Gary Cole

This article is about the actor. For the soccer player, see Gary Cole (soccer).

Gary Cole
File:Gary Cole 2011 Shankbone.JPG Cole at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	Gary Michael Cole (1956-09-20) September 20, 1956 Park Ridge, Illinois, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Illinois State University
Occupation	Actor, voice actor
Years active	1983–present
Spouse(s)	Teddi Siddall (1953–2018) (m. 1992–2017 or 2018)
Children	1

Gary Michael Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American actor and voice actor. Cole began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. On television, he has had starring roles in the TV series Midnight Caller, American Gothic, The West Wing, Crusade, The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Veep, Chicago Fire, and Mixed-ish. In film, he has appeared in The Brady Bunch Movie, One Hour Photo, Office Space, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. He is also known for voicing the title character on the Adult Swim series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law and James Timothy Possible on Kim Possible.

Early life

Gary Michael Cole was born on September 20, 1956, in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. His father, Robert, was a municipal finance director and his mother, Margaret or "Peggy", was a school administrative assistant. Cole has an older sister, Nancy. While attending Rolling Meadows High School, Cole made his acting debut as Snoopy in a high school production of Clark Gesner's Peanuts musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Cole attended Illinois State University, where he studied theater as a classmate with other future actors Laurie Metcalf and John Malkovich.

Career

File:GaryColeJan09.jpg

Cole in January 2009

Cole began his professional career in 1983 as a stage actor in Chicago, where he joined the ensemble of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. In an early role, Cole played accused Army triple-murderer Capt Jeffrey MacDonald in the mini-series Fatal Vision. Cole has also appeared in several off-Broadway productions in New York City. He has done voice work on several animated series (Family Guy; Kim Possible; Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law; Archer) and had a recurring role on the drama The West Wing as Vice President Bob Russell. He also starred as Captain Matthew Gideon on the short-lived Babylon 5 spin-off Crusade, and had notable guest appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Arrested Development. He also played Joe Maxwell on DCOM Cadet Kelly and appeared as real-life astronaut Edgar Mitchell in HBO's recreation of Project Apollo, From the Earth to the Moon. One of his most notable roles in 1991 was as General Custer in the much acclaimed television film Son of the Morning Star.

Between 1988 and 1991, Cole became popular on TV for playing the part of Jack "Nighthawk" Killian in the series Midnight Caller. In 1999, Cole starred in the film Office Space, in which he portrayed the sadistic office supervisor Bill Lumbergh. When asked about the oft-quoted character, Cole said:

“ Everyone in Office Space thought that this movie had died. So that's how I knew the movie was actually some kind of success because people were coming up doing some lines from the movie ... It never gets old because it reminds you that something you did had some impact. You could work your whole career and have nothing like that last that long. ”

He played The Brady Bunch patriarch Mike Brady in the 1995 film The Brady Bunch Movie, the 1996 sequel A Very Brady Sequel, and the 2002 television film The Brady Bunch in the White House.

Cole starred as Lieutenant Conrad Rose on the TNT series Wanted, he is also the voice of the title character on the Adult Swim series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, and starred as Sheriff Lucas Buck on the one season 1995 show, American Gothic. Cole also appeared in the films Talladega Nights, Forever Strong, and American Pastime.

Cole played Katherine Mayfair's ex-husband Wayne on Desperate Housewives and has played the dangerous drug lord Ted Jones in Pineapple Express with Seth Rogen and James Franco. He also appeared in an episode from the third season of the USA Network series Psych as S.W.A.T. commander Cameron Luntz. Cole also played Bill Owens, Sy Parrish's (Robin Williams) boss, in the film One Hour Photo.

In 2008, Cole appeared on Chuck as Sarah's con-artist father (in "Chuck Versus the DeLorean"), a role which he reprised in 2011 (in "Chuck Versus the Wedding Planner"). He also appeared in the fifth season of HBO's Entourage playing Ari Gold's old pal Andrew Klein for a 3-episode story arc prior to joining the regular cast in the sixth season.

Cole had a guest-appearance on the fourth season of the HBO series True Blood, playing Sookie Stackhouse's grandfather.

