# David Keith (actor)

David Lemuel Keith (born May 8, 1954) is an American actor and director. His breakthrough role was that of aspiring Navy pilot Sid Worley in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. The positive reception for this role led to leading parts in the films The Lords of Discipline (1983), Firestarter (1984) and White of the Eye (1987). Keith had supporting roles in features including Major League II (1994), The Indian in the Cupboard (1995), Poodle Springs (1998), U-571 (2000), Men of Honor (2000), Behind Enemy Lines (2001), and Daredevil (2003).

## Early life

Keith was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of Hilda Earle, a worker for the Knox County Board of Education, and Lemuel Grady Keith, Jr., a personnel division worker for the Tennessee Valley Authority. His cousin is Mike Keith, play-by-play announcer for the Tennessee Titans NFL football team.

## Career

Keith had an early supporting role in the prison film Brubaker. He had supporting roles in The Rose, starring Bette Midler, and An Officer and a Gentleman, with Richard Gere. Keith played a local thug in The Great Santini, starred in The Lords of Discipline and White of the Eye, and held a prominent supporting role in U-571 opposite Matthew McConaughey. He played opposite child-star Drew Barrymore in the 1984 thriller Firestarter and Brooke Shields in 1992's Running Wild. He is also well known for his role as Jack Parkman in Major League II starring Charlie Sheen and Tom Berenger.
Keith played Elvis Presley in the 1988 film Heartbreak Hotel. He directed The Curse and The Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck (in which he also starred). He appeared in Ernest Goes to School as Squint Westwood (a spoof of Clint Eastwood) and in The Indian in the Cupboard as the cowboy "Boo-Hoo" Boone. He played the leading role of Nate Springfield in the 2003 film Hangman's Curse. He also co-starred in The Class, an American sitcom, as Yonk Allen, a retired professional football player. Other roles include parts in Daredevil and the 2002 television film Carrie. He appeared in the 2004 film Raise Your Voice starring Hilary Duff, and the 2006 film Expiration Date.
He has appeared on many television series, including NCIS, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, CSI: Miami, High Incident and Hawaii Five-0. In 2010, Keith co-starred as John Allen, father of Robert Allen (James Wolk) in the short-lived television drama Lone Star.

## Personal life

Keith graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Theater.
Keith married Nancy Clark, a realtor, in 2000; the couple divorced in 2016. They have two children, Presley and Coulter. He is an avid University of Tennessee Volunteers fan and is present on the sidelines for Volunteer football games when his schedule allows.
Keith was a National Advisory Board member and spokesperson for PROTECT: The National Association to Protect Children. Keith was present during the sentencing phase for John Couey, who was convicted of kidnapping, raping, and murdering Jessica Lunsford. Keith said that he was planning on going to Washington, D.C., with Mark Lunsford after the sentencing, to lobby Congress for more support of sex offender laws. Keith gave an interview with Tampa Bay ABC affiliate WFTS-TV, and was quoted as saying:
   One of the great things I said about Mark (Lunsford) is he wants justice and he wants closure in this; he wants justice for his daughter. But what he really wants is to protect children and if we can get child molesters in jail, that's the way you protect children!

