Stephen Lang

Career

Lang played Happy Loman in the 1984 Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman and the 1985 television film with Dustin Hoffman as Willy Loman, and appeared in the first Hannibal Lecter film Manhunter (1986), as reporter Freddy Lounds. He played attorney David Abrams in the television series Crime Story (1986–1988). He played the title role in the NBC movie Babe Ruth (1991). He later played the "One Armed Man" in The Fugitive, the 2000 revival starring Tim Daly. The series was a modest success but lasted only one season because of its large production budget.

In 1992, he was nominated for a Tony Award for his lead role in The Speed of Darkness. His film role in Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989) garnered him widespread critical acclaim, but its limited release prevented the film from reaching a wider audience. On stage, he was the first to play the role of Colonel Nathan Jessup in A Few Good Men, a role made famous on film (1992) by Jack Nicholson. He is the winner of over half a dozen theatre awards including the Drama Desk and Helen Hayes awards.

In 1992, he also played Hamlet in a Broadway production of Shakespeare's play.

In films, he played Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett in Gettysburg (1993) and the lead role of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson in the Gettysburg prequel Gods and Generals (2003), both from director Ronald F. Maxwell. His interest in the Civil War has prompted him to perform at symposia of The Lincoln Forum, which, in 2020, presented him with its Richard Nelson Current Award of Achievement.

Shortly before Arthur Miller's death in February 2005, Lang appeared in his long-time friend's last play, titled Finishing the Picture. It premiered in 2004 at Chicago's Goodman Theatre, where Lang had the second run of his own play, Beyond Glory, which had premiered in Arlington, Virginia, early in 2004, and his Tony-nominated portrayal for The Speed of Darkness. Lang also performed Beyond Glory, a one-man show, for troops deployed overseas. In 2006, he played the role of Colonel Littlefield in John Patrick Shanley's play Defiance. He brought Beyond Glory to Roundabout's Off-Broadway Laura Pels Theatre in 2007. Since its New York City premiere, Beyond Glory has been nominated for a Drama Desk Award and a Lucille Lortel Award both for outstanding solo performance. A movie about the play has been produced and released.

Lang has a role in the ESPN miniseries The Bronx Is Burning, as well as roles in independent features Save Me and From Mexico with Love. He plays a lead role in James Cameron's sci-fi epic Avatar as the villainous Colonel Miles Quaritch.

In 2009, he appeared in Michael Mann's film Public Enemies as FBI Agent Charles Winstead, the man widely considered to have fired the shots that killed John Dillinger, and in Grant Heslov's The Men Who Stare at Goats alongside Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, Ewan McGregor, and George Clooney.

Also in 2009, he narrated the audiobook Road Rage—which combines the short stories "Duel" by Richard Matheson and "Throttle" by Stephen King and Joe Hill—and guest-starred in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent season 8 finales, "Revolution" in the role of Axel Kaspers. In 2010 he performed the narration for "The Gettysburg Story: Battlefield Auto Tour," the top-selling audio tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield at Gettysburg National Military Park in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Written and produced by filmmaker Jake Boritt and based on works by historian Gabor Boritt it tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg and Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address in Gettysburg National Cemetery. Lang is also the narrator of the companion public television documentary The Gettysburg Story presented by Maryland Public Television.

Lang played the villain Khalar Zym in the 2011 Conan the Barbarian reboot starring Jason Momoa. He also played one of the leads, Nathaniel Taylor, in the Steven Spielberg–produced television series Terra Nova.

In February 2012, he signed on to play Mary Shannon's estranged father in a three-episode arc on the final season of the USA television series In Plain Sight.

In 2013, Lang appeared in The Monkey's Paw for Chiller TV.

Lang has been confirmed as reprising his role as Colonel Miles Quaritch in the upcoming sequels to Avatar.

He plays Increase Mather, in a recurring role, on WGN America's first original scripted series, Salem.

Lang is part of the cast of AMC's martial-arts drama Into the Badlands. He played The Blind Man in Fede Álvarez's hit horror-thriller Don't Breathe (2016), which received positive reviews. He reprised the role in the sequel Don't Breathe 2 in 2021.

In February 2016, Lang lobbied for the role of Cable in Deadpool 2 through captioned Twitter pictures. The role ultimately went to Josh Brolin. In 2017, he played Colonel Abraham Biggs in Hostiles, from director Scott Cooper. In 2018, he appeared as father of Joe Braven (Jason Momoa), Linden Braven in the action thriller film Braven, and played Shrike in Mortal Engines, which Peter Jackson produced for Universal Pictures and Media Rights Capital.

