Charles Parnell

Charles Parnell is an American actor. He is best known for the role of Rear Admiral Solomon "Warlock" Bates in the film Top Gun: Maverick. He was the second actor to portray Police Chief Derek Frye on All My Children (2004–2008).

Early life Parnell was born and raised in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. He attended high school at the Kenwood Academy, and trained as an actor at the Piven Theatre Workshop in nearby Evanston. He relocated to New York in 1994 before eventually settling in Los Angeles.

Career

Before taking the role of Derek Frye, Parnell played Achilles in Iphigeneia at Aulis, a play by Euripides translated and adapted by Kenneth Cavander at the Yale Repertory Theater in New Haven, Connecticut.

Parnell took over the role of Frye on All My Children, previously played by actor William Christian. He joined the cast of the show on September 8, 2005, and made his final appearance on September 24, 2007. He voices Jefferson Twilight on Cartoon Network's The Venture Bros..

Other appearances include the role of Master Chief Russell "Russ" Jeter on the TNT show The Last Ship from 2014 to 2018, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), its sequel Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025), and The Killer (2023).

Filmography Film +Key Denotes works that have not yet been released Year Title Role Notes 2004 Mind the Gap John McCabe 2006 Everyone's Hero Additional Voices 2007 The Education of Charlie Banks Asst. DA Worsheck 2008 Diminished Capacity Merkel Guard #2 2009 Mississippi Damned Willie Roy 2011 Pariah Arthur 2014 Transformers: Age of Extinction CIA Director 2018 A Million Little Pieces Miles Davis 2022 Top Gun: Maverick Rear Admiral Solomon "Warlock" Bates Spiderhead Knowles 2023 Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One NRO Richards The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart Jefferson Twilight (voice)The Killer Hodges 2025 Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning NRO Richards

Television Year Title Role Notes 1999 Sex and the City Business Guy Episode: "Old Dogs, New Dicks" 2003 Hack Officer Episode: "A Dangerous Game" 2004–2022 Law & Order Various 3 episodes 2004–2018 The Venture Bros. Jefferson Twilight, Mister 1, Mandalay (voices) 14 episodes 2005 Without a Trace Nuru Episode: "Showdown" 2005–2008 All My Children Derek Frye 79 episodes 2008 CSI: Miami FBI Agent Jacobs Episode: "Gone Baby Gone" Crash Sean Adams 4 episodes Bones Captain Blake Episode: "The Passenger in the Oven" 2009 90210 Franklin Whitley Episode: "Hello, Goodbye, Amen" Lie to Me Major Harris Episode: "Moral Waiver" NCIS Marine Colonel Dick Jestern Episode: "Reunion" CSI: Miami Gavin Webb Episode: "Bad Seed" 2010 The Forgotten Man Episode: "Designer Jane" Dan Freeman Episode: "Living Doe" 2011 Fringe Dr. James Falcon Episode: "Reciprocity" 2012–2016 North Woods Law Narrator 75 episodes 2013 Longmire Agent Stanley Episode: "Unquiet Mind' 2014 Constantine Nommo Episode: "A Feast of Friends" 2014–2018 The Last Ship CMDCM Russ Jeter, USN 46 episodes 2016 Better Things Ned Episode: "Duke's Chorus" 2019–2020 Briarpatch Cyrus 7 episodes 2022 Grand Crew Franklin Episode: "Wine & Pie" Kindred Alan 3 episodes 2023 The Mandalorian Survivor Captain 2 episodes Barry District Attorney Buckner Recurring (Season 4) 2025 Butterfly Senator Dawson 5 episodes 2026 Universal Basic Guys Brooks Coleman (voice) Episode: "That Dog in You"

Video games Year Title Role 2005 The Warriors Masai 2007 Manhunt 2 The Legion 2008 Grand Theft Auto IV The Crowd of Liberty City 2013 Grand Theft Auto V The Local Population 2014 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Additional Voices The Crew Harry 2017 Mass Effect: Andromeda August Bradley 2020 Avengers Nick Fury, Senator

Awards and nominations Year Association Category Project Result Ref. 2012 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Pariah 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Barry