# Lee Tergesen

Lee Allen Tergesen (/ˈtɜːrɡəsən/; born July 8, 1965) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayals of 'Chett' Donnelly on USA's Weird Science (1994–1998), Tobias Beecher on HBO's Oz (1997–2003), Peter McMillan on the second season of Desperate Housewives (2006), and Evan Wright in the 2008 miniseries Generation Kill. Tergesen's film credits include Point Break (1991), Wayne's World (1992), Wayne's World 2 (1993), Shaft (2000), Monster (2003), The Forgotten (2004), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), Red Tails (2012), and The Collection (2012).

## Early life

Lee Allen Tergesen was born in Ivoryton, Connecticut and graduated from Valley Regional High School in nearby Deep River. He moved to New York to try to become an actor. He graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA)'s two-year program in Manhattan, where, from 1986 to 1989, he worked at the Empire Diner. "I wasn't a great waiter. I was funny, but I gave a lot of attitude", he told Rosie magazine in March 2002. He added: "The place is like a vortex for me". He met Tom Fontana, the future creator of Oz, at the diner.
He did some stage work during this time. "I was doing plays all the time, but there's no money in it", Tergesen said in a 1995 Los Angeles Times article. "After graduation, I thought I'd be making a living at it." He went to Los Angeles to help Fontana move into his house. While dining at a restaurant on the day after arriving in Los Angeles, a casting director and friend of Fontana's asked Tergesen if he was an actor. "He told me there was a part in this movie and at that time, I couldn't imagine what it could be," Tergesen told the L.A. Times. The movie turned out to be Point Break, starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. "It was the beginning of me never having to do anything else but act", he told LT.com in 1990.

## Career

Tergesen began his career with a bit role in the 1991 prime-time aired pilot Acting Sheriff. He then appeared in Wayne's World (1992) and Wayne's World 2 (1993), in the 1994 series Weird Science as Chester "Chett" Donnelly, and had a recurring role in the first season of Homicide: Life on the Street.
He portrayed Tobias Beecher on HBO's Oz in 1997, a critically acclaimed role he played until the series ended in 2003. His film credits include Point Break, Shaft, Monster, The Forgotten, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Cast A Deadly Spell and Wild Iris. He has made several appearances in TV shows such as ER, Rescue Me, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Criminal Minds, The 4400, House, Law & Order and two of its spin-offs, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He played a murderous Navy SEAL, Andrew Larrick, in Season 2 of The Americans on the FX television network.
He played an Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor in the second season of Desperate Housewives, becoming romantically involved with Bree Van de Kamp. He appeared in the USA Network series Royal Pains and in Seasons 4–5 of the Lifetime Network series Army Wives. He played Evan Wright in the HBO mini-series Generation Kill.
He has appeared on stage in the Off-Broadway productions of Long Lost (2019) by Donald Margulies and Rapture, Blister, Burn in 2012 at Playwrights Horizons, among others.

## Personal life

Tergesen married Yuko Otomo. They have a daughter.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1997 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Drama Series | Homicide: Life on the Street | Nominated |
| 1998 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Ensemble in a Cable Series | Oz | Nominated |
| 2002 | Bordeaux International Festival of Women in Cinema | Golden Wave for Best Actor | Bark! | Won |
| 2007 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Ensemble of a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee | Won |
| 2008 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Ensemble of a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Generation Kill | Won |
| 2017 | Best Shorts Competition | Award of Excellence for Actor Supporting | Norman Pinksi Come Home | Won |
| 2017 | IndieFEST Film Awards | Award of Merit for Supporting Actor | Norman Pinski Come Home | Won |

