# John Savage (actor)

John Smeallie Youngs (born August 25, 1949), known professionally as John Savage, is an American actor. He first rose to prominence in the late 1970s for his portrayals of troubled-but-sensitive characters in films like The Deer Hunter (1978), The Onion Field (1979) and Hair (1979). His television roles include Donald Lydecker on Dark Angel (2000–2002) and Hack Scudder on Carnivàle (2003–2005).

## Early life

John Smeallie Youngs was born in Old Bethpage on Long Island, New York on August 25, 1949, to Floyd and Muriel Youngs. Savage's younger siblings, Gail (b. 1952) and Jim Youngs (b. 1956), are also actors. His younger sister, Robin Young, is a Peabody Award-winning journalist and news broadcaster.
After graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Savage worked for the Manhattan's Children's Theatre Group.

## Career

Savage has appeared in more than 200 feature films, short films, recurring roles in television series and guest appearances in episodes of television series. One of Savage's first notable roles is as Claude Hooper Bukowski in the 1979 film Hair. His first major film role was as Steven Pushkov in the multiple Oscar-winning 1978 film The Deer Hunter. He also had a lead role in the 1979 film The Onion Field.
In the late 1970s, he performed in the Broadway production of David Mamet's play American Buffalo.
In 1991, he starred in Italian director Lucio Fulci's final film Door to Silence. He then had a brief role in the 1998 war film The Thin Red Line, portrayed Captain Ransom in the two part episode "Equinox" of the television series Star Trek: Voyager in 1999, and appeared in the recurring role of Donald Lydecker in the first and second seasons of the 2000 television series Dark Angel.
Savage appeared in the recurring role of Henry Scudder in the HBO television series Carnivàle between 2003 and 2005. He appeared in unrelated roles in two of the series in the Law & Order franchise: the 2004 Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Conscience" as a man who put his wife in a permanent coma, and the 2005 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Quarry" as a child molester on death row for murdering one of his victims.
Savage appeared in the 2015 horror film Tales of Halloween, the 2017 film In Dubious Battle, and on the 2017 continuation of the television show Twin Peaks.
In 2017, Savage spoke at a tribute honoring director Richard Donner, held by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In 2018, he appeared on the television show Goliath. In the same year, Savage lent his voice to a monologue on the title track of the album This Town by Steve Smith of Dirty Vegas.

