Ray Wise Biography
Born: August 29, 1947
Longtime character actor Ray Wise is beloved by genre fans for his over-the-top roles in Swamp_Thing, RoboCop, Twin_Peaks (both the series and the feature), and Jeepers_Creepers_2, yet one look at the actor's diverse filmography reveals that it's Wise's diverse body of small-screen work that has been his bread and butter throughout the years.
As an adolescent, Wise became keenly aware of his love for acting, and displayed his ambition by appearing in as many plays as possible throughout high school. A college theater major who spent most of his summer breaks in summer stock, Wise was well and ready to enter the professional world after receiving his degree in 1970. As with many other aspiring actors, Wise was drawn to the bright lights of Broadway and New York City, landing a job on the soap opera Love of Life after being in town for only two weeks. During the six years that he was acting on Love of Life, Wise would moonlight with stage roles both on and off-Broadway in addition to dabbling in repertory theater. When Love of Life was canceled in 1976, it was time to expand into features with supporting roles in Swamp_Thing and Cat_People (both 1982). Throughout the 1980s, Wise appeared on some of the most popular series on television, including Dallas, Trapper John, M.D., Knots_Landing, and Moonlighting -- occasionally returning for a recurring role. While his part in Paul_Verhoeven's over-the-top sci-fi action flick RoboCop offered the busy actor a chance to truly explore his inner villain, it was another menacing role that would propel Wise's career in the 1990s.
Cast as grieving father Leland Palmer in the surreal David_Lynch series Twin_Peaks, Wise captivated television viewers with his emotionally charged performance -- Palmer was a challenging character, and few actors could have brought him to life quite as effectively as Wise. In 1992, Wise reprised the role of Leland Palmer for the polarizing feature Twin_Peaks:_Fire_Walk_With_Me, with subsequent performances in Bob_Roberts and Powder, as well as on television in Star_Trek:_Voyager and Beverly_Hills_90210, proving his highest-profile works of the decade. While by the year 2000 it appeared as if Wise had settled into a comfortable small-screen groove thanks to his numerous television credits, roles as a frightened father in the underappreciated, Twilight_Zone-flavored frightener Dead_End and a monster-fighting farmer in Jeepers_Creepers_2 (which re-teamed him with Powder director Victor_Salva) both gave genre fans cause to celebrate.
In 2005, Wise took an affecting turn as communist witch-hunt victim Don Hollenbeck in director George_Clooney's Oscar-nominated drama Good Night, and Good Luck, and the following year he had a recurring role as Vice President Hal Gardner in the hit Fox series 24. With additional small-screen roles in The_Closer, CSI, Law & Order: SVU, and the supernatural series Reaper (on which he played the Devil himself) serving well to balance out feature work in Peaceful_Warrior, Pandemic, and One_Missed_Call, it appeared that Wise remained as comfortable as ever fluctuating between work in film and television. Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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