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1979 | The Great Santini | Red Pettus | |
| 1979 | The Rose | Private First Class Mal | |
| 1980 | Brubaker | Larry Lee Bullen | |
| 1981 | Back Roads | Mason | |
| 1981 | Take This Job and Shove It | Harry Meade | |
| 1982 | An Officer and a Gentleman | AOC Sid Worley | |
| 1983 | The Lords of Discipline | Will McLean | |
| 1983 | Independence Day | Jack Parker | |
| 1984 | Firestarter | Andrew 'Andy' McGee | |
| 1985 | Gulag | Mickey Almon | |
| 1987 | White of the Eye | Paul White | |
| 1987 | The Curse | — | Director |
| 1988 | The Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck | Buck Malone | Director |
| 1988 | Heartbreak Hotel | Elvis Presley | |
| 1990 | The Two Jakes | Lieutenant Loach | |
| 1991 | Caged Fear | Tommy Lane | |
| 1991 | Off and Running | Jack Cornett | |
| 1992 | Liar's Edge | Gary Kirkpatrick | |
| 1993 | Desperate Motive | Harry Young | |
| 1994 | Major League II | Jack Parkman | |
| 1994 | Ernest Goes to School | Squint Westwood | |
| 1994 | Raw Justice | Mace | |
| 1994 | Temptation | Bone Babancourt | |
| 1992 | Running Wild | Jack Hutton | |
| 1995 | Till the End of the Night | Garrett Hill | |
| 1995 | The Indian in the Cupboard | Boone | |
| 1995 | Deadly Sins | Jack Gales | |
| 1995 | Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain | Ray Karnisak | |
| 1996 | A Family Thing | Sonny Pilcher | |
| 1996 | Invasion of Privacy | Sergeant Rutherford | |
| 1996 | Judge and Jury | Joe Meeker | |
| 1997 | Red-Blooded American Girl II | Mr. Colbert | |
| 1998 | Ambushed | Deputy Lawrence | |
| 1999 | Question of Privilege | Carter Roberts | |
| 1999 | Secret of the Andes | Brooks Willings | |
| 1999 | If... Dog... Rabbit... | Parole Officer Gilmore | |
| 2000 | U-571 | Major Matthew Coonan | |
| 2000 | Men of Honor | Captain Hartigan | |
| 2001 | Epoch | Mason Rand | |
| 2001 | Cahoots | Harley | |
| 2001 | Burning Down the House | Carolina | |
| 2001 | World Traveler | Richard | |
| 2001 | Behind Enemy Lines | Master Chief Tom O'Malley | |
| 2002 | The Stickup | Ray DeCarlo | |
| 2002 | Clover Blend | McGary | |
| 2002 | Mother Ghost | Carey | |
| 2003 | Daredevil | Jack 'The Devil' Murdock | |
| 2003 | Hangman's Curse | Nate Springfield | |
| 2003 | Waterville | Blake Robison | Director |
| 2004 | The Kings of Brooklyn | Scoggins | |
| 2004 | Raise Your Voice | Simon Fletcher | |
| 2005 | All Souls Day | Sheriff Blanco | |
| 2005 | Come Away Home | Sheriff Jantz | |
| 2006 | Miracle Dogs Too | Mr. Mulvaney | |
| 2006 | In Her Line of Fire | Vice President Walker | |
| 2006 | Expiration Date | William 'Wild William' | |
| 2006 | Bottoms Up | Uncle Earl Peadman | |
| 2007 | Succubus: Hell-Bent | Wallace | |
| 2008 | Clown Hunt | B.J. | |
| 2008 | Boys of Summerville | Joe | |
| 2010 | Beneath the Blue | 'Hawk' | |
| 2010 | Unrequited | Nate Grissom | |
| 2014 | Christian Mingle | Bill Wood | |
| 2015 | Awaken | Dr. Walsh | |
| 2016 | Heritage Falls | Coach Charlie Fitzpatrick | |
| 2017 | All Saints | Boyd | |
| 2019 | Finding Grace | Bishop Reed | |
| 2023 | I'll Be Watching | Sheriff Anderson | Also executive producer |
| 2023 | Walden | Judge Boyle | |
| 2024 | Dead Money | Jack | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1978 | Are You in the House Alone? | Student | Uncredited |
| 1978 | Happy Days | Fred Collins | Episode: "Richie Gets Framed" |
| 1979 | Friendly Fire | Leroy Hamilton | Television film |
| 1979 | Co-ed Fever | Tucker Davis | Miniseries |
| 1980 | The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story | Wayne Robinson | Television film |
| 1985 | Gulag | Mickey Almon | Television film |
| 1986 | If Tomorrow Comes | Daniel Cooper | Miniseries |
| 1989 | Guts and Glory: The Rise and Fall of Oliver North | Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North | Television film |
| 1991 | Flesh 'n' Blood | Arlo Weed | 12 episodes |
| 1993 | Whose Child Is This? The War for Baby Jessica | Dan Schmidt | Television film |
| 1994 | XXX's & OOO's | Bullet Dobbs | Television film |
| 1994 | Texas | Jim Bowie | Television film |
| 1994 | If Looks Could Kill | Detective Peter Stanford | Television film |
| 1996 | Strangers | Richard | Episode: "Crash" |
| 1996–1997 | High Incident | Jim Marsh | 32 episodes |
| 1998 | The Outer Limits | Major Jason Mercer | Episode: "Lithia" |
| 1998 | Perfect Prey | Dwayne Alan Clay | Television film |
| 1998 | Poodle Springs | Larry Victor / Charles Nichols | Television film |
| 1999 | A Memory in My Heart | Matt | Television film |
| 2000 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Cliff Eagleton | Episode: "The Day of Cleansing" |
| 2000 | Martial Law | Cliff Eagleton | Episode: "Honor Among Strangers" |
| 2000 | Arli$$ | Archie Michaels | Episode: "You Can Pick Your Friends..." |
| 2001 | Love and Treason | Eli Dixon | Television film |
| 2001 | Constant Payne | Alexander 'Doc' Payne | Television short; voice |
| 2001 | Epoch | Mason Rand | Television film |
| 2001 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Detective John 'Hawk' Hawkins | Episode: "Redemption" |
| 2002 | Sabretooth | Robert Thatcher | Television film |
| 2002 | Carrie | Detective John Mulcahey | Television film |
| 2003 | Deep Shock | Captain Andrew 'Andy' Raines, USN | Television film |
| 2003 | Epoch: Evolution | Mason Rand | Television film |
| 2003–2004 | Still Life | Ben Morgan | Unaired; 5 episodes |
| 2004 | NCIS | Captain Mike Watson | Episode: "See No Evil" |
| 2005 | Path of Destruction | Roy Stark | Television film |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Detective Mark Virgini | Episode: "Unchained" |
| 2005 | Locusts: The 8th Plague | Gary Wolf | Television film |
| 2006–2007 | The Class | 'Yonk' Allen | 11 episodes |
| 2008 | CSI: Miami | Evan Caldwell | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Lone Star | John Allen | 5 episodes |
| 2010 | Chase | Alan Matthews | Episode: "Crazy Love" |
| 2011 | Nikita | Richard Ellison | Episode: "343 Walnut Lane" |
| 2011–2019 | Hawaii Five-0 | Commander Wade Gutches | 4 episodes |
| 2014 | Outlaw Prophet: Warren Jeffs | Gary Engels | Television film |
| 2014 | Reckless | Pat McCandless | 4 episodes |
| 2014 | Killer Kids | Himself | Episode: "Raging Hormones" |
| 2019 | Wedding at Graceland | Laurel's Father | Television film |
| 2021 | Paper Empire | Al Scoggins | 2 episodes |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | OverBlood | 'Raz' | Voice |