## Personal life

Savage has two children with his first wife, Susan (divorced 1969), including actress Jennifer Youngs (b. 1969). He was married to South African actress Sandi Schultz between 1993 and 2002.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Savage was an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa, and became acquainted with Nelson Mandela. He helped secure Mandela's involvement in the 1992 film Malcolm X, directed by Spike Lee, on which he was the assistant production manager for the South Africa unit.
Savage's former brother-in-law was actor Robert Duvall, who was married to his sister Gail Youngs, from 1982 to 1986.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1969 | The Master Beater | Rocco | |
| 1971 | Love is a Carousel | Boy Friend | |
| 1972 | Bad Company | Loney | |
| 1973 | Steelyard Blues | Kid | |
| 1973 | The Killing Kind | Terry Lambert | |
| 1974 | The Sister in Law | Robert Strong | |
| 1975 | Eric | Eric Swensen | |
| 1978 | The Deer Hunter | Corporal Steven Pushkov | |
| 1979 | Hair | Claude Hooper Bukowski | |
| 1979 | The Onion Field | Det. Karl Francis Hettinger | |
| 1980 | Inside Moves | Roary | |
| 1981 | Cattle Annie and Little Britches | Bittercreek Newcomb | |
| 1981 | The Amateur | Charles Heller | |
| 1983 | Brady's Escape | J.W. Brady | |
| 1984 | Maria's Lovers | Ivan Bibic | |
| 1986 | Vengeance of a Soldier | Frank Morgan | |
| 1986 | Salvador | John Cassady | |
| 1986 | The Little Sister | Tim Donovan | |
| 1987 | Hotel Colonial | Marco Venieri | |
| 1987 | Beauty and the Beast | Beast / Prince | |
| 1987 | Caribe | Jeff Richardson | |
| 1988 | The Beat | Frank Ellsworth | |
| 1989 | Point of View | Amnon Yehoshua | |
| 1989 | Do the Right Thing | Clifton | |
| 1990 | Any Man's Death | Leon Abrahams | |
| 1990 | Voice in the Dark | Dan Montgomery | |
| 1990 | The Godfather Part III | Father Andrew Hagen | |
| 1990 | Ottobre rosa all'Arbat | Boris | |
| 1991 | Dark Tale | Roy Kramer | |
| 1991 | Hunting | Michael Bergman | |
| 1991 | Mountain of Diamonds | Blaine | |
| 1991 | Buck ai confini del cielo | Wintrop | |
| 1991 | Notti di paura | Paola | |
| 1992 | Door to Silence | Melvin Dovereux | |
| 1992 | Primary Motive | Wallace Roberts | |
| 1993 | Berlin '39 | Wieland | |
| 1993 | CIA II: Target Alexa | Frank Kluge | |
| 1994 | Killing Obsession | Albert | |
| 1994 | Red Scorpion 2 | Andrew Kendrick | |
| 1994 | Deadly Weapon | Sanders | |
| 1995 | The Dangerous | Emile Lautrec | |
| 1995 | Carnosaur 2 | Jack Reed | |
| 1995 | The Crossing Guard | Bobby | |
| 1995 | The Takeover | Greg | |
| 1995 | Fatal Choice | Drury | |
| 1995 | White Squall | McCrea | |
| 1995 | One Good Turn | Santapietro | |
| 1995 | Where Truth Lies | Dr. Ian Lazarre | |
| 1995 | American Strays | Dwayne | |
| 1995 | Flynn | Joe Stromberg | |
| 1995 | Firestorm | Brinkman | |
| 1997 | The Mouse | Bruce Strauss | |
| 1997 | Little Boy Blue | Ray West | |
| 1997 | Amnesia | Tim Bishop | |
| 1997 | Hollywood Safari | Deputy Rogers | |
| 1997 | Hostile Intent | Bear | |
| 1997 | Et hjørne af Paradis | Padre Louis | |
| 1997 | Managua | Dennis | |
| 1997 | Ultimo taglio | Leo Kimball | |
| 1998 | Club Vampire | Zero | |
| 1998 | The Thin Red Line | Sgt. Jack McCron | |
| 1999 | Frontline | Captain Wolfgang Mueller | |
| 1999 | Message in a Bottle | Johnny Land | |
| 1999 | Summer of Sam | Simon | |
| 2000 | Christina's House | James Tarling | |
| 2000 | They Nest | Jack Wald | |
| 2001 | Dead Man's Run | Carver | |
| 2001 | Burning Down the House | Jake Seiling | |
| 2002 | Redemption of the Ghost | Sheriff Rollie Burns | |
| 2002 | The Anarchist Cookbook | Johnny Red | |
| 2003 | Intoxicating | William Shanley | |
| 2003 | Easy Sex | Frank Iverson | |
| 2004 | Fallacy | Heathcliff | |
| 2004 | Admissions | Harry Brighton | |
| 2004 | Downtown: A Street Tale | H2O | |
| 2005 | Iowa | Irv Huffman | |
| 2005 | Confessions of a Pit Fighter | McGee | |
| 2005 | The New World | Thomas Savage | |
| 2006 | Kill Your Darlings | Rock | |
| 2006 | The Drop | Mr. Zero | |
| 2006 | Shut Up and Shoot! | Marty Pearlheimer | |
| 2007 | Shortcut to Happiness | Johnny | uncredited |
| 2007 | The Attic | Graham Callan | |
| 2008 | The Grift | William Bender | |
| 2008 | From a Place of Darkness | Vic | |
| 2008 | Boiler Maker | JJ | |
| 2008 | The Coverup | Thomas Thacker | |
| 2008 | The Golden Boys | Web Saunders | |
| 2008 | The Violent Kind | George Malloy | |
| 2009 | Anytown | News Producer | |
| 2009 | Wild About Harry | Horace White | |
| 2009 | Handsome Harry | Peter Rheems | |
| 2009 | Qi chuan xu xu | Frank Dreibelbis | |
| 2009 | Buffalo Bushido | Vendetti | |
| 2009 | Remembering Nigel | Himself | |
| 2009 | The Red Canvas | Harbin Rask | |
