Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
July 9, 1938
Place of Birth:
Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA
Social Media
Brian Dennehy
Biography
Brian Manion Dennehy (July 9, 1938 – April 15, 2020) was an American actor of film, stage, and television. His breakthrough film role was as the overzealous sheriff Will Teasle in First Blood (1982). Typically a character actor, Dennehy displayed versatility in varying and often complex roles ranging from villainous (such as a corrupt sheriff in the 1985 western Silverado) to virtuous (such as a benevolent alien leader in Cocoon, also released in 1985). Other notable films featuring Dennehy include Gorky Park (1983), Never Cry Wolf (1983), Legal Eagles (1986), F/X (1986), Tommy Boy (1995), Romeo + Juliet (1996), and Ratatouille (2007).
A prominent figure in the theater world (especially in Chicago), Dennehy won two Tony Awards for Best Lead Actor, for Death of a Salesman (1999) and Long Day's Journey into Night (2003). He starred in numerous television films and miniseries, garnering six Emmy Award nominations, and had memorable supporting and guest roles in many series including Just Shoot Me, The Good Wife, and The Blacklist.
Known For
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 2023 | Sly | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 2021 | Son of the South | Grandfather |
| 2020 | Driveways | Del |
| 2019 | The Song of Sway Lake | Hal Sway |
| 2019 | 3 Days with Dad | Bob |
| 2019 | Alan Pakula: Going for Truth | Self |
| 2018 | The Seagull | Pjotr Sorin |
| 2018 | Tag | Mr. Cilliano |
| 2017 | A Very Merry Toy Store | Joe Haggarty |
| 2015 | Knight of Cups | Joseph |
| 2015 | The Ultimate Legacy | Gus |
| 2013 | The Challenger Disaster | Rogers |
| 2012 | Twelfth Night | Sir Toby Belch |
| 2011 | The Big Year | Raymond Harris |
| 2010 | The Next Three Days | George Brennan |
| 2010 | Every Day | Ernie |
| 2010 | Alleged | Clarence Darrow |
| 2010 | Meet Monica Velour | Pop Pop |
| 2010 | Caesar and Otto meet Dracula’s Lawyer | Steve Dracula’s More Famous Brother |
| 2009 | Lost Road of the Popes: Via Papale | Narrator |
| 2009 | Love and Valor | Narrator (voice) |
| 2009 | Bunker Hill | Martin 'Mutt' Kelsey |
| 2008 | Righteous Kill | Hingis |
| 2008 | Cat City | Harold |
| 2007 | Ratatouille | Django (voice) |
| 2007 | Trumbo | Self |
| 2007 | War Eagle, Arkansas | Pop, Enochs Father |
| 2007 | Welcome to Paradise | Bobby Brown |
| 2007 | Marco Polo | Kublai Khan |
| 2007 | Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil & The Presidency | Andrew Jackson (voice) |
| 2007 | The Ultimate Gift | Gus |
| 2006 | 10th & Wolf | Agent Horvath |
| 2006 | Everyone's Hero | Babe Ruth (voice) |
| 2006 | The Exonerated | Gary Gauger |
| 2005 | Assault on Precinct 13 | Sargeant Jasper O'Shea |
| 2005 | Our Fathers | Father Dominic Spagnolia |
| 2004 | Category 6: Day of Destruction | Andy Goodman |
| 2004 | She Hate Me | Billy Church |
| 2003 | The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone | Tom Stone |
| 2003 | Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Three's Company' | Fred Silverman |
| 2003 | The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron | Mr. Blue |
| 2003 | American Valor | Narrator |
| 2003 | 101 Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment | |
| 2002 | Stolen Summer | Father Kelly |
| 2002 | Making 'The Misfits' | Narrator |
| 2002 | Code Yellow: Hospital at Ground Zero | Narrator |
| 2002 | A Season on the Brink | Bobby Knight |
| 2001 | Summer Catch | John Schiffner |
| 2001 | Three Blind Mice | Matthew Hope |
