A born-and-bred New Yorker, Robert John Burke made his film debut while in his early 20s with a small part in the drama The Chosen (1981), based on the Chaim Potok story. He went on to study acting at SUNY Purchase where he met aspiring filmmaker Hal Hartley, who cast him as one of the leads in his debut feature The Unbelievable Truth, an offbeat indie tale where he played a man trying to escape his troubled past. Working with Hartley again on the charming brother-centric dark comedy Simple Men, Burke caught a major break when Hollywood producers decided that his chiseled jawline was the right one to replace Peter Wellers in the sci-fi/action sequel RoboCop 3. Despite Burkes efforts, the movie tanked, and he went on to smaller roles in major films, including the lauded Western Tombstone (1993) and the prison-break movie Fled (1996). Burke landed his second chance in a Hollywood starring role with the Stephen King adaptation Thinner (1996), but the macabre tale, which featured him under heavy makeup to depict a callous man who magically loses weight, was deemed almost universally unlikable.Though Burkes leading-man days were mostly behind him, his beastly role in Hartleys No Such Thing (2001) aside, he soldiered on, and began increasingly working on television with recurring roles on the grim prison drama Oz and the police procedural Law & Order Special Victims Unit (NBC, 1999- ). Appearing in George Clooneys first two movies as director, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) and Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005), Burke nonetheless became more familiar to TV audiences, particularly when he signed on to play Mickey Gavin, the ex-priest cousin of Denis Learys lead character on the firefighter series Rescue Me, a part that dovetailed with Burkes real-life second job as a New York State fireman.Often cast as a tough guy, the ruggedly handsome and tall actor continued to play imposing figures such as Major General James Chaos Mattis in the Iraq War miniseries Generation Kill (HBO, 2008) and Bart Bass, the controlling billionaire father of Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) on the soapy drama Gossip Girl. Before long, he was juggling his ongoing Law & Order SVU part with regular spots on the military drama Army Wives (Lifetime, 2007- ) and the tense crime show Person of Interest (CBS, 2011- ), while still finding time for supporting turns in films, including the Denzel Washington/Mark Wahlberg action movie 2 Guns (2013).
Men's Room Man
Film 1993
Dust Devil
Film 1992
David
Film 2022
Steve
Film 1995
Paul Bacon
Film 1998
Chet
Film 2015
Uncle Mack
Film 2015
Frankie
Film 1998
Henry
Film 1998
Himself
Film 2010
Dave
Film 1986
Bob
Film 2002
Tom Hutton
Film 1997
General Sportwood
Film 2017
Captain Frascone
Film 2017
Sheriff Campbell
Film 2020
Detective Steven Morse
Film 2021
Bart Bass
Tv 2007
Officer Patrick Simmons
Tv 2011
Bellows
Tv 2006
Jim Resdon
Tv 2002
Special Agent Pierce Taylor
Tv 1997
IAB Lieutenant Ed Tucker
Tv 2014
Tv 2001
Milton Danbury
Tv 1990
Mickey Gavin
Tv 2004
Andrew Lightstone
Tv 2013
Jyle Hogan
Tv 2010
Patrick O'Leary
Tv 2009
Special Agent Brock
Tv 2015
William Fairchild
Tv 2019
Ed Tucker
Tv 1999
Bill Anders
Tv 1998
Arthur "Buzz" Palley
Tv 1990
Officer Zmuida
Tv 1999
Ron Innes
Tv 1990
Walker Lewis
Tv 1998
Salvatore Ferillo
Tv 2013
David
Tv 2006
O'Toole
Tv 1985