# John Getz

John William Getz (born October 15, 1946) is an American character actor. After starting his acting career on stage, he has appeared in numerous television series and films.

## Early life

Getz, one of four children, was born in Davenport, Iowa, and grew up in the Mississippi River Valley. He began acting while attending the University of Iowa, where he helped found the Center for New Performing Arts.

## Career

Getz dropped out of college to attend the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. While working in a winery, he helped to 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 (1974). 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 (1975) and followed up with several other roles before starring in the Coen Brothers' neo-noir thriller Blood Simple (1984). He played the doomed lover of a married woman (Frances McDormand) who woefully misinterprets his increasingly complex circumstances.
In 1985, he co-starred in the unsuccessful police drama MacGruder and Loud. The pilot was given the post-Super Bowl time slot, contributing to its strong debut in the ratings. However, ABC rescheduled it repeatedly and finally relegated it to the "graveyard slot", 10:00 pm ET, Monday night.
Getz appeared in two different shows with the name "Maggie" in the title: 1984's Maggie Briggs, where he appeared as newspaper editor Geoff Bennett, and 1998's Maggie as the title character's husband, Dr. Arthur Day.
Getz also appeared in The Fly (1986) and The Fly II (1989) 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 (2010), 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 (in the 1977 episode "Atomic Bomb") and Three's Company (1980), 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 (2014–2017), Timeless (2016–2018), Bosch (2017–2018), and the Netflix series A Man on the Inside (2024).