| 2010 | Dreamkiller | Agent Barnes | |
| 2010 | Bereavement | Ted | |
| 2010 | A Small Town Called Descent | Father Scully | |
| 2010 | Bed & Breakfast | Mr. Harvey | |
| 2011 | Colombian Interviews | James | |
| 2011 | The Last Gamble | John | |
| 2011 | Nichirin no isan | Douglas MacArthur | |
| 2011 | The Orphan Killer | Detective Walker | |
| 2011 | Hit List | Walter Murphy | |
| 2011 | Assassins' Code | Arlo | |
| 2012 | The Jonas Project | Calvin Kabral | |
| 2012 | The Black Dove | Jake Williams | |
| 2012 | Sins Expiation | Father Karl | |
| 2012 | Money Fight | Harbin Rask | |
| 2012 | Open Road | Carl | |
| 2013 | Real Gangsters | Ted Roberts | |
| 2013 | Gemini Rising | Manning | |
| 2013 | Awakened | Jack Winston | |
| 2013 | A Star for Rose | Mort | |
| 2013 | 7E | Paul | |
| 2013 | Discarded | Jay | |
| 2014 | Bullet | Governor Johnson | |
| 2014 | Fort Bliss | Mike Swann | |
| 2014 | See How They Run | The Codger | |
| 2014 | The Lookalike | William Spinks | |
| 2014 | Cry of the Butterfly | William Berman | |
| 2014 | The Big Fat Stone | Robert Tanninger | |
| 2015 | The Sparrows: Nesting | Marvin | |
| 2015 | We Will Be the World Champions | William Jones | |
| 2015 | Tales of Halloween | Capt. J.G. Zimmerman | segment "Bad Seed" |
| 2015 | Beverly Hills Christmas | Mr. Winters | |
| 2016 | Last Call at Murray's | Bennett | |
| 2016 | Texas Heart | Carl | |
| 2016 | In Dubious Battle | Dan | |
| 2016 | American Romance | Emery Reed | |
| 2016 | Dead South | Stokes | |
| 2017 | Nephilim | Father Samuel | voice role |
| 2017 | The Return | Covek u crnom odelu | |
| 2017 | The Neighborhood | Vito Bello | |
| 2017 | Spreading Darkness | Brett | |
| 2017 | Fake News | President Wayne Walker | |
| 2017 | Going Vertical | Henry "Hank" Iba | |
| 2018 | Betrayed | Mayor Alderman | |
| 2018 | Easy Way Out | Martin | |
| 2018 | Followed | Wallace Fleischer | |
| 2019 | Sensory Perception | President of United Earth | |
| 2019 | Gates of Darkness | Joseph | |
| 2019 | Hold On | Dr. Siedhoff | |
| 2019 | The Islands | Henry Thornton | |
| 2019 | The Last Full Measure | Kepper | |
| 2019 | Down's Revenge | Dr. Sorkin | |
| 2019 | Heavenly Deposit | Donald | |
| 2019 | Spinning Dry | Frank Manghetti | |
| 2020 | A Medicine for the Mind | Dr. Ernest Brown | short film |
| 2021 | Torch | August Lewin | |
| 2021 | Lockdown | The Narrator | |
| 2021 | Insight | Frank | |
| 2021 | The Dog of Christmas | Ron | |
| 2022 | The Right to Bear Arms | Brutal Magnus | |
| 2023 | Showdown at the Grand | | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1974 | All the Kind Strangers | Peter | Television film |
| 1975 | Gibbsville | Jim Malloy | Television film |
| 1982 | Coming Out of the Ice | Victor Herman | Television film |
| 1985 | Silent Witness | Kevin Dunne | Television film |
| 1993 | Daybreak | President | Television film |
| 1994 | Tales from the Crypt | Benny | Season 6 Episode 5 "Revenge is the Nuts" |
| 1995 | Tom Clancy's Op Center | Bob Herbert, National Intelligence Officer | Television film |
| 1995 | The X-Files | Henry Trondheim | Season 2 Episode 19 "Død Kalm" |
| 1995 | The Outer Limits | Lucas | Season 1 Episode 12 "The Conversion" |
| 1996 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Sergeant Major Tom Hawkins | Season 4 Episode 2 "Patriot" |
| 1997 | Before Women Had Wings | Billy Jackson | Television film |
| 1998 | Lost Souls | Victor Robinson | Television film |
| 1999 | The Jack Bull | Slater | Television film |
| 1999 | Star Trek: Voyager | Captain Rudy Ransom | Two-part episode "Equinox" |
| 2000 | The Virginian | Steve | Television film |
| 2000 | Dark Angel | Donald Lydecker | Main cast season 1, recurring season 2 |
| 2003 | Carnivàle | Henry "Hack" Scudder | Recurring role |
| 2004 | Law and Order: Criminal Intent | Mark Farrell | |
| 2004 | Alien Lockdown | Dr. Alan Woodman | Television Film |
| 2004 | Sucker Free City | Anderson Wade | Television Film |
| 2005 | Love's Long Journey | Trent | Television Film |
| 2009 | Fringe | Andre Hughes | Season 2 Episode 2 "Night of Desirable Objects" |
| 2013 | Defending Santa | Judge Willis | Television Film |
| 2013 | Cleaners | Marcus Walker | Recurring season 2 |
| 2014 | Bermuda Tentacles | President DeSteno | Television Film |
| 2017 | Teen Star Academy | Burt | Television Film |
| 2017 | Twin Peaks | Detective Clark | |
| 2017 | Empire of the Sharks | Ian Fein | Television Film |
| 2018 | 40 and Single | Stewart Temple | |
| 2018 | Mission Possible | Captain Ted Napoleon | Television Film |
| 2018 | Goliath | Mickey | Recurring season 2 |
| 2018 | Torque | Agent Curtis | |
| 2018 | 6 Children & 1 Grandfather | David McDoll | Television Film |
| 2019 | Ovid and the Art of Love | Augustus | Television Film |