| 2001 | Warden of Red Rock | Sheriff Selwyn Church |
| 2000 | Fail Safe | Gen. Bogan |
| 2000 | Dish Dogs | Frost |
| 2000 | Death of a Salesman | Willy Loman |
| 1999 | NetForce | Lowell Davidson |
| 1999 | Out of the Cold | David Bards |
| 1999 | Sirens | Lt. Denby |
| 1999 | Silicon Towers | Tom Warner |
| 1998 | Thanks of a Grateful Nation | Sen. Donald Riegle |
| 1998 | Voyage of Terror | The President |
| 1997 | Indefensible: The Truth About Edward Brannigan | Eddie Brannigan |
| 1996 | Romeo + Juliet | Ted Montague |
| 1996 | Jack Reed: Death and Vengeance | Jack Reed |
| 1996 | Shadow of a Doubt | Charley Sloan |
| 1996 | Undue Influence | Paul Madriani |
| 1996 | A Season in Purgatory | Gerald Bradley |
| 1996 | Jack Reed: A Killer Among Us | Jack Reed |
| 1995 | Tommy Boy | Thomas 'Big Tom' Callahan |
| 1995 | The Stars Fell on Henrietta | Big Dave McDermot |
| 1995 | Jack Reed: One of Our Own | Jack Reed |
| 1994 | Midnight Movie | James Boyce |
| 1994 | Jack Reed: A Search for Justice | Jack Reed |
| 1994 | Leave of Absence | Sam |
| 1993 | Prophet of Evil: The Ervil LeBaron Story | Ervil LeBaron |
| 1993 | Foreign Affairs | Chuck Mumpson |
| 1993 | Jack Reed: Badge of Honor | Sgt. Jack Reed |
| 1993 | Final Appeal | Perry Sundquist |
| 1992 | Gladiator | Jimmy Horn |
| 1992 | To Catch a Killer | John Wayne Gacy |
| 1992 | Deadly Matrimony | Jack Reed |
| 1992 | Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story | Jackie Presser |
| 1992 | The Diamond Fleece | Inspector Outlaw |
| 1991 | F/X2 | Leo McCarthy |
| 1991 | In Broad Daylight | Len Rowan |
| 1991 | Zebras: Patterns in the Grass | Narrator (voice) |
| 1990 | Presumed Innocent | Raymond Horgan |
| 1990 | A Killing in a Small Town | Ed Reivers |
| 1990 | The Last of the Finest | Frank Daly |
| 1990 | Rising Son | Gus Robinson |
| 1990 | Pride and Extreme Prejudice | Bruno Morenz |
| 1989 | Day One | Gen. Leslie Groves |
| 1989 | Perfect Witness | James Falcon |
| 1989 | Seven Minutes | Wagner |
| 1989 | Indio | Whitaker |
| 1988 | The Man From Snowy River II | Harrison |
| 1988 | Miles from Home | Frank Roberts Sr. |
| 1988 | A Father's Revenge | Paul Hobart |
| 1988 | Cocoon: The Return | Walter (uncredited) |
| 1987 | Best Seller | Dennis Meechum |
| 1987 | Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam | (voice) |
| 1987 | The Belly of an Architect | Stourley Kracklite |
| 1987 | The Lion of Africa | Sam Marsh |
| 1987 | The Little Mermaid | King Neptune (Narrator) (voice) |
| 1986 | Legal Eagles | Cavanaugh |
| 1986 | F/X | Lt. Leo McCarthy |
| 1986 | The Check is in the Mail... | Richard Jackson |
| 1986 | Acceptable Risks | Don Sheppard |
| 1985 | Cocoon | Walter |
| 1985 | Silverado | Cobb |
| 1985 | Twice in a Lifetime | Nick |
| 1985 | Annie Oakley | Buffalo Bill |
| 1984 | Finders Keepers | Frizzoli |
| 1984 | The River Rat | Doc Cole |
| 1984 | The Pigs vs. The Freaks | Sergeant Cheever |
| 1983 | Gorky Park | William Kirwill |
| 1983 | Never Cry Wolf | Rosie |
| 1983 | Blood Feud | Edward Grady Partin |
| 1983 | I Take These Men | Phil Zakarian |
| 1982 | First Blood | Hope Sheriff Will Teasle |
| 1982 | Split Image | Kevin Stetson |
| 1982 | The Man Who Married a French Wife and Other Stories | Grimmet |
| 1981 | Fly Away Home | Tim Arnold |
| 1981 | Skokie | Police Chief Arthur Buchanan |
| 1981 | The Girls in Their Summer Dresses and Other Stories | Grimmet |
| 1980 | Little Miss Marker | Herbie |
| 1980 | The Jericho Mile | Dr. D |
| 1980 | The Seduction of Miss Leona | Bliss Dawson |
| 1979 | 10 | Donald |
| 1979 | Butch and Sundance: The Early Days | O.C. Hanks |
| 1979 | Dummy | Ragoti |
