Introduction
Robert Patrick Gunton Jr. (born November 15, 1945) is an American actor. Gunton is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters, including Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison film The Shawshank Redemption, Chief George Earle in 1993's Demolition Man, Dr. Walcott, the domineering dean of Virginia Medical School in Patch Adams, and President Juan Peron in the original Broadway production of Evita, for which he received a Tony Award nomination. He also appears in the Daredevil TV series as Leland Owlsley.
Early life and education
Gunton was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Rose Marie (née Banovetz) and Robert Patrick Gunton, Sr., a labor union executive. He attended Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, the Paulist Seminary St Peter's College, in Baltimore, Maryland, and the University of California, Irvine. A lifelong devout Roman Catholic, Gunton had initially planned to become a priest. Gunton served in the United States Army (1969–71), earning a Bronze Star for valor and the Vietnam Service Medal.
Career
Gunton played the role of Juan Peron in the original 1980 Broadway production of Evita, earning a nomination for Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance. He later starred in the title role of a 1989 Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd and received a second Tony nomination for his portrayal. Additional Broadway credits include Working, King of Hearts, The Music Women, How I Got That Story, and Big River.
Gunton portrayed President Richard Nixon in a recreation of the Watergate tapes incident for Nightline. He also played President Woodrow Wilson in the film Iron Jawed Angels (2004). Gunton is also known for his guest starring role as Capt. Benjamin Maxwell in the well-received 1991 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Wounded". Gunton played Warden Samuel Norton, the head of Shawshank State Prison and the primary antagonist in The Shawshank Redemption (1994) opposite Tim Robbins. Gunton played Cecil Dobbs in the 2011 film The Lincoln Lawyer.
Gunton also guest starred in the first season of Desperate Housewives and the sixth season of 24, where he portrayed United States Secretary of Defense Ethan Kanin. He signed on as series regular afterward and reprised the role of Kanin but now as the Chief of Staff to the new president, Allison Taylor, in the show's seventh season as well as the two-hour television prequel film, 24: Redemption. He returned again for the eighth season but this time as the President's Secretary of State. Gunton portrays Leland Owlsley in the 2015 TV series Daredevil. Gunton made a guest appearance on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in January 2017.
Select stage roles
- How I Got That Story - The Historical Event
- Evita - Juan Peron
- Big River - The King
- Sweeney Todd - Sweeney
- King of Hearts
- Working - Various Roles
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Rollover | Sal Naftari | |
| 1985 | Static | Frank | |
| 1987 | The Pick-up Artist | Fernando Portacarrero | |
| Matewan | C.E. Lively | ||
| 1989 | Cookie | Richie Segretto | |
| Glory | Gen. Harker | ||
| Born on the Fourth of July | Doctor | ||
| 1991 | JFK | TV Newsman | |
| 1992 | The Public Eye | Older Agent | |
| Sinatra | Tommy Dorsey | ||
| 1993 | Father Hood | Lazzaro | |
| Demolition Man | Chief George Earle | ||
| 1994 | The Shawshank Redemption | Warden Samuel Norton | |
| 1995 | Dolores Claiborne | Mr. Pease | |
| Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls | Burton Quinn | ||
| In Pursuit of Honor | Colonel John Hardesty | ||
| 1996 | Broken Arrow | Pritchett | |
| The Glimmer Man | Frank Deverell | ||
| The Siege at Ruby Ridge | Bo Gritz | ||
| 1997 | A Thousand Acres | Judge | uncredited |
| Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil | Finley Largent | ||