Other recent projects include the historical epic series House of David for Amazon Studios, boxing drama The Featherweight which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, Barron's Cove with Garrett Hedlund, Sisu: Road to Revenge, and the drama The Optimist for which he won the Best Actor Prize at the Sedona International Film Festival.

Personal life

Lang has been married to Kristina Watson since 1980, and together they have four children, including New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang.

Lang is trained in Kyokushin karate and has been a practitioner of Bikram Yoga since 2010.

On May 30, 2010, Swarthmore awarded him an honorary degree in recognition of his career in theatre, television, and film. His youngest son, Noah, received his bachelor's degree during the same ceremony.

In the fall of 2015, Lang served as a Jury Member for the Woodstock Film Festival.

In 2018, Lang received the Empire State Archives and History Award from New York State Archives Partnership Trust. The annual award "acknowledges the outstanding contributions by a national figure to advance the understanding and uses of history in society."

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1985 Twice in a Lifetime Keith Sobel 1986 Band of the Hand Joe Tegra Manhunter Freddy Lounds 1987 Project X Watts 1989 Last Exit to Brooklyn Harry Black 1991 The Party Crasher Another You Rupert Dibbs 1993 Guilty as Sin Phil Garson Gettysburg Major General George E. Pickett Tombstone Ike Clanton 1995 Tall Tale Jonas Hackett Dr. Michael Tyler 1996 Loose Women Prophet Buddy Alex Laughton 1997 Shadow Conspiracy The Agent Niagara, Niagara Claude Fire Down Below Earl Kellogg 1999 The Story of a Bad Boy Spygo 2000 Trixie Jacob Slotnick 2001The Proposal Simon Bacig 2002 D-Tox Jack Bennett 2003 Gods and Generals General Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson 2006 Coach Galgano We Fight to Be Free James Craik Short film 2007 Save Me Ted 2009 Public Enemies Charles Winstead General Hopgood From Mexico with Love Big Al Stevens Avatar Colonel Miles Quaritch 2010 Christina Inspector Edgar Reinhardt White Irish Drinkers Patrick Leary False Creek Stories Narrator Short film 2011 Conan the Barbarian Khalar Zym Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You Barry Rogers 2013 Officer Down Lieutenant Jake LaRussa Detective Lloyd Martin Pioneer John Ferris Pawn Charlie The Gettysburg Story Narrator Documentary film The Monkey's Paw Tony Cobb The Wheatfield James Jackson Purman Short film; also writer and producer 2014 The Nut Job King Voice role In the Blood Casey Direct-to-video film Sun Belt Express Border Patrol Officer Rick Jarhead 2: Field of Fire Major James Gavins Direct-to-video film A Good Marriage Holt Ramsey Gutshot Straight Duffy Sereglia Direct-to-video film 23 Blast Coach Farris 2015 Exeter Father Conway Band of Robbers Injun Joe Gridlocked Korver Beyond Glory: Tour of Duty Various roles Documentary film Isolation William 2016 Don't Breathe Norman Nordstrom / The Blind Man Beyond Valkyrie: Dawn of the 4th Reich Major General Emil F. Reinhardt 2017 Hostiles Colonel Abraham Biggs Justice Mayor Pierce 2018 Braven Linden Braven Uncharted Live Action Fan Film Victor "Sully" Sullivan Short film Mortal Engines Shrike2019 The Gandhi Murder Sunil Raina VFW Fred Parras Also executive producer Rogue Warfare President Direct-to-video film Rogue Warfare 2: The Hunt Direct-to-video film; also co-executive producer 2020 Rogue Warfare: Death of a Nation Direct-to-video film Death in Texas John 2021 The Seventh Day Archbishop Don't Breathe 2 Norman Nordstrom / The Blind Man Also executive producer 2022 The Lost City Fantasy Villain Credited as Slang My Love Affair with Marriage Jonas Voice Mid-Century Frederick Banner Also executive producer Old Man Old Man The Independent Gordon White Avatar: The Way of Water Colonel Miles Quaritch 2023 The Featherweight Bill Gore Muzzle Leland The Optimist Herbert Heller 2024 Barron's Cove Benji 2025 Sisu: Road to Revenge Yeagor Draganov Avatar: Fire and Ash Colonel Miles Quaritch Post-production Post-production