## Filmography
### Film

Sources: tcm.com allmovie.com
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | Mind Benders | 'Crash' Hopkins | |
| 1991 | Point Break | "Rosie" | |
| 1991 | Session Man | Neal | Short |
| 1992 | Wayne's World | Terry | |
| 1993 | Wayne's World 2 | Terry | |
| 1997 | George B. | Frank | |
| 1999 | Inferno | Luke | |
| 2000 | Shaft | Detective Luger | |
| 2001 | The Boys of Sunset Ridge | Ben Thorpe (age 33) | |
| 2001 | Mergers & Acquisitions | Isaac | |
| 2002 | Bark! | Peter | |
| 2003 | Monster | Vincent Corey | |
| 2004 | The Forgotten | Al Petalis | |
| 2005 | Extreme Dating | Hack | |
| 2006 | The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning | Holden | |
| 2008 | Pineapple | Bruce | |
| 2010 | Helena from the Wedding | Alex Javal | |
| 2011 | Silver Tongues | Gerry | |
| 2011 | 2ND Take | Bobby | |
| 2012 | Red Tails | Colonel Jack Tomlinson | |
| 2012 | No One Lives | Hoag | |
| 2012 | The Collection | Lucello | |
| 2014 | Desert Cathedral | Peter Collins | |
| 2015 | Tooken | Bryan Millers | |
| 2016 | Equity | Randall | |
| 2017 | The Yellow Birds | Jim Murphy | |
| 2017 | Norman Pinski Come Home | Dr. Vanderwal | Short |