In 2011, Cole joined Fox's comedy pilot Tagged, but the series was not picked up.

In 2013, Cole began a recurring role on Suits as Cameron Dennis, the former mentor of Harvey Specter, one of the show's main characters. Also in 2013, Cole began a major recurring role as Kent Davison on the HBO comedy series Veep, joining the main cast at the start of the show's second season. In 2014, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his work in season three. Additionally, Cole was nominated with his fellow cast members for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for seasons 2, 3, 4, and 5 before ultimately winning the award in 2017 for season 6.

Cole currently provides the voice of Sergeant Boscoe on Bob's Burgers and Principal Shepherd on Family Guy. He appears in triplicate as 10 Minutes, 10 Days and 10 Years in the Future Spokesguy in Kabbage's 2019 commercial campaign.

Personal life

Cole married actress Teddi Siddall on March 8, 1992. Their daughter Mary is pursuing an acting career. On June 19, 2017, Siddall filed for divorce. Siddall died in 2018.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	To Live and Die in L.A.	Man chased by Richard Chance	Uncredited
1986	Lucas	Assistant Coach
1993	In the Line of Fire	Agent-In-Charge Bill Watts
1995	The Brady Bunch Movie	Mike Brady
1996	A Very Brady Sequel	Mike Brady
1997	Santa Fe	Paul Thomas
	Gang Related	Richard Simms
	Cyclops, Baby	Manks
1998	A Simple Plan	Neil Baxter
	Kiss the Sky	Marty
	I'll Be Home for Christmas	Jake's Dad
1999	Office Space	Bill Lumbergh
2000	The Gift	David Duncan
2001	The Rising Place	Avery Hodge
2002	One Hour Photo	Bill Owens
	I Spy	Carlos
2004	Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!	Henry Futch
	Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story	Cotton McKnight
2005	The Ring Two	Martin Savide
	Mozart and the Whale	Wallace
	Cry Wolf	Mr. Matthews
2006	Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby	Reese Bobby
2007	My Wife Is Retarded	Doctor Heichman	Short film
	American Pastime	Billy Burrell
	Breach	Rich Garces
	Goodnight Vagina	Doctor Milstein	Short film
2008	Say Hello to Stan Talmadge	Stan Talmadge
	Conspiracy	Rhodes
	Pineapple Express	Ted Jones
	Forever Strong	Coach Larry Gelwix
2009	Extract	Bar Patron	Uncredited
	The Joneses	Larry
2010	DC Showcase: The Spectre	Jim Corrigan / The Spectre (voice)	Short film
	Batman: Under the Red Hood	Bobo, James Gordon, Shot, Guard (voices)	Direct-to-DVD
	Immortality Bites	Doctor Levine
2011	Hop	Henry O'Hare
	The Chicago 8	Bill Kunstler
	The Last Rites of Joe May	Lenny
2013	Vamp U	Arthur Levine
2014	Date and Switch	Dwayne
	Tammy	Earl
	Cotton	Clay Peaks	Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival Award for Best Actor
	The Town That Dreaded Sundown	Chief Deputy Tillman
2015	Divine Access	Reverend Guy Roy Davis
	Christmas Eve	Doctor Roberts
	The Bronze	Stan Greggory
2016	Hot Air	Aviator
2017	Small Crimes	Dan Pleasant
	Scooby-Doo! Shaggy's Showdown	Rafe (voice)	Direct-to-DVD
2018	Blockers	Ron
	Under the Eiffel Tower	Gerard
	Unbroken: Path to Redemption	Doctor George Bailey
	Seven in Heaven	Mr. Wallace
2019	The Art of Racing in the Rain	Don Kitch
2019	Married Young	Aaron
2020	Anderson Falls	Mark Witver

