Robert John Burke

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 Weller's in the sci-fi/action sequel "RoboCop 3." Despite Burke's 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 Burke's leading-man days were mostly behind him, his beastly role in Hartley's "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 Clooney's 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 Leary's lead character on the firefighter series "Rescue Me," a part that dovetailed with Burke's 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).

Known For

Birth Location New York City, New York, USA
Born 1960-09-12

Movies

Boston Strangler as Eddie Holland
2023
The Retaliators as Captain Briggs
2022
Triggered as David
2022
Intrusion as Detective Steven Morse
2021
Being as Sheriff Campbell
2020
Boarding School as Mr. Holcomb
2018
BlacKkKlansman as Chief Bridges
2018
2018
Future '38 as General Sportwood
2017
Where There's Smoke as Captain Frascone
2017
Bait as Uncle Mack
2015
True Story as Greg Ganley
2015
Ned Rifle as Chet
2014
2 Guns as Jessup
2013
Safe as Captain Wolf
2012
Limitless as Pierce
2011
Brooklyn's Finest as State Trooper #1
2010
Miracle at St. Anna as General Ned Almond
2008
The Ex as Colonel
2006
The Oh in Ohio as Binky Taylor
2006
Munich as Belligerent American
2005
Good Night, and Good Luck. as Charlie Mack
2005
Hide and Seek as Steven
2005
2004
Speak as Mr. Neck
2004
Piggie as Jim
2003
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind as Instructor Jenks
2002
No Such Thing as The Monster
2001
1998
1998
Midnight Flight as Paul Bacon
1998
A Bright Shining Lie as Frank Drummond
1998
Cop Land as Officer B
1997
Mayday - Flug in den Tod as Tom Hutton
1997
Thinner as Billy Halleck
1996
Killer: A Journal of Murder as R.G. Greiser
1996
Fled as Pat Schiller
1996
If Lucy Fell as Handsome Man
1996
Flirt as Men's Room Man #2
1995
Crazy for a Kiss as Steve
1995
Tombstone as Frank McLaury
1993
Heaven & Earth as Paul
1993
Flirt as Men's Room Man
1993
A Far Off Place as Paul Parker
1993
RoboCop 3 as Robocop
1993
Simple Men as Bill McCabe
1992
Dust Devil as Dust Devil
1992
Rambling Rose as Dave Wilkie
1991
1990
1986
The Chosen as Levi Saunders
1981
Gangster Wars as Officer Reardon
1981
1977
Robert John Burke hasn't worked on any movies or TV shows