John Getz

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

120

Gender

Male

Birthday

1946-10-15 (77 years old)

Place of Birth

Davenport, Iowa, U.S.

Also Known As

  • John William Getz

John Getz

Biography

​John Getz is a stage-trained American actor. Getz dropped out of college to attend the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. While working in a winery, he helped found the Theater Company in Napa County, California. His location in the grape-growing Napa Valley led to Getz's television debut in a made-for-television horror film Killer Bees. Killer Bees starred Gloria Swanson, Craig Stevens, Kate Jackson, and Edward Albert. Getz then moved to New York City, where he became active in local theater while doing an 18-month stint as Neil Johnson on the soap opera Another World.

Getz appeared in The Happy Hooker and followed up with several other roles before starring in the Coen Brothers' neo-noir thriller Blood Simple. He played the doomed lover of a married woman (Frances McDormand) who woefully misinterprets his increasingly complex circumstances.

Getz also appeared in The Fly and The Fly II as Stathis Borans, a science magazine editor who pays a heavy price for his curiosity. Also in 1989, he played a Marine Corps Major in Born on the Fourth of July. In 1991, Getz appeared as the unpleasant boyfriend of professional women in Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead and Curly Sue. In 1990, Getz appeared as a crime boss in the Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez spoof Men At Work. In 1994, he appeared in the film Playmaker, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Rubin.

In 2007, he had a role in David Fincher's film Zodiac. Also in 2007, he appeared in Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman's documentary film Nanking as George Ashmore Fitch, head of the local YMCA and administrative director of the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone. Getz also had a role in Fincher's film The Social Network, about the founding of Facebook. He appeared in the suspense thriller Elevator as a Wall Street executive trapped in an elevator with a group of strangers, one of whom has a bomb. Written and produced by Marc Rosenberg and directed by Stig Svendsen, Elevator was released in July 2012. He appeared in Trumbo (2015) as director Sam Wood.

Through the decades, Getz has guest-starred in many television series, including Barney Miller and Three's Company, where he played Lee Tripper, brother of Jack Tripper. He has guest-starred in How I Met Your Mother, Prison Break, The King of Queens and Private Practice, and had recurring roles in Homeland, Timeless and Bosch.

Description above from the Wikipedia article John Getz, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

