# Brad William Henke

Brad William Henke (April 10, 1966 – November 29, 2022) was an American actor and professional football player in the National Football League (NFL) and Arena Football League (AFL). He was best known for his role as Corrections Officer Desi Piscatella on Orange Is the New Black, for which he won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2016.

## Early life and education

Henke was born in Columbus, Nebraska. He attended the University of Arizona and played football as a defensive lineman.

## Career
### Football career

Pre-draft measurables :
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump |
| 6 ft 3+1⁄8 in (1.91 m) | 263 lb (119 kg) | 4.92 s | 1.69 s | 2.84 s | 4.31 s | 32.5 in (0.83 m) |
| All values from NFL Combine |||||||
Henke was drafted by the New York Giants in the 1989 NFL draft but got cut during training camp. He was picked up by the Denver Broncos, and he played in Super Bowl XXIV against the San Francisco 49ers. Repeated injuries, which required six ankle surgeries, led to his retirement from professional football in 1994.

### Acting

Henke began acting in 1994, starting with commercials. He appeared in October Road, Around June, The Amateurs, World Trade Center, In the Valley of Elah, Choke, Sherrybaby, Must Love Dogs and Fury.
His television career includes roles in Arliss, ER, Dexter, Lost, Justified, The Office, Orange Is the New Black, Sneaky Pete, Grimm, Big Sky, and MacGyver (2016).
Henke's breakout role was on Orange Is the New Black as Desi Piscatella, a gay corrections officer at Litchfield Federal Penitentiary. He joined OITNB in the fourth season. He was part of the cast that won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for 2016.

