Brian Dennehy
Actor
Biography
Brian Manion Dennehy (July 9, 1938 – April 15, 2020) was an American actor of film, stage, and television. His breakthrough film role was as the overzealous sheriff Will Teasle in First Blood (1982). Typically a character actor, Dennehy displayed versatility in varying and often complex roles ranging from villainous (such as a corrupt sheriff in the 1985 western Silverado) to virtuous (such as a benevolent alien leader in Cocoon, also released in 1985). Other notable films featuring Dennehy include Gorky Park (1983), Never Cry Wolf (1983), Legal Eagles (1986), F/X (1986), Tommy Boy (1995), Romeo + Juliet (1996), and Ratatouille (2007).
A prominent figure in the theater world (especially in Chicago), Dennehy won two Tony Awards for Best Lead Actor, for Death of a Salesman (1999) and Long Day's Journey into Night (2003). He starred in numerous television films and miniseries, garnering six Emmy Award nominations, and had memorable supporting and guest roles in many series including Just Shoot Me, The Good Wife, and The Blacklist.
Filmography
Ratatouille
as Django (voice) 2007
First Blood
as Hope Sheriff Will Teasle 1982
Romeo + Juliet
as Ted Montague 1996
Tag
as Mr. Cilliano 2018
The Next Three Days
as George Brennan 2010
Cocoon
as Walter 1985
Righteous Kill
as Hingis 2008
Assault on Precinct 13
as Sargeant Jasper O'Shea 2005
Tommy Boy
as Thomas 'Big Tom' Callahan 1995
Cocoon: The Return
as Walter (uncredited) 1988
The Big Year
as Raymond Harris 2011
Silverado
as Cobb 1985
Presumed Innocent
as Raymond Horgan 1990
Knight of Cups
as Joseph 2015
The Ultimate Gift
as Gus 2007
F/X
as Lt. Leo McCarthy 1986
Gladiator
as Jimmy Horn 1992