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Heart of Steel	Lee	Television film
1984	Fatal Vision	Captain Jeffrey MacDonald, MD	Television film
	American Playhouse	Man with Xmas Tree	Episode: "A Matter of Principle"
1985	First Steps	Manny	Television film
	The Twilight Zone	Daniel Gaddis	Episode: "Her Pilgrim Soul"
1986	Vital Signs	Doctor Hayward	Television film
	Miami Vice	Jackson Crane	Episode: "Trust Fund Pirates"
	Jack and Mike	Chris Sykes	Episode: "Pilot"
1987	Moonlighting	Alan McClafferty	2 episodes
	Echoes in the Darkness	Jack Holtz	Television film
1988–1991	Midnight Caller	Jack 'Nighthawk' Killian	61 episodes
1989	Those She Left Behind	Scott Grimes	Television film
1990	The Old Man and the Sea	Tom Pruitt	Television film
1991	Son of the Morning Star	George Armstrong Custer	Television film
1993	The Switch	Larry McAfee	Television film
	When Love Kills: The Seduction of John Hearn	John Hearn	Television film
1994	A Time to Heal	Jay Barton	Television film
	Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics	James	Television film
	Fall from Grace	Maj. Tom O'Neill	Television film
1995–1996	American Gothic	Sheriff Lucas Buck	22 episodes
1996	For My Daughter's Honor	Pete Nash	Television film
1997	Lies He Told	Dave	Television film
1998	Dead Man's Gun	Travis Everett Thornberry	Episode: "The Photographer"
	The Outer Limits	Detective Ray Venable	Episode: "Criminal Nature"
	From the Earth to the Moon	Edgar Mitchell	Episode: "For Miles and Miles"
1999	Crusade	Capt. Matthew Gideon	13 episodes
	Chicken Soup for the Soul	Dad	Episode: "Where's My Kiss, Then?"
1999–2004	The Practice	Solomon Tager / Atty. Brian Seabury	3 episodes
2000	What About Joan	Justin	Episode: "You Can't Go Home Again"
	Family Law	Alan	Episode: "Human Error"
	Batman Beyond	Zeta (voice)	Episode: "Zeta"
	Touched by an Angel	Charlie Radcliff	Episode: "Pandora's Box"
	Frasier	Luke Parker	Episode: "The New Friend"
2000–2007	Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law	Harvey Birdman / Additional voices (voice)	39 episodes
2000–present	Family Guy	Principal Shepherd / Additional voices (voice)	65 episodes
2001	Neurotic Tendencies		Pilot
	Justice League	J. Allen Carter (voice)	3 episodes
2002-2004	Teamo Supremo	Mr. Vague (voice)	2 episodes
2002	American Adventure	Chuck	Television film
	Cadet Kelly	Sir	Television film
	The Brady Bunch in the White House	Mike Brady	Television film
2002–2003	Family Affair	William "Bill" Davis	15 episodes
2002–2007	Kim Possible	Doctor James Possible / Additional voices (voice)	40 episodes
2003	Criminology 101	Roy Franks	Pilot
	Hack	Johnny Scanlon	Episode: "Brothers in Arms"
	Monk	Dexter Larson	Episode: "Mr. Monk Meets the Playboy"
	Karen Sisco	Konner	2 episodes
	Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time	Doctor James Possible (voice)	Television film
2003–2006	The West Wing	Vice President Bob Russell	21 episodes
2004	Pop Rocks	Jerry "Dagger" Harden	Television film
	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Xander Henry	Episode: "Brotherhood"
2005	Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama	Doctor James Possible (voice)	Television film
	Wanted	Lieutenant Conrad Rose	13 episodes
	King of the Hill	Vance Gilbert (voice)	Episode: "Harlottown"
2006	That Guy	Gary	Pilot
	Company Town	Martin Amberson	Pilot
	Arrested Development	CIA Agent	Episode: "Exit Strategy"
2007	The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning	The Balladeer (voice)	Television film
	Shark	Christian Chambers	Episode: "Blind Trust"
	Supernatural	Brad Redding	Episode: "Hollywood Babylon"
2008	Good Behavior	Dean West	Unaired series
	12 Miles of Bad Road	Jerry Shakespeare	6 episodes
	Desperate Housewives	Wayne Davis	6 episodes
	Psych	Commander Cameron Lutz	Episode: "Gus Walks Into a Bank"
