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Robert John Burke

AKA: John Burke
Birthday: 1960-09-12
Birthplace: New York City, New York, USA


A born-and-bred New Yorker, Robert John Burke made his film debut while in his early 20s with a small part in the drama "The Chosen" (1981), based on the Chaim Potok story. He went on to study acting at SUNY Purchase where he met aspiring filmmaker Hal Hartley, who cast him as one of the leads in his debut feature "The Unbelievable Truth," an offbeat indie tale where he played a man trying to escape his troubled past. Working with Hartley again on the charming brother-centric dark comedy "Simple Men," Burke caught a major break when Hollywood producers decided that his chiseled jawline was the right one to replace Peter Weller's in the sci-fi/action sequel "RoboCop 3." Despite Burke's efforts, the movie tanked, and he went on to smaller roles in major films, including the lauded Western "Tombstone" (1993) and the prison-break movie "Fled" (1996). Burke landed his second chance in a Hollywood starring role with the Stephen King adaptation "Thinner" (1996), but the macabre tale, which featured him under heavy makeup to depict a callous man who magically loses weight, was deemed almost universally unlikable.Though Burke's leading-man days were mostly behind him, his beastly role in Hartley's "No Such Thing" (2001) aside, he soldiered on, and began increasingly working on television with recurring roles on the grim prison drama "Oz" and the police procedural "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC, 1999- ). Appearing in George Clooney's first two movies as director, "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" (2002) and "Good Night, and Good Luck." (2005), Burke nonetheless became more familiar to TV audiences, particularly when he signed on to play Mickey Gavin, the ex-priest cousin of Denis Leary's lead character on the firefighter series "Rescue Me," a part that dovetailed with Burke's real-life second job as a New York State fireman.Often cast as a tough guy, the ruggedly handsome and tall actor continued to play imposing figures such as Major General James "Chaos" Mattis in the Iraq War miniseries "Generation Kill" (HBO, 2008) and Bart Bass, the controlling billionaire father of Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) on the soapy drama "Gossip Girl." Before long, he was juggling his ongoing "Law & Order: SVU" part with regular spots on the military drama "Army Wives" (Lifetime, 2007- ) and the tense crime show "Person of Interest" (CBS, 2011- ), while still finding time for supporting turns in films, including the Denzel Washington/Mark Wahlberg action movie "2 Guns" (2013).

Filmography

Thinner
Character: Billy Halleck
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Character: Charlie Mack
Flirt
Character: Men's Room Man

Dust Devil
Character: Dust Devil
RoboCop 3
Character: Robocop
Hide and Seek
Character: Steven

A Far Off Place
Character: Paul Parker
Heaven & Earth
Character: Paul
Rambling Rose
Character: Dave Wilkie

No Such Thing
Character: The Monster
Speak
Character: Mr. Neck
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
Character: Patrick

The Unbelievable Truth
Character: Josh
Fled
Character: Pat Schiller
Flirt
Character: Men's Room Man #2

Simple Men
Character: Bill McCabe
Limitless
Character: Pierce
Safe
Character: Captain Wolf

Killer: A Journal of Murder
Character: R.G. Greiser
Munich
Character: Belligerent American
Triggered
Character: David

2 Guns
Character: Jessup
Crazy for a Kiss
Character: Steve
Boston Strangler
Character: Eddie Holland

True Story
Character: Greg Ganley
Midnight Flight
Character: Paul Bacon
Ned Rifle
Character: Chet

Bait
Character: Uncle Mack
Connie and Carla
Character: Rudy

Somewhere in the City
Character: Frankie
First Love, Last Rites
Character: Henry

Miracle at St. Anna
Character: General Ned Almond
Tombstone
Character: Frank McLaury
Jack's Law
Character: Det. Ron Banks

The Chosen
Character: Levi Saunders
Nightmare Weekend
Character: Dave
State Property
Character: Bob

Gangster Wars
Character: Officer Reardon
Mayday - Flug in den Tod
Character: Tom Hutton
BlacKkKlansman
Character: Chief Bridges

Future '38
Character: General Sportwood
Where There's Smoke
Character: Captain Frascone
Piggie
Character: Jim

If Lucy Fell
Character: Handsome Man
Brooklyn's Finest
Character: State Trooper #1
Boarding School
Character: Mr. Holcomb

A Bright Shining Lie
Character: Frank Drummond
We Only Know So Much
Character: Hal
Being
Character: Sheriff Campbell

Cop Land
Character: Officer B
The Ex
Character: Colonel
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Character: Instructor Jenks

The Oh in Ohio
Character: Binky Taylor
Intrusion
Character: Detective Steven Morse
The Retaliators
Character: Captain Briggs