# Leon Russom

Leon Russom is an American actor who appeared in numerous television series, particularly soap operas. He portrayed Admiral Toddman (in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "The Die is Cast") and the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. In his later years, he has appeared in shows such as X-Files, Bones, Jericho, Prison Break, and Cold Case. Russom worked with the Coen brothers twice, playing smaller parts in The Big Lebowski (1998) and True Grit (2010).

## Early career

Russom's first acting work was on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light in the late 1960s. He subsequently appeared in another CBS soap opera Love is a Many Splendored Thing as Joe Taylor from 1972 to 1973. Russom was the second actor to play the role of Willis Frame on the NBC soap Another World, a role that he kept for several years. His early film career included The Trial of the Catonsville Nine as David Durst and Stephen King's Silver Bullet. He also appeared on the TV show Mission: Impossible as Sam Evans.

## Later work

Leon Russom's later work included many appearances in dramas, mainly legal or crime. He appeared in many TV shows in the 1990s and the early 2000s, including L.A. Law, Bones, Cold Case, Law & Order, JAG, NYPD Blue, John Doe, The X-Files, Dark Skies, Seinfeld (as an Astros representative in "The Hot Tub") and other shows. He played the police chief of Malibu in the Coen brothers' The Big Lebowski (1998). He appeared in Prison Break as General Jonathan Krantz, head of The Company.
Russom is also a stage actor, and in 2012, he was nominated for an LA Weekly Theater Award for his portrayal of Hamm in Samuel Beckett's Endgame at Los Angeles' Sacred Fools Theater Company, where he served as a co-artistic director for the company's sixteenth season, alongside fellow company members French Stewart and Alyssa Preston. In 2013, he appeared as the Earl of Gloucester in King Lear with The Porters of Hellsgate, alongside Larry Cedar as King Lear. In 2018, he appeared in a small but significant role in John Krasinski's acclaimed horror film, A Quiet Place.

## Selected filmography

* The Trial of the Catonsville Nine (1972) as David Darst
* Silver Bullet (1985) as Bob Coslaw
* Hotshot (1987) as Coach
* No Way Out (1987) as Kevin O'Brien
* The Rescue (1988) as Captain Miller
* Fresh Horses (1988) as Kyle Larkin
* He Said, She Said (1991) as Harry
* Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) as Chief-in-Command
* The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993) as Shanty Lady's Husband
* X-Files (pilot episode) (1993) as Detective Miles
* Double Dragon (1994) as Chief Delario
* Goldilocks and the Three Bears (1995) as Joshua Crane
* The Phantom (1996) as Mayor Krebs
* Reasons of the Heart (1996) as Drew Hadley
* The Big Lebowski (1998) as Malibu Police Chief
* Diagnosis: Murder (2000) as Claude Campbell
* Men of Honor (2000) as Decker
* A Visit from the Sergeant Major with Unintended Consequences (2000) as Mr. White
* Ascension (2000) as Old Man
* Behind Enemy Lines (2001) as Ed Burnett
* Buttleman (2003) as Reverend Buttleman
* Prison Break (2005) as General Jonathan Krantz
* True Grit (2010) as Sheriff
* Fuzz Track City (2012) as Victor Swick
* Lost on Purpose (2013) as Gene Lee
* The Binding (2016) as Uriel
* The Midnighters (2016) as Victor
* Bethany (2017) as Doctor Merman
* The Fuzz (2017) as Victor Swick
* A Quiet Place (2018) as Man in the woods
* The Primevals (2023) as Rondo Montana