Television Year Title Role Notes 1981 We're Fighting Back Janos Television film 1982 American Playhouse Vassilis Episode: "King of America"; credited as Steve Lang 1985 Death of a Salesman Harold "Happy" LomanTelevision film 1986 Stone Pillow Tim 1986–1988 Crime Story Attorney David Abrams Main role; 33 episodes 1988 The Boys Episode: "Gene's Problem" 1989 Finish Line Coach Harkins Television film The Equalizer Joseph Morrison Episode: "Lullaby of Darkness" 1991 Babe Ruth Babe Ruth Television film 1992 Taking Back My Life: The Nancy Ziegenmeyer Story Steven Ziegenmeyer 1993 Darkness Before Dawn Guy Grand TriBeCa Lou Episodes: "The Box" and "Honor" 1994 Murder Between Friends Kerry Myers Television film Baseball Various voices Documentary miniseries Performance The Boss Episode: "The Mother" 1995 A Season of Hope Michael Hackett Television film The Possession of Michael D. Michael The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Criminal Gun Shooter Episode: "Bullets Over Bel-Air" 1996 The West Various voices Documentary miniseries Gang in Blue Moose Tavola Television film Strangers Theo Episode: "Ceremony" 1997 Journey of the Heart Thomas Deblois Television film The Outer Limits Dr. James Houghton Episode: "New Lease" Dellaventura Eric Solinkin Episode: "Pilot" Liberty! George Washington Voice; 6 episodes Automatic Avenue Unsold television pilot 1998 Dead Man's Gun Clay Strand Episode: "The Gambler" Escape: Human Cargo Dennis McNatt Television film A Town Has Turned to Dust Sheriff Harvey Denton Killer App Jann 1999 At the Mercy of a Stranger Dr. Thomas Cooper 2000 Running Mates Ron Noble Television film; uncredited role 2000–2001 The Fugitive Ben Charnquist Recurring role; 10 episodes 2001 After the Storm Sergeant Major Jim Television film 2002 Ed Jack Foster Episode: "Wheel of Justice" 2003 Code 11-14 Justin Shaw Television film Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Michael Baxter Episode: "Escape" 2004 Mr. Travitt Television film 2005 Jonny Zero Officer Tanner Episode: "To Serve and to Protect" Law & Order Terry Dorn Episode: "New York Minute" 2007 The Bronx Is Burning Inspector Timothy Dowd Miniseries; 3 episodes 2008 Medal of Honor Narrator Documentary special 2009 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Axel Kaspers Episode: "Revolution" Psych Mr. Salamatchia Episode: "Shawn Gets the Yips" 2010 Matadors Victor Galloway Unsold television pilot 2011 Terra Nova Commander Nathaniel Taylor Lead role; 13 episodes 2012 In Plain Sight James Wiley Shannon Recurring role; 3 episodes (season 5) 2013 Reckless Tom Unsold television pilot 2014–2017 Salem Increase Mather Recurring role; 10 episodes 2015 To Appomattox John Brown Episode: "The Point" 2015–2018 Into the Badlands Waldo Recurring role; 13 episodes 2016–2017 Shades of Blue Terrence Linklater Recurring role; 3 episodes (seasons 1-2) 2019 The Rookie Chief Trent Williams Episode: "The Checklist" 2021 Calls Dr. Wheating Voice; episode: "Leap Year Girl" The Good Fight David Cord Recurring role; 7 episodes (season 5) 2024 Law & Order: Organized Crime Angus Boone Recurring role; 3 episodes (season 4) Solar Opposites Sergeant Argent Voice; episodes: "The Educational Sprinkler Device" and "The Battle of Zab 9" 2025–present House of David Samuel Recurring role; 10 episodes

Radio Year Title Role 2021 Marvel's Wastelanders: Hawkeye Clint Barton / Hawkeye

Video games Year Title Role Notes 2009 Avatar: The Game Colonel Miles Quaritch 2013 Call of Duty: Ghosts Elias Walker 2023 Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Colonel Miles Quaritch

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 1991 Tony Award Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play The Speed of Darkness 2003 Grace Award for Acting Gods and Generals 2009MTV Movie Award Best Fight (with Sam Worthington)Avatar Best Villain Saturn Award Best Supporting Actor Teen Choice Award Choice Movie: Fight (with Sam Worthington) Choice Movie: Villain 2016 Fangoria Chainsaw Award Best Supporting Actor Don't Breathe