Gary Cole

'Gary Michael Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American actor. He began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. His breakout role was playing Jack 'Nighthawk' Killian in the NBC series Midnight Caller (1988–1991).

Further prominent television roles include Sheriff Lucas Buck in American Gothic (1995–1996), Vice President Bob Russell in The West Wing (2003–2006), Kurt McVeigh in both The Good Wife (2010–2016) and The Good Fight (2017–2022), Kent Davison in Veep (2013–2019), and Special Agent Alden Parker in NCIS (2021–present). A cast member of many animated productions, Cole's voice roles include Harvey Birdman in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law (2000–2007, 2018), Principal Shepherd in Family Guy (2000–present), Dr. James Possible in Kim Possible (2002–2007), Mayor Fred Jones Sr. in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (2010–2013) and Sergeant Bosco in Bob's Burgers (2012–present).

His most notable film roles are Mike Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and Bill Lumbergh in Office Space (1999). Other film appearances include In the Line of Fire (1993), A Simple Plan (1998), One Hour Photo (2002), Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) and Pineapple Express (2008). Early life Gary Michael Cole was born on September 20, 1956, in Park Ridge, Illinois, and raised in nearby Rolling Meadows. 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 fellow future actors Laurie Metcalf and John Malkovich.

Career

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. He has also appeared in several off-Broadway productions in New York City. Some of Cole's early roles included playing accused Army triple-murderer Capt Jeffrey MacDonald in the mini-series Fatal Vision (1984), and an assistant football coach in the film Lucas (1986). Between 1988 and 1991, Cole became popular on TV for playing the part of Jack "Nighthawk" Killian in the series Midnight Caller. One of his most notable roles in 1991 was as Lt. Col. George A. Custer in the much acclaimed television film Son of the Morning Star.

Cole played Secret Service Agent Bill Watts in the film In the Line of Fire (1993). He then played The Brady Bunch patriarch Mike Brady in the film The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), the sequel A Very Brady Sequel (1996), and the television film The Brady Bunch in the White House (2002). Cole starred in the film Office Space (1999), in which he portrayed the micromanaging office supervisor Bill Lumbergh. When asked about the oft-quoted character, Cole said:

Cole has done voice work on several animated series (Family Guy; Kim Possible; Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated; 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.

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 played Bill Owens, Sy Parrish's (Robin Williams) boss, in the film One Hour Photo (2002). He also appeared in the films Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004), The Ring Two (2005), Talladega Nights (2006), American Pastime (2007), and Forever Strong (2008).

Cole played Katherine Mayfair's ex-husband Wayne on Desperate Housewives and also played the dangerous drug lord Ted Jones in Pineapple Express (2008) 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.

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 three-episode story arc prior to joining the regular cast in the sixth season.

He played ballistics expert Kurt McVeigh on The Good Wife and on The Good Fight. On both shows, he played opposite Christine Baranski, who portrayed lawyer Diane Lockhart.

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. That same year, he played Henry O'Hare in the Easter comedy film Hop.

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 portrays Supervisory Special Agent Alden Parker on NCIS, and provides the voices 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. On June 19, 2017, Siddall filed for divorce; she died the following year. On July 7, 2021, Cole married interior designer Michelle Knapp.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1985 To Live and Die in L.A. Suspect chased by Richard Chance Uncredited 1986 Lucas Assistant Coach 1990 The Old Man and the Sea Tom Pruitt 1993 In the Line of Fire Secret Service 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 DEA Agent Richard Simms Cyclops, Baby Manks 1998 A Simple Plan Vernon Bokovsky / FBI Agent 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 Agent 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 Dr. Heichman Short film American Pastime Billy Burrell Breach Rich Garces Goodnight Vagina Dr. 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 / Spectre Voice, short film Batman: Under the Red Hood "Bobo", James "Jim" Gordon, Shot, Guard Voice, direct-to-video Immortality Bites Dr. 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 PeaksHollywood Reel Independent Film Festival Award for Best Actor The Town That Dreaded Sundown Chief Deputy Hank Tillman 2015 Divine Access Reverend Guy Roy Davis Christmas Eve Dr. Roberts The Bronze Stan Greggory 2016 Hot Air Aviator 2017 Small Crimes Dan Pleasant Scooby-Doo! Shaggy's Showdown Rafe Voice, direct-to-video 2013–2019 Veep Kent Davison 55 episodesScreen 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 Phineas and Ferb Principal Lang Voice, episode: "Doof 101"

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