## Personal life and death

Henke was married to actress Katelin Chesna from 2001 to 2008.
In an Instagram post dated May 15, 2021, Henke stated that he had a 90 percent blockage of an artery. In another post dated June 29, 2021, he stated that he had two stents put in his heart, and that his spleen and half of his pancreas were removed to treat a "golf ball sized" tumor.
Henke died in his sleep on November 29, 2022, at the age of 56.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | Mr. Wrong | Bob | |
| 1996 | Space Jam | Stars Catcher | |
| 1996 | The Fan | Tjader | |
| 1999 | Dill Scallion | Bartender | |
| 1999 | The Thirteenth Floor | Cop #1 | |
| 2000 | Gone in 60 Seconds | | Uncredited |
| 2003 | Love Object | Dotson | Credited as Brad Henke |
| 2004 | The Assassination of Richard Nixon | Martin Jones | |
| 2005 | Must Love Dogs | Leo | |
| 2005 | The Amateurs | Ron | |
| 2005 | North Country | Mr. Lattavansky | |
| 2005 | Me and You and Everyone We Know | Andrew | |
| 2006 | Sherrybaby | Bobby Swanson | |
| 2006 | World Trade Center | Allison's brother | |
| 2006 | Hollywoodland | Russ Taylor | |
| 2006 | Altered | Duke | |
| 2008 | Choke | Denny | |
| 2008 | Around June | Henry | |
| 2009 | Short Term 12 | Denim | Later adapted into the 2013 film |
| 2010 | The Space Between | Will | |
| 2011 | The Trouble with Bliss | Steven 'Jetski' Jouseski | Also known as East Fifth Bliss |
| 2011 | Magic Valley | Jerry Garabrant | |
| 2012 | I Am Not a Hipster | Bradley Haines | |
| 2012 | Struck by Lightning | Principal Gifford | |
| 2013 | Jobs | Paul Terrell | |
| 2013 | Pacific Rim | Construction foreman | |
| 2013 | The Frozen Ground | Carl Galenski | |
| 2014 | Draft Day | Tony 'Bagel' Bagli | |
| 2014 | Fury | Sgt. Davis | Credited as Brad Henke |
| 2015 | Pure Love | Detective Dillard | |
| 2016 | The Tank | Dane Hankeard | |
| 2016 | Pee-wee's Big Holiday | Grizzly Bear Daniels | |
| 2016 | Split | John Cooke | |
| 2017 | Bright | Dorghu | |
| 2018 | Cold Brook | Chip | |
| 2019 | Wounds | Eric | |
| 2019 | Inherit the Viper | Tedd Wallace | |
| 2020 | Arkansas | Tim | |
| 2022 | The Ray | Billings | |
| 2022 | Block Party | Buddy Frank | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | Chicago Hope | Freddy Lulenski | Episode: "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" |
| 1996 | Silk Stalkings | Amos Alexander | Episode: "Loyalty" |
| 1996–1997 | Nash Bridges | P.J. Pollard / Tommy | 2 episodes |
| 1997 | Arliss | Zack Bowers | Episode: "A Full Service Agency" |
| 1997 | Michael Hayes | Billy Desmore | Episode: "Heroes" |
| 1998 | ER | John | Episode: "Think Warm Thoughts" |
| 1998 | The Pretender | Jimbo | Episode: "Crazy" |
| 1998 | Sports Night | Christian Patrick | Episode: "Mary Pat Shelby" |
| 1998 | To Have & to Hold | Christopher Dimatto | Episode: "Hope You Had the Time of Your Wife" |
| 1999 | Pensacola: Wings of Gold | Wayne | Episode: "Lost" |
| 1999 | Martial Law | Buzz Tippitt | Episode: "Breakout" |
| 2000–2001 | Going to California | Henry "Hank" Ungalow | 20 episodes |
| 2000 | The Michael Richards Show | Tommy | Episode: "The Identity Loan" |
| 2002 | Crossing Jordan | Andy Lebowski | Episode: "Secrets & Lies: Part 2" |
| 2002 | Providence | Luke English | Episode: "Cloak & Dagger" |
| 2002 | Judging Amy | Det. Chris Cross | 2 episodes |
| 2003 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | George Bartell | Episode: "Fur and Loathing" |
| 2006 | Dexter | Tony Tucci | 4 episodes |
| 2007 | Cold Case | Mike Chulaski | Episode: "Cargo" |
| 2008 | Law & Order | Ted Sanderson | Episode: "Strike" |
| 2008 | Life on Mars | Michael H., the Hostage Taker | Episode: "Tuesday's Dead" |
| 2007–2008 | October Road | Owen Dennis Rowan | 19 episodes |
| 2009–2010 | Lost | Bram | 6 episodes |
| 2009 | Trust Me | Lewis | Episode: "Odd Man Out" |
| 2009 | CSI: Miami | Arnold Hollings | Episode: "Out of Time" |
| 2009 | Solving Charlie | Tom Taylor | Television film |
| 2010 | Party Down | Travis | Episode: "Steve Guttenberg's Birthday" |
| 2010 | Royal Pains | Roy | Episode: "Whole Lotto Love" |
| 2011 | Criminal Minds | Steve | Episode: "Sense Memory" |
| 2011 | Shameless | Hal Hollander | Episode: "Daddyz Girl" |
| 2011 | Justified | Coover Bennett | 9 episodes |
| 2011 | Grimm | Hap Lasser | Episode: "The Three Bad Wolves" |
| 2011 | The Chicago Code | Ernie Moosekian | 3 episodes |
| 2011 | Memphis Beat | Mark Aiden | Episode: "Identity Crisis" |
| 2012 | Bones | Melvin Carville | Episode: "The Bod in the Pod" |
| 2013 | The Office | Frank | Episode: "Vandalism" |
| 2013 | Castle | Mark Heller | Episode: "Scared to Death" |
| 2013 | Longmire | Sal Vayas | Episode: "Death Came In Like Thunder" |
| 2013–2014 | The Bridge | Jim Dobbs | 4 episodes |
| 2015 | Uncle | Background Singer | Episode: " I'm Back" |
| 2015 | Hawaii Five-0 | Richie Malloy | Episode: "Luapo'i" |
| 2016–2018 | Orange Is the New Black | Desi Piscatella | 26 episodes |
| 2016 | The Night Shift | Clayton Timmons | Episode: "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" |
| 2017 | Sneaky Pete | Brendon | 6 episodes |
| 2018 | MacGyver | Jonah Walsch | Episode: "MacGyver + MacGyver" |
| 2020 | Manhunt: Deadly Games | Big John | 4 episodes |
| 2020 | The Stand | Tom Cullen | 6 episodes |
| 2022 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Captain Don Kubiak | Episodes: "Once Upon a Time in El Barrio" |