RB
Robert John Burke
Actor
Born September 12, 1960 (61 years)
A born-and-bred New Yorker, Robert John Burke made his film debut while in his early 20s with a small part in the drama "The Chosen" (1981), based on the Chaim Potok story. He went on to study acting at SUNY Purchase where he met aspiring filmmaker Hal Hartley, who cast him as one of the leads in his debut feature "The Unbelievable Truth," an offbeat indie tale where he played a man trying to escape his troubled past. Working with Hartley again on the charming brother-centric dark comedy "Simple Men," Burke caught a major break when Hollywood producers decided that his chiseled jawline was the right one to replace Peter Weller's in the sci-fi/action sequel "RoboCop 3." Despite Burke's efforts, the movie tanked, and he went on to smaller roles in major films, including the lauded Western "Tombstone" (1993) and the prison-break movie "Fled" (1996). Burke landed his second chance in a Hollywood starring role with the Stephen King adaptation "Thinner" (1996), but the macabre tale, which featured him under heavy makeup to depict a callous man who magically loses weight, was deemed almost universally unlikable.Though Burke's leading-man days were mostly behind him, his beastly role in Hartley's "No Such Thing" (2001) aside, he soldiered on, and began increasingly working on television with recurring roles on the grim prison drama "Oz" and the police procedural "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC, 1999- ). Appearing in George Clooney's first two movies as director, "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" (2002) and "Good Night, and Good Luck." (2005), Burke nonetheless became more familiar to TV audiences, particularly when he signed on to play Mickey Gavin, the ex-priest cousin of Denis Leary's lead character on the firefighter series "Rescue Me," a part that dovetailed with Burke's real-life second job as a New York State fireman.Often cast as a tough guy, the ruggedly handsome and tall actor continued to play imposing figures such as Major General James "Chaos" Mattis in the Iraq War miniseries "Generation Kill" (HBO, 2008) and Bart Bass, the controlling billionaire father of Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) on the soapy drama "Gossip Girl." Before long, he was juggling his ongoing "Law & Order: SVU" part with regular spots on the military drama "Army Wives" (Lifetime, 2007- ) and the tense crime show "Person of Interest" (CBS, 2011- ), while still finding time for supporting turns in films, including the Denzel Washington/Mark Wahlberg action movie "2 Guns" (2013).
Filmography
| 2021 | The Retaliators · as Lt. Briggs |
| 2021 | Intrusion · as Detective Steven Morse |
| 2019 | Project Blue Book (TV Series) · as William Fairchild |
| 2019 | Being · as Sheriff Campbell |
| 2018 | BlacKkKlansman · as Chief Bridges |
| 2018 | Boarding School · as Mr. Holcomb |
| 2018 | We Only Know So Much · as Hal |
| 2018 | The Finest · as Lt Reddick |
| 2017 | Future '38 · as General Sportwood |
| 2017 | Where There's Smoke · as Captain Frascone |
| 2015 | True Story · as Greg Ganley |
| 2015 | Allegiance (TV Series) · as Special Agent Brock |
| 2014 | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (TV Series) · as IAB Lieutenant Ed Tucker |
| 2014 | Ned Rifle · as Chet |
| 2013 | 2 Guns · as Jessup |
| 2013 | Golden Boy (2013) (TV Series) · as Andrew Lightstone |
| 2013 | Banshee (TV Series) · as Salvatore Ferillo |
| 2012 | Safe · as Captain Wolf |
| 2012 | NYC 22 (TV Series) · as Deputy Inspector Dennis McClaren |
| 2011 | Limitless · as Pierce |
| 2011 | Person of Interest (TV Series) · as Officer Patrick Simmons |
| 2010 | Blue Bloods (TV Series) · as Jyle Hogan |
| 2009 | Brooklyn's Finest · as State Trooper #1 |
| 2009 | White Collar (TV Series) · as Patrick O'Leary |
| 2009 | Nurse Jackie (TV Series) · as Dick Richards |
| 2008 | Miracle at St. Anna · as General Ned Almond |
| 2008 | Generation Kill (TV Series) · as Maj. Gen. James 'Chaos' Mattis |
| 2007 | Gossip Girl (TV Series) · as Bart Bass |
| 2007 | Army Wives (TV Series) · as General Clarke |
| 2006 | The Oh in Ohio · as Binky Taylor |
| 2006 | The Water Is Wide · as Colonel Conroy |
| 2006 | Vengeance · as Det. Ron Banks |
| 2006 | Six Degrees (TV Series) · as David |
| 2006 | Kidnapped (TV Series) · as Bellows |
| 2006 | The Ex · as Colonel |
| 2005 | Munich · as Belligerent American |
| 2005 | Good Night, and Good Luck. · as Charlie Mack |
| 2005 | Hide and Seek · as Steven |
| 2004 | Speak · as Mr. Neck |
| 2004 | Rescue Me (TV Series) · as Mickey Gavin |
| 2004 | Connie and Carla · as Rudy |
| 2003 | Queens Supreme (TV Series) · as Special Agent Jeff Donaldson |
| 2002 | Confessions of a Dangerous Mind · as Instructor Jenks |
| 2002 | CSI: Miami (TV Series) · as FBI Agent Jim Resdon |
| 2002 | State Property · as Bob |
| 2001 | No Such Thing · as The Monster |
| 2001 | Witchblade (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 2000 | Falcone (TV Series) · as actor |
| 1999 | The Sopranos (TV Series) · as Officer Zmuida |
| 1999 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series) · as Ed Tucker |
| 1998 | A Bright Shining Lie · as Frank Drummond |
| 1998 | Somewhere in the City · as Frankie |
| 1998 | Alptraum im Airport · as Paul Bacon |
| 1998 | From the Earth to the Moon (TV Series) · as Bill Anders |
| 1998 | Sex and the City (TV Series) · as Walker Lewis |
| 1997 | Cop Land · as Officer B |
| 1997 | First Love, Last Rites · as Henry |
| 1997 | Mayday - Flug in den Tod · as Tom Hutton |
| 1997 | Oz (TV Series) · as Special Agent Pierce Taylor |
| 1996 | If Lucy Fell · as Handsome Man |
| 1996 | Fled · as Pat Schiller |
| 1996 | Thinner · as Billy Halleck |
| 1995 | Flirt · as Men's Room Man #2 |
| 1995 | Killer: A Journal of Murder · as R.G. Greiser |
| 1993 | RoboCop 3 · as RoboCop |
| 1993 | Tombstone · as Frank McLaury |
| 1993 | A Far Off Place · as Paul Parker |
| 1993 | Heaven & Earth · as Paul |
| 1993 | Homicide: Life On The Street (TV Series) · as Jeffrey Andrews |
| 1992 | Dust Devil · as Dust Devil |
| 1992 | Simple Men · as Bill McCabe |
| 1991 | Rambling Rose · as Dave Wilkie |
| 1990 | Law & Order (TV Series) · as Arthur "Buzz" Palley |
| 1989 | The Unbelievable Truth · as Josh |
| 1986 | Nightmare Weekend · as Dave |
| 1985 | The Equalizer (TV Series) · as O'Toole |
| 1985 | Screen Two (TV Series) · as Steve |
| 1981 | Gangster Wars · as Officer Reardon |
| 1981 | The Chosen · as Levi Saunders |
| 1977 | Looking for Mr. Goodbar · as Patrick |