Michael Ontkean
Actor
Biography
Michael Leonard Ontkean (born January 24, 1946) is a Canadian retired actor. Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ontkean relocated to the United States to attend the University of New Hampshire on a hockey scholarship before pursuing a career in acting in the early 1970s.
He initially came to prominence portraying Officer Willie Gillis on the crime drama series The Rookies from 1972 to 1974, followed by lead roles in the hockey sports comedy film Slap Shot (1977) and the romantic comedy Willie & Phil (1980). In 1982, he had a starring role opposite Harry Hamlin and Kate Jackson in the drama Making Love, in which he portrayed a married man who comes to terms with his homosexuality. Ontkean continued to appear in films, such as Clara's Heart (1988) and Postcards from the Edge (1990) before being cast as Sheriff Harry S. Truman on David Lynch's Twin Peaks (1990–1991), the role for which he is best known.
Filmography
Twin Peaks
as Sheriff Harry S. Truman 1989
Slap Shot
as Ned Braden 1977
Postcards from the Edge
as Robert Munch 1990
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces
as Sheriff Harry S. Truman 2014
Maid to Order
as Nick McGuire 1987
Clara's Heart
as Bill Hart 1988
Nico the Unicorn
as Tom Gentry 1998
Making Love
as Zach 1982
The Allnighter
as Mickey 1987
Necromancy
as Frank Brandon 1972
Just the Way You Are
as Peter Nichols 1984
Mrs. Ashboro's Cat
as Wes Merritt 2003
In Defense of a Married Man
as Robert 1990
The Peace Killers
as Jeff 1971
The Blood of Others
as Jean 1984
Summer of the Monkeys
as John Lee 1998