| 1979 | Silent Victory: The Kitty O'Neil Story | John O'Neil |
| 1978 | Foul Play | Fergie |
| 1978 | A Real American Hero | Buford Pusser |
| 1978 | Ruby and Oswald | George Paulsen |
| 1978 | A Death in Canaan | Barney Parsons |
| 1978 | F.I.S.T. | Frank Vasko |
| 1977 | Semi-Tough | T.J. Lambert |
| 1977 | Looking for Mr. Goodbar | Surgeon |
| 1977 | It Happened at Lakewood Manor | Fire Chief |
| 1977 | Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye | Longshoreman |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Penny Dreadful: City of Angels | Jerome Townsend |
| 2016 | Hap and Leonard | Sheriff Valentine Otis |
| 2015 | Cocked | Wade |
| 2015 | Public Morals | Joe Patton |
| 2013 | The Blacklist | Dominic Wilkinson |
| 2010 | Rizzoli & Isles | Ret. Det. Kenny Leahy |
| 2010 | The Big C | Dad |
| 2009 | The Good Wife | Bucky Stabler |
| 2007 | Rules of Engagement | Roy |
| 2007 | Masters of Science Fiction | Bedzyk |
| 2007 | Marco Polo | Kublai Khan |
| 2006 | 30 Rock | Mickey J |
| 2004 | The 4400 | Mitch Baldwin |
| 2004 | Category 6: Day of Destruction | Andy Goodman |
| 2002 | Founding Brothers | |
| 2001 | The Fighting Fitzgeralds | Mr. Fitzgerald |
| 2001 | The Agency | James Graydon |
| 2001 | Night Visions | Camper Ben (segment "Quiet, Please") |
| 2001 | Animated Tales of the World | Captain (voice) |
| 2000 | Arrest & Trial | Self - Host |
| 2000 | Founding Fathers | George Washington (voice) |
| 1999 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Judson Tierney |
| 1999 | The West Wing | Sen. Rafe Framingham |
| 1999 | Netforce | Lowell Davidson |
| 1999 | Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke | Louis Bromfield |
| 1997 | Just Shoot Me! | Red Finch |
| 1997 | Nostromo | Joshua C. Holroyd |
| 1996 | E! True Hollywood Story | |
| 1996 | Dead Man's Walk | Major Chevallier |
| 1996 | Steve Martini's Undue Influence | |
| 1994 | Birdland | Dr. Brian McKenzie |
| 1993 | Murder in the Heartland | John McArthur |
| 1992 | The Burden of Proof | Dixon Hartnell |
| 1992 | To Catch a Killer | John Wayne Gacy |
| 1988 | American Experience | Aaron Burr (voice) |
| 1985 | Evergreen | Matthew Malone |
| 1985 | Tall Tales & Legends | Buffalo Bill |
| 1985 | Screen Two | James Boyce |
| 1985 | The Last Place on Earth | Frederick Cook |
| 1984 | Miami Vice | Reverend Billy Bob Proverb |
| 1984 | Hunter | Dr. Bolin |
| 1983 | Blood Feud | Edward Grady Partin |
| 1983 | Reading Rainbow | Himself - Narrator (voice) |
| 1982 | Cagney & Lacey | Michael Magruder |
| 1982 | Faerie Tale Theatre | King Neptune / Narrator (voice) |
| 1982 | Star of the Family | Leslie 'Buddy' Krebs |
| 1981 | Dynasty | Jake Dunham |
| 1981 | Darkroom | Roland |
| 1980 | A Rumor of War | Sgt. Ned Coleman |
| 1979 | Knots Landing | James Cargill |
| 1979 | Big Shamus, Little Shamus | Arnie Sutter |
| 1978 | Dallas | Luther Frick |
| 1978 | Pearl | Sgt. Otto Chain |
| 1977 | Lou Grant | Wilson |
| 1977 | Lanigan's Rabbi | Burton Tree |
| 1977 | Lucan | Fisher |
| 1977 | The Fitzpatricks | Coach Hatfield |
| 1976 | Serpico | Jody |
| 1976 | The Tony Randall Show | Brian Sr. |
| 1975 | Saturday Night Live | Self - Cameo (uncredited) |
| 1974 | Police Woman | Burrows |
| 1974 | Playhouse | Grimmet |
| 1973 | Kojak | Peter Connor |
| 1972 | M*A*S*H | M.P. Ernie Connors |
| 1971 | Great Performances | Grimmet |
| 1962 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Self |
| 1956 | Tony Awards | Self - Winner |
| 1956 | Tony Awards | Self - Presenter / Performer / Winner |
| 1956 | Tony Awards | Self - Presenter |
| 1944 | Golden Globe Awards | Self - Nominee |