### Television

Source: allmovie.com
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1990 | Law & Order | Clemens | Episode: "Prescription for Death" |
| 1991 | The Killing Mind | Ron Donoho | TV film |
| 1991 | Acting Sheriff | Robbie | Unsold TV pilot |
| 1991 | Cast a Deadly Spell | Larry Willis / Lilly Sirwar | TV film |
| 1993–1997 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Chris Thormann | Recurring role (seasons 1, 3, 5) |
| 1994 | Up All Night | Chett Donnelly | Episode: "Zapped Again!/H.O.T.S." |
| 1994 | Philly Heat | Ivan Loki | TV series |
| 1994–1998 | Weird Science | Chester 'Chett' Donnelly | Main role |
| 1995 | JAG | Gunnery Sergeant Gentry | Episode: "Brig Break" |
| 1996 | Hudson Street | Larry Fetchko | Episode: "In the Line of Duty" |
| 1996 | Duckman | Chester 'Chett' Donnelly (voice) | Episode: "Color of Naught" |
| 1997 | Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show | Carter | Episode: "Honey, the House Is Trying to Kill Us" |
| 1997 | Cracker | Dan Green | Episode: "Sons and Lovers" |
| 1997–2003 | Oz | Tobias Beecher | Recurring role (season 1), main (seasons 2–6) |
| 1998 | Touched by an Angel | Blake Chapman | Episode: "Lady of the Lake" |
| 1999 | Saturday Night Live | Tobias Beecher | Episode: "Jerry Seinfeld/David Bowie" |
| 2000 | The Beat | Steve Dorigan | Recurring role |
| 2001 | Wild Iris | Lud Van Eppy | TV film |
| 2001 | Shot in the Heart | Frank Gilmore Jr. | TV film |
| 2002 | Third Watch | Jared McKinley | Episode: "Sex, Lies & Videotape" |
| 2002 | Hack | Carl Ginley | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2003 | Queens Supreme | Tommy Ryan | Episode: "One Angry Man" |
| 2003 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Keith Ramsey | Episode: "Baggage" |
| 2004 | A Thief of Time | Randall Elliot | TV film |
| 2004 | The 4400 | Oliver Knox | Episode: "Becoming" |
| 2005 | The Exonerated | Walter Rhodes | TV film |
| 2005 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Martin Hawkins | Episode: "Compulsion" |
| 2005 | Rescue Me | 'Sully' Sullivan | Episodes: "Voicemail", "Harmony", "Balls" |
| 2005 | Law & Order | Attorney Heller | Episode: "Ghosts" |
| 2005 | Wanted | Eddie Drake | Main role |
| 2006 | Desperate Housewives | Peter McMillan | Guest role (season 2) |
| 2006 | The Unit | Alex Deckard | Episode: "Extreme Rendition" |
| 2006 | Southern Comfort | 'Blue' | TV film |
| 2007 | Masters of Horror | Layne | Episode: "We All Scream for Ice Cream" |
| 2007 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Josh Lemle | Episode: "30" |
| 2007 | Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee | Daniel Royer | TV film |
| 2007 | Cane | Lamont Samuels | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2007 | A.M.P.E.D. | Brian Spicer | TV film |
| 2008 | Generation Kill | Evan 'Scribe' Wright | TV miniseries |
| 2008 | Life on Mars | Lee Crocker | Episodes: "The Real Adventures of the Unreal Sam Tyler", "The Man Who Sold the World" |
| 2009 | Cupid | Clint | Episode: "The Great Right Hope" |
| 2009 | The New Adventures of Old Christine | Todd Watski | Episodes: "Notes on a 7th Grade Scandal", "The Old Maid of Honor" |
| 2009 | The Closer | Detective Nick Carey | Episode: "Products of Discovery" |
| 2009 | Royal Pains | Zack Kingsley | Episode: "The Honeymoon's Over" |
| 2009 | House | Roy | Episode: "Instant Karma" |
| 2009 | Criminal Minds | Dale Shrader | Episode: "Retaliation" |
| 2010 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Billy Skags | Episode: "Savior" |
| 2010 | Lie to Me | Gordon Cook | Episode: "Black and White" |
| 2010, 2015 | Castle | Marcus Gates | Episodes: "3XK", "Reckoning" |
| 2010–2011 | Army Wives | Officer Clayton Boone | Recurring role (seasons 4–5) |
| 2011 | Law & Order: LA | Patrick Denton | Episode: "Big Rock Mesa" |
| 2012 | A Gifted Man | Paul Curtis | Episode: "In Case of Letting Go" |
| 2012 | The River | Russ Landry | Episodes: "Peaches", "Dr. Emmet Cole" |
| 2012 | The Big C | Kirby | Recurring role (season 3) |
| 2013 | Red Widow | Mike Tomlin | Main role |
| 2013 | Drop Dead Diva | Sid Penar | Episode: "The Real Jane" |
| 2013 | Copper | Philomen Keating | Episodes: "I Defy Thee to Forget", "A Morning Song" |
| 2013 | Person of Interest | Detective Peterson | Episode: "The Crossing" |
| 2013–2014 | Longmire | Ed Gorksi | Recurring role (seasons 1–3) |
| 2014 | The Following | Kurt | Episode: "Sacrifice" |
| 2014 | The Americans | Andrew Larrick | Recurring role (season 2) |
| 2014 | Forever | Hans Koehler | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2014 | The Blacklist | Frank Hyland | Episodes: "Lord Baltimore", "Dr. Linus Creel" |
| 2014 | Hawaii Five-0 | Gordon Bristol | Episode: "Ka No'eau" |
| 2014 | Alpha House | Colonel Eugene Drake | Episodes: "The Contest", "Shelter in Place", "The Nuptials" |
| 2014 | American Horror Story: Freak Show | Vince | Episodes: "Bullseye", "Test of Strength", "Blood Bath" |
| 2015 | Defiance | General Rahm Tak | Recurring role (season 3) |
| 2016 | NCIS: New Orleans | Mike Spar | Episode: "Father's Day" |
| 2016 | High Maintenance | Leo | Episode: "Museebat" |
| 2016 | The Strain | Tardi | Episodes: "First Born", "Gone But Not Forgotten", "The Battle of Central Park" |
| 2016 | Elementary | Cray Fielder | Episode: "Folie a Deux" |
| 2016 | Blindspot | Patrick O'Malley | Episode: "Condone Untidiest Thefts" |
| 2016–2017 | The Get Down | Inspector Moach | Episodes: "Seek Those Who Fan Your Flames", "Only from Exile Can We Come Home" |
| 2016–2017 | Outcast | Blake Morrow | Guest role (seasons 1–2) |
| 2016–2017 | Power | Bailey Markham | Episodes: "In My Best Interest", "The Kind of Man You Are", "We're in This Together" |
| 2017 | Doubt | Michael Slater | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2017–2018 | Gone | Mel Foster | Recurring role |
| 2018 | Jack Ryan | Stanley | Episode: "Black 22" |
| 2018 | The Purge | Joe Owens | Main role |
| 2018 | Daredevil | Paxton Page | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Bull | Prosecutor | Episode: "Into the Mystic" (season 4) |
| 2019 | Watchmen | 'Mr. Shadow' | Episode: "She Was Killed by Space Junk" |
| 2021 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Erik Garrison | Episode: "What Can Happen in the Dark" |
| 2022 | The Equalizer | Deputy Barnes | Episode: "D.W.B" |
| 2022 | A Friend of the Family | Mr. Horstman | Episode: "Son of Perdition" |
| 2024 | Blue Bloods | Quinn | Episodes: "Loyalty", "Dropping Bombs", "Fear No Evil" |
| 2024 | Tracker | Ashton Shaw, Colter's father | |
| 2025 | FBI | Marshal Brad Kimble | Episode: "Unearth" |