James Paradise (also credited as James R. Paradise) is an American actor and director based in Los Angeles, active since 1983. He is best known for playing Buffy's father in the 1992 horror-comedy Buffy the Vampire Slayer and for co-directing GetEven (also known as Champagne and Bullets, 1993) alongside John De Hart. He has appeared in over 30 film and television credits across his career, with a particular presence in 1980s and 1990s independent and horror films.

His notable film credits include Sleepaway Camp (1983) (Felissa Rose, Johnny Slevin), Party Line (1988) (William Webb, Susan Blakemore), Defending Your Life (1991) (Meryl Streep, Danny DeVito), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) (Kristy Swanson, Don Most), Necronomicon (1993) (John Waters, John Turturro), Congo (1995) (Laura Linney, Dylan Walsh), To the Ends of Time (1996) (Wayne Thomas Yorke, Michael Madsen), and A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III (2012) (Bill Murray, Charlie Sheen). On television he has appeared in Friends (1994), The Practice (1997), Baywatch Nights (1996), Night Court (1989), Doogie Howser, M.D. (1990), and Married... with Children (1991).