## Personal life

He has a daughter, Hannah, from his marriage to playwright Grace McKeaney.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1975 | The Happy Hooker | Trout Fisherman | |
| 1981 | Tattoo | Buddy | |
| 1984 | Blood Simple | Ray | |
| 1984 | Thief of Hearts | Ray Davis | |
| 1986 | The Fly | Stathis Borans | |
| 1989 | The Fly II | Stathis Borans | |
| 1989 | Born on the Fourth of July | Marine Major - Vietnam | |
| 1990 | Men at Work | Maxwell Potterdam III | |
| 1991 | Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead | Gus | |
| 1991 | Curly Sue | Walker McCormick | |
| 1994 | Fortunes of War | Franklin Hewitt | |
| 1994 | Playmaker | Eddie | |
| 1994 | A Passion to Kill | Jerry | |
| 1996 | Mojave Moon | Police Officer | |
| 1998 | Some Girl | Claire's Father | |
| 2000 | Held for Ransom | Mr. Kirkland | |
| 2004 | A Day Without a Mexican | Senator Abercombie | |
| 2007 | Nanking | George Fitch | Documentary |
| 2007 | Zodiac | Templeton Peck | |
| 2008 | Superhero Movie | Lunatic Editor | |
| 2010 | The Social Network | Sy | |
| 2011 | Elevator | Henry Barton | |
| 2013 | Jobs | Paul Jobs | |
| 2015 | The Perfect Guy | Renkin | |
| 2015 | Trumbo | Sam Wood | |
| 2016 | Certain Women | Sheriff Rowles | |
| 2018 | Brampton's Own | Bart | |
| 2019 | Body at Brighton Rock | Sheriff | |
| 2023 | The Dead Don't Hurt | Reverend Simpson | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1974 | Killer Bees | Attendant | Television film |
| 1974–1976 | Another World | Neil Johnson | Main role, 122 episodes |
| 1977 | The Andros Targets | Dan Bridger | 1 episode |
| 1977 | On Our Own | Tom Ericson | 1 episode |
| 1977 | Rafferty | Dr. Daniel Gentry | Main role, 13 episodes |
| 1977 | The New Adventures of Wonder Woman | Christian Harrison | 1 episode |
| 1977 | Barney Miller | William McKuen | 1 episode |
| 1978 | Barnaby Jones | Walter Alberts | 1 episode |
| 1978 | Loose Change | John Campbell | Miniseries |
| 1978 | A Woman Called Moses | Stewart | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1978–1981 | Ryan's Hope | Jim / Dr. Morgan Thomas | 2 episodes |
| 1979 | The Associates | William Simmons | 1 episode |
| 1980 | Three's Company | Lee Tripper | 1 episode |
| 1984 | Maggie Briggs | Geoff Bennett | 5 episodes |
| 1985 | ABC Afterschool Special | Thomas Sanders | 1 episode |
| 1985 | The Lucie Arnaz Show | Scott Harris | 1 episode |
| 1985 | MacGruder and Loud | Malcolm MacGruder | Main role, 15 episodes |
| 1989 | Roseanne | John Hale | 1 episode |
| 1990 | Murphy Brown | Bob Wiltz | 1 episode |
| 1993 | Triumph Over Disaster: The Hurricane Andrew Story | Doug Hulin | Television film |
| 1993 | Crossroads | Greg | 1 episode |
| 1993 | Phenom | Jack | 1 episode |
| 1995 | The 5 Mrs. Buchanans | Roy Buchanan | 2 episodes |
| 1995–1996 | Murder, She Wrote | Kyle Kimball / Jonas Cole | 2 episodes |
| 1995–1996 | Ned and Stacey | Les MacDowall | Recurring role, 6 episodes |
| 1996 | The Late Shift | Brandon Tartikoff | Television film |
| 1996 | A Friend's Betrayal | Dennis Hewitt | Television film |
| 1996 | Mr. & Mrs. Smith | Karl Hansen | 1 episode |
| 1998–1999 | Maggie | Dr. Arthur Day | Main role, 20 episodes |
| 1999 | JAG | Admiral Harrison Spencer | 1 episode |
| 2000 | Providence | Dr. Sullivan | 1 episode |
| 2000; 2014 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Richard Zeigler / Bill Harvey | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Zenon: The Zequel | General Hammond | Television film |
| 2001 | The Guardian | Wendell Rapke | 1 episode |
| 2003 | CSI: Miami | George Risher | 1 episode |
| 2003 | According to Jim | Frank | 1 episode |
| 2003 | Joan of Arcadia | D.A. Gabe Fellowes | Recurring role, 6 episodes |
| 2004 | Without a Trace | Mr. Garrett | 1 episode |
| 2004–2006 | The King of Queens | Mr. Dugan | 3 episodes |
| 2005 | Mystery Woman | Dan | 1 episode |
| 2005 | Wanted | Mr. Salinger | 1 episode |
| 2005 | Medium | Councilman Stuart McCallister | 1 episode |
| 2006 | Cold Case | Bill Simmons | 1 episode |
| 2006 | Close to Home | Maurice Hardecker | 1 episode |
| 2006 | The West Wing | Congressman Mark B. Sellner | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | Las Vegas | Freddie Smith | 1 episode |
| 2006–2007 | Day Break | Judge Tobias Booth | Recurring role, 5 episodes |
| 2007 | Shark | Judge Nicholas | 1 episode |
| 2007 | Big Shots | Walter Storrs | 1 episode |
| 2008 | How I Met Your Mother | Bob Hewitt | Episode: "Miracles" |
| 2008 | Swingtown | Steve Gilboy | 1 episode |
| 2008 | Mad Men | Dr. Eric Stone | 1 episode |
| 2008 | Grey's Anatomy | Michael Breyers | 2 episodes |
| 2008 | Eleventh Hour | William Gregory | 1 episode |
| 2008 | Prison Break | Dr. Roger Knowlton | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Trust Me | Peter Derby | 2 episodes |
| 2009 | Criminal Minds | Andrew Kane | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Private Practice | Mr. Kent | 1 episode |
| 2010 | Ghost Whisperer | Rudy Wharton | 1 episode |
| 2010 | NCIS | Walter Kane | 1 episode |
| 2012 | Scandal | Patrick Keating | 1 episode |
| 2012 | Touch | Henry Williams | 1 episode |
| 2013 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Admiral Vincent Albers | 1 episode |
| 2013 | Eagleheart | Bernard Moss | 1 episode |
| 2013 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Senator Lockhart | 1 episode |
| 2013 | Nikita | Senator Ed Chappell | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Bones | Steven Frank | 1 episode |
| 2014 | Castle | Dr. Gustavo Bauer | 1 episode |
| 2014 | Bad Teacher | Howard | 1 episode |
| 2014 | Halt and Catch Fire | Joe MacMillan, Sr. | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | How to Get Away with Murder | David Dolan | 1 episode |
| 2014–2017 | Homeland | Joe Crocker | 4 episodes |
| 2016 | Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders | Randal Cowan | 1 episode |
| 2016 | NCIS: New Orleans | Army General Owen Matthews | 1 episode |
| 2016 | Aquarius | James Harrison Barret | 4 episodes |
| 2016–2017 | Grace and Frankie | John | 3 episodes |
| 2016–2017 | Transparent | Donald | 4 episodes |
| 2016–2018 | Timeless | Benjamin Cahill | Recurring role, 9 episodes |
| 2017 | Better Call Saul | Chairman | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Ghosted | Director Romsio | 1 episode |
| 2017–2018 | Bosch | Bradley Walker | Recurring role, 13 episodes |
| 2018 | American Horror Story: Apocalypse | Mr. St. Pierre Vanderbilt | 2 episodes |
| 2018–2020 | Dirty John | Dwight / Doug Layton | Recurring role, 5 episodes |
| 2020–2021 | Doom Patrol | Paul Trainor | 4 episodes |
| 2022–2023 | Alaska Daily | Conrad Pritchard | 4 episodes |
| 2023 | The Last of Us | Edelstein | 2 episodes |
| 2023 | Fatal Attraction | Warren | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 2023 | Reservation Dogs | James Minor | 1 episode |
| 2024 | A Man on the Inside | Elliot Haverhill | Recurring role, 8 episodes |