Robert John Burke (born September 12, 1960) is an American actor known for his roles in the early films of Hal Hartley as well as his roles in RoboCop 3 (1993), Tombstone (1993), and Thinner (1996). During the 2000s Burke became well known for his portrayal of Mickey Gavin on Rescue Me (2004–11), Bart Bass in Gossip Girl (2007–12), Ed Tucker in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2002–20), and a number of other film and television roles including Intrusion (2021).
Robert John Burke | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 12, 1960 New York City, U.S. |
| Education | State University of New York, Purchase (BFA) |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, firefighter[1] |
| Years active | 1986-present |
| Children | 2 |
Early life and education
editBurke was born in Washington Heights, Manhattan, the son of immigrants from Galway, Ireland. Burke has a strong affinity for Ireland and his Irish heritage. He graduated from Northport High School and attended the Acting Conservatory at State University of New York at Purchase.[2]
Career
editBurke's television roles include Mickey Gavin on Rescue Me, Bart Bass on Gossip Girl, Kidnapped, Six Degrees, Law & Order and IAB Captain Ed Tucker on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Officer Patrick Simmons on Person of Interest, Sex and the City, and The Sopranos.
Burke's film work began as a regular performer in fellow Purchase alumnus Hal Hartley's indie films, such as 1989's The Unbelievable Truth.[2] Burke appeared opposite Laura Dern's Academy Award nominated performance in the 1991 feature Rambling Rose. He returned to work with Hartley again in 1992 in the Cannes Film Festival, Palme d'Or nominated Simple Men.[2] He also appeared in Hartley's 1995 film Flirt.[2] Burke took over the lead from Peter Weller in RoboCop 3.[2]
He starred in Richard Stanley's 1993 film Dust Devil,[3] and in 2001's No Such Thing.[3] In 1996, he played the lead role in the film adaptation of Stephen King's Thinner.[2] In 2004, Burke played the role of Mr. Neck in the independent film Speak. In 2005, Burke had a role in Hide and Seek,[3] a psychological thriller.
He had roles in the Academy Award-nominated films Munich[3] directed by Steven Spielberg and Good Night, and Good Luck,[3] directed by George Clooney. In 2008, he portrayed James Mattis, Commanding General of 1st Marine Division in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill. Burke also portrayed General Ned Almond, commanding general of the 92nd Division, Buffalo Soldiers, in the 2008 Spike Lee film Miracle at St. Anna.[3] He appeared in the 2012 film Safe.[3] He played the Colorado Springs chief of police in Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman (2018).
In 2015 and 2017, he appeared in three episodes of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, once parodying his role on Law & Order.[4] Burke is seen opposite Frieda Pinto in the Netflix thriller Intrusion. In 2022, he portrayed a CIA agent Smitty in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. He next appeared alongside Keira Knightly in a remake of the crime drama The Boston Strangler.
Personal life
editBurke holds a second degree black belt in Matsubayashi, Shorin-ryu Okinawan karate. He is a certified and active New York State firefighter, currently captain of an engine.
Burkes decision to become a firefighter was informed by the loss of his best friend, FDNY Capt. Patrick J. Brown, Ladder-3, on 9/11, along with many of his other friends that day. Burke worked at the site and was present for weeks during recovery efforts. He dedicates his fire service to the memory of those who fell on that day and continue to succumb to sickness still.