| Elvis meets Nixon | President Nixon | ||
| Buffalo Soldiers | Col. Benjamin Grierson | ||
| 1998 | Patch Adams | Dean Walcott | |
| 1999 | Bats | Dr. Alexander McCabe | |
| 2000 | Running Mates | Terrence Randall | |
| The Perfect Storm | Alexander McAnally III, owner of the yacht the Mistral | ||
| 2001 | 61* | Yankees Owner/President Dan Topping | |
| 2002 | Boat Trip | Boat Captain | |
| 2004 | I Heart Huckabees | Mr. Silver | |
| Iron Jawed Angels | President Woodrow Wilson | ||
| 2006 | Believe in Me | Hugh Moreland | |
| 2007 | Dead Silence | Edward Ashen | |
| Fracture | Judge Gardner | ||
| Numb | Dr. Townsend | ||
| Pandemic | Dr. Max Sorkosky | ||
| Rendition | Lars Whitman | ||
| 2008 | The Lazarus Project | Father Ezra | |
| 2009 | Tenure | William Thurber | |
| 2010 | The Trial | Joe Whetstone | |
| 2011 | The Lincoln Lawyer | Cecil Dobbs | |
| Kill the Irishman | Jerry Merke | ||
| Get the Gringo | Warren Kaufmann | ||
| 2012 | Trouble with the Curve | Watson | |
| Argo | Secretary of State Cyrus Vance | ||
| 2013 | Jimmy | Sheriff Brinson | |
| Runner Runner | Dean Alex Monroe | ||
| Live at the Foxes Den | Tony O'Hara | ||
| 2015 | Larry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attendant | Flight School Instructor | |
| The 33 | President Sebastián Piñera | ||
| 2018 | Unbroken: Path to Redemption | Major Zeigler | |
| The Gettysburg Address | William Herndon (voice) |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Miami Vice | Rivas | Episode: "Heart of Night" (first aired November 18, 1988) |
| 1990 | Law & Order | Gil Himes | Episode: "Happily Ever After" |
| Judgment | Monsignor Beauvais | TV film | |
| Sesame Street Home Video Visits the Firehouse | Chief Kirby | Short | |
| 1991 | A Woman Named Jackie | Jacqueline's stepfather, Hugh Auchincloss | 3 episodes |
| Star Trek: The Next Generation | Captain Benjamin Maxwell | Episode: "The Wounded" | |
| 1993 | Wild Palms | Dr. Tobias Schenkl | miniseries |
| 1994 | Roswell | Frank Joyce | TV film |
| 1996 | The Siege at Ruby Ridge | Bo Gritz | TV film |
| 1998 | The Outer Limits | Clute Nichols | Episode: "The Hunt" |
| 2002 | Greg the Bunny | Junction Jack | Main role |
| Touched By an Angel | Sidney Alcott | Episode: "A Feather on the Breath of God" | |
| 2003 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Director Robert Carvallo | Episode: "Play with Fire" |
| Peacemakers | Mayor Malcolm Smith | Main role | |
| 2004-2006 | Desperate Housewives | Noah Taylor | Recurring role |
| 2004 | Monk | Dwight Ellison: Trudy's Father | Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Game Show" |
| 2005 | Nip/Tuck | Agent Sagamore | 3 episodes |
| 2006 | Pepper Dennis | Dick Dinkle | Recurring role |
| E-Ring | General Hughes | 3 episodes | |
| 2007 | Women's Murder Club | Arthur Lazar | Episode: "Train In Vain" |
| The Batman | Gorman (voice) | Episode: "Riddler's Revenge" | |
| 2007–2010 | 24 | Ethan Kanin | Main role |
| 2008 | World War II: Behind Closed Doors | President Franklin D Roosevelt | BBC documentary with historical reconstructions |
| 24: Redemption | Ethan Kanin | Television film | |
| 2010 | Royal Pains | Gen. William Collins | Recurring role |
| 2011 | Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior | Marshall Phelps | Episode: "Strays" |
| Family Guy | Warden (voice) | Episode: "Cool Hand Peter" | |
| 2012 | Wilfred | Warner | Episode: "Now" |
| 2014 | New Girl | Ed | Episode: "Basketball" |
| 2015 | Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street | Ranger's grandfather | 2 episodes |
| Daredevil | Leland Owlsley | Main cast (season 1) | |
| 2018 | The Blacklist | Nicholas Moore | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | The Cool Kids | Colonel Christianson | Episode: "Funeral Crashers" |
| Project Blue Book | President Harry S. Truman | Episode: "The Washington Merry-Go Round" |