1960s. In 2025, he appeared in the musical biopic Song Sung Blue. Beyond acting, Belushi has also pursued a career as a musician and blues singer, performing with his band, the Sacred Hearts, and has been active in various charitable endeavors. He continues to act and perform, maintaining a presence in both film and television while honoring the legacy of his brother, who died in 1982.