The Social Network
7.4%

The Social Network

Oct 1, 2010

Zodiac
7.5%

Zodiac

Mar 2, 2007

Grey's Anatomy
8.2%

Grey's Anatomy

Mar 27, 2005

American Horror Story
8.1%

American Horror Story

Oct 5, 2011

Better Call Saul
8.7%

Better Call Saul

Feb 8, 2015

Prison Break
8.1%

Prison Break

Aug 29, 2005

How I Met Your Mother
8.2%

How I Met Your Mother

Sep 19, 2005

The Last of Us
8.6%

The Last of Us

Jan 15, 2023

The Fly
7.4%

The Fly

Aug 15, 1986

Criminal Minds
8.3%

Criminal Minds

Sep 22, 2005

Bones
8.3%

Bones

Sep 13, 2005

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Acting

A Classic Spy as Elliott
2023
The Last of Us as Dr. Edelstein
2021
Reservation Dogs as James Minor
2019
Body at Brighton Rock as Sheriff
2019
Doom Patrol as Paul Trainor
2018
Dirty John as Dwight
2018
Dirty John as Doug Layton
2018
Brampton's Own as Bart
2017
Ghosted as Director Romslo
2016
Timeless as Benjamin Cahill
2016
Certain Women as Sheriff Rowles
2015
Trumbo as Sam Wood
2015
The Perfect Guy as Renkin
2015
Better Call Saul as Chairman
2015
Bosch as Bradley Walker
2014
How to Get Away with Murder as David Dolan
2014
Bad Teacher
2013
Eagleheart: Paradise Rising as Bernard Moss
2013
Jobs as Paul Jobs
2013
Desperate Acts of Magic as Don Tarzia
2013
Elevator as Henry Barton
2012
Scandal as Patrick Keating
2011
American Horror Story as Mr. St. Pierre Vanderbilt
2011
Homeland as Joe Crocker
2011
How Did They Ever Make a Movie of Facebook? as Self / Sy
2010
The Social Network as Sy
2010
Nikita as Senator Ed Chappell
2009
Castle as Gustavo Bauer
2009
Trust Me as Peter Derby
2008
Eleventh Hour
2008
Swingtown
2008
A Line in the Sand as Captain McClenon
2008
Superhero Movie as Lunatic Editor
2007
Hard Four as Blazedell Woodruff
2007
Big Shots
2007
Private Practice as Mr. Kent
2007
Mad Men
2007
Zodiac as Templeton Peck
2007
Nanking as George Fitch
2006
Day Break
2006
Shark
2005
Living 'til the End as Mr. Hines
2005
Fear of the Flesh: The Making of The Fly as Self
2005
Ghost Whisperer as Rudy Wharton
2005
Criminal Minds as Andrew Kane
2005
Close to Home
2005
How I Met Your Mother as Bob Hewitt
2005
Bones as Steven Frank
2005
Prison Break as Dr. Roger Knowlton
2005
Grey's Anatomy as Michael Breyers
2005
Mystery Woman: Sing Me a Murder as Dan
2005
Medium as Councilman Stuart McCallister
2003
Cold Case as Bill Simmons
2003
Joan of Arcadia
2003
NCIS as Walter Kane
2003
Hunger Point as David Hunter
2002
Without a Trace as Mr. Garrett
2002
CSI: Miami as George Risher
2001
According to Jim
2001
Zenon: The Zequel as General Hammond
2000
Held for Ransom as Mr. Kirkland
2000
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Richard Zeigler
2000
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Bill Harvey
1999
The West Wing as Congressman Mark B. Sellner
1999
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Vincent Albers
1999
Providence as Dr. Sullivan
1998
The King of Queens as Mr. Dugan
1998
Maggie as Dr. Arthur Day
1998
Some Girl as Claire's Father
1997
Painted Hero as Sheriff Acuff
1996
Mojave Moon as Police Officer
1996
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
1996
A Friend's Betrayal as Dennis Hewitt
1996
The Late Shift as Brandon Tartikoff
1995
JAG as Adm. Harrison Spencer
1995
Awake to Danger as Steve Murdock
1994
Fortunes of War as Franklin Hewitt
1994
A Passion to Kill as Jerry
1994
The 5 Mrs. Buchanans as Roy Buchanan
1994
Untamed Love as Dan
1994
Playmaker as Eddie
1994
Betrayal of Trust as Curt
1993
Triumph Over Disaster: The Hurricane Andrew Story as Doug Hulin
1992
Majority Rule as Paul Taylor
1992
In My Daughter's Name as Michael Elias
1991
Curly Sue as Walker McCormick
1991
Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead as Gus
1990
Men at Work as Maxwell Potterdam III
1989
Born on the Fourth of July as Marine Major - Vietnam
1989
The Fly II as Stathis Borans
1988
Police Story: Burnout as Sgt. Jack Leland
1988
Murphy Brown
1987
Mariah
1986
The Fly as Stathis Borans
1985
I Want To Go Home as Thomas Sanders
1985
MacGruder and Loud as Malcom MacGruder
1984
Thief of Hearts as Ray Davis
1984
Murder, She Wrote as Jonas Cole
1984
Murder, She Wrote as Kyle Kimball
1984
Blood Simple as Ray
1984
Concrete Beat
1984
Maggie Briggs
1982
Not in Front of the Children as Dr. Paul Adams
1982
Muggable Mary: Street Cop as Dan Waters
1981
Tattoo as Buddy
1981
Rivkin: Bounty Hunter as Lester Dederow
1981
Kent State as Prof. Ted Arnold
1978
A Woman Called Moses as Stewart
1978
Loose Change as John Campbell
1977
On Our Own as Tom Ericson
1977
Rafferty
1977
Three's Company as Lee Tripper
1977
The Andros Targets as Dan Bridger
1977
The Sentinel as Film Crew (uncredited)
1975
Wonder Woman as Christian Harrison
1975
The Happy Hooker as Trout Fisherman
1975
Barney Miller as William McKuen
1974
Killer Bees as Attendant
1972
ABC Afterschool Special as Thomas Sanders
1964
Another World
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