Burke is also active with foundation work including VETHACK, Leary Firefighter Foundation (LFF), FDNY Foundation, FDNY Fire Family Transport Foundation, Lt. Joseph DiBernardo Foundation for Fire Fighter Survival.[5]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | The Unbelievable Truth | Josh | |
| 1991 | Rambling Rose | Dave Wilkie | |
| 1992 | Dust Devil | Dust Devil | |
| Simple Men | Bill McCabe | ||
| 1993 | A Far Off Place | Paul Parker | |
| RoboCop 3 | Alex Murphy / RoboCop | Credited as Robert Burke | |
| Heaven & Earth | G.I. Paul | ||
| Tombstone | Frank McLaury | ||
| 1995 | Flirt | Men's Room Man # | |
| Killer: A Journal of Murder | R.G. Greiser | ||
| 1996 | If Lucy Fell | Handsome Man | |
| Fled | U.S. Marshal Pat Schiller | ||
| Thinner | Billy Halleck | ||
| 1997 | May day – Flag in den Tod | Tom Hutton | |
| Cop Land | Officer B | ||
| First Love, Last Rites | Henry | ||
| 1998 | Somewhere in the City | Frankie | |
| 2001 | No Such Thing | Monster | |
| 2002 | Confessions of a Dangerous Mind | Inspector Jenks | |
| 2003 | Tea Time with Roy & Sylvia | Roy | Short film |
| Piggie | Dad | ||
| 2004 | Speak | Mr. Neck | |
| Connie and Carla | Rudy | ||
| 2005 | Hide and Seek | Steven | |
| Good Night, and Good Luck. | Charlie Mack | Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (shared with cast) | |
| Munich | Belligerent American | ||
| 2006 | The Oh in Ohio | Binky Taylor | |
| Jack's Law | Det. Ron Banks | ||
| The Ex | Colonel | Previously titled Fast Track | |
| 2008 | Miracle at St. Anna | General Ned Almond | |
| 2010 | Brooklyn's Finest | State Trooper #1 | |
| 2011 | Limitless | Pierce | |
| 2012 | Safe | Captain Wolf | |
| 2013 | 2 Guns | Jessup | |
| 2015 | True Story | Detective Greg Ganley | |
| 2017 | Future '38 | General Sportwood | |
| 2018 | BlacKkKlansman | Chief Bridges | |
| Boarding School | Mr. Holcomb | ||
| 2021 | Intrusion | Detective Stephen Morse | |
| 2022 | The Retaliators | Captain Briggs | |
| Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | Smitty | ||
| 2023 | Boston Strangler | Eddie Holland |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Equalizer | O'Toole | Episode: "Torn" |
| 1995 | Crazy for a Kiss | Steve | Television film |
| 1995–2004 | Law & Order | Arthur "Buzz" Palley, FBI Agent Ron Innes, Lt. Colonel Milton Danbury | 3 episodes |
| 1998 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Jeffrey Andrews | Episode: "Abduction" |
| From the Earth to the Moon | William Anders | 2 episodes | |
| A Bright Shining Lie | Frank Drummond | Television film | |
| Midnight Flight | Paul Bacon | Television film | |
| 2000 | Falcone | Jules Weller | Episode: "Windows" |
| 2000–2003 | Oz | Special Agent Pierce Taylor | 8 episodes |
| 2002 | Witchblade | Det. Dean Gorner | Episode: "Agape" |
| Sex and the City | Walker Lewis | 2 episodes | |
| 2002 | CSI: Miami | FBI Agent Jim Resdon | 1 episode |
| 2002–2020 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | IAB Captain Ed Tucker | 30 episodes |
| 2004 | The Sopranos | Officer Zmunda | Episode: "Two Tonys" |
| 2004–2011 | Rescue Me | Mickey Gavin | 54 episodes |
| 2006 | Six Degrees | David | 2 episodes |
| 2006–2007 | Kidnapped | Bellows | 10 episodes |
| 2007 | Queens Supreme | Special Agent Jeff Donaldson | Episode: "Permanent Markers" |
| 2007–2012 | Gossip Girl | Bart Bass | 27 episodes |
| 2008 | Generation Kill | Major General James "Chaos" Mattis | 3 episodes |
| 2010 | Blue Bloods | Jyle Hogan | |
| 2011 | White Collar | Patrick O'Leary | Episode: "The Dentist of Detroit" |
| 2011–2013 | Person of Interest | Officer Patrick Simmons | 16 episodes |
| 2012 | NYC 22 | Deputy Inspector Dennis McClaren | Episode: "Thugs and Lovers" |
| 2012–2013 | Army Wives | Major General Kevin Clarke | 16 episodes |
| 2013 | Golden Boy | Andrew Lightstone | Episode: "Next Question" |
| 2014 | Nurse Jackie | Dick Richards | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Allegiance | Special Agent Brock | 8 episodes |
| 2015–2017 | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | Forensic Scientist, Cop | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Project Blue Book | William Fairchild |
References
edit- ^ "The Hill Files: An Interview with Actor Robert John Burke". September 22, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f Lucia Bozzola (2015). "Robert John Burke Biography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Robert John Burke Filmography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2016. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
- ^ Bradley, Laura (September 14, 2015). "John Oliver Tells us How an Accurate Law & Order About the Public Defender System Would Look". Slate.
- ^ "The Hill Files: An Interview with Actor Robert John Burke". September 22, 2015.