2008-2011	Chuck	Jack Burton	2 episodes
2008–2010	Entourage	Andrew Klein	12 episodes
2009	The Cleaner	Davis Durham	2 episodes
	Numb3rs	Shepard Crater	Episode: "Hangman"
2010–2016	The Good Wife	Kurt McVeigh	14 episodes
2010	Uncle Nigel	Nigel	Pilot
	Funny or Die Presents	Lead FBI Agent	Episode: "201"
2010–2012	The Penguins of Madagascar	Commissioner McSlade (voice)	4 episodes
2010–2013	Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated	Mayor Fred Jones Sr. / Additional voices (voice)	21 episodes
2010	The Good Guys	Frank Savage	2 episodes
	The Closer	Major Edward Dorcet	Episode: "War Zone"
2011	True Blood	Earl Stackhouse	Episode: "She's Not There"
	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Joe O'Donnell	Episode: "The Divorce"
	Ricochet	Judge Cato Laird	Television film
2011	Tagged	James Percy	Pilot
2011–2013 2016, 2019	Suits	Cameron Dennis	10 episodes
2011	Pound Puppies	Slick (voice)	Episode: "I Never Barked for My Father"
2012	An Officer and a Murderer	Col. Russell Williams	Television film
	Hart of Dixie	Doctor Ethan Hart	2 episodes
	Scruples	Royce Franklin	Pilot
	30 Rock	Roger	Episode: "Unwindulax"
	Royal Pains	Simon Braddock	Episode: "Who's Your Daddy"
	Wedding Band	Jack	Episode: "We Are Family"
2012–present	Bob's Burgers	Sergeant Bosco (voice)	10 episodes
2012	The List	Chief Inspector Bob McKinnon	Pilot
2013–2019	Veep	Kent Davison	55 episodes Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2017) Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series (2014) Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2013–2016)
2014–2015	Archer	Special Agent Hawley (voice)	6 episodes
2014	Phineas and Ferb	Principal Lang (voice)	Episode: "Doof 101/Father's Day"
2014, 2017	The Tom and Jerry Show	Narrator (voice)	6 episodes
2014	The Legend of Korra	Dai Li Sergeant / Rich Man (voice)	2 episodes
2014–2017	Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero	Brock Zero (voice)	14 episodes
2015	Mr. Robinson	Neville Rex	Episode: "Flesh for Fantasy"
	Rick and Morty	Alien Doctor (voice)	Episode: "Interdimensional Cable 2: Tempting Fate"
2015–2017	F Is for Family	Rodger Dunbarton (voice)	6 episodes
2016	Angie Tribeca	Professor Everett Lamereau	Episode: "Pilot"
2016–2017	Mercy Street	James Green, Sr.	12 episodes
2016	Unforgettable	Clay Tendler	Episode: "Bad Company"
	Angel from Hell	Stephen Williams	Episode: "Believe Me, Part 2"
	We Bare Bears	CEO (voice)	Episode: "Fashion Bears"
	Justice League Action	Black Adam (voice)	2 episodes
2017–present	The Good Fight	Kurt McVeigh	11 episodes
2017–present	Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters	Mark Armstrong (voice)	10 episodes
2018–present	Trolls: The Beat Goes On!	Sky Toronto (voice)	9 episodes
2018–2019	Chicago Fire	Fire Commissioner Carl Grissom	12 episodes
2018	The Venture Bros.	Professor Von Helping (voice)	Episode: "The High Cost of Loathing"
	Harvey Birdman: Attorney General	Harvey Birdman (voice)	Television special
2019	Fam	Freddy	Main role 7 episodes
	Love, Death & Robots	The Inspector (voice)	Episode: "The Dump"
	American Dad!	Ted Robinson (voice)	Episode: "Stan & Francine & Connie & Ted"
	Big Mouth	Matthew's father (voice)	2 episodes
2019–present	Mixed-ish	Harrison Jackson III	Main role
2020	Star Trek: Lower Decks	Leonardo da Vinci (hologram)	Voice; Episode: "Crisis Point"

Video games

Year	Title	Role
2008	Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law	Harvey Birdman / Judge Hiram Mightor
2016	Hitman	Himself

External links

• Gary Cole at the Internet Movie Database
• Gary Cole at the TCM Movie Database
• Gary Cole at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• The Onion A.V. Club Random Roles article with Gary Cole

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