Chris Ellis
Known for: Acting
Chris Ellis (born April 14, 1956) is an American film and television actor. Ellis always wanted to be an actor because of television. He grew up in the 50's in the deep south in a "world of privation and violence", but saw on television people who seemed to have lives of ease and privilege. It took him seven years to finish college however, because "I have always been shiftless". During those years Chris became involved in community theatre in Memphis, where "I did and do still think the quality of the work has always been quite good". By the time he moved to New York, he had worked with many excellent actors in about two dozen plays, classical and contemporary. "I cannot imagine what might have supplanted that background for a newcomer in New York." His first part in either television or film came in 1979, where he played a truck driver in the TV movie The Suicide's Wife, which starred Angie Dickinson. The role resulted in very little TV or film work. After working in regional theatre for a year or so, Chris fell off the radar screen and did not work for about ten years. During that time he lived in "bone-grinding poverty" in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen. In one nine-month period of 1987, Chris accepted 102 dinner invitations. "I don't know why they kept arriving, nor why I counted them, though I do know why I accepted them." In 1990, a break came when he got a part in Days of Thunder, which starred Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Cary Elwes, Robert Duvall, and Randy Quaid. John C. Reilly and Fred Dalton Thompson also appear. This seemed to jump-start Ellis' career as parts in films like My Cousin Vinny with Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei, a small part in Addams Family Values, and a larger one in Apollo 13 as former NASA Mercury Seven astronaut Deke Slayton, alongside Tom Hanks, followed. He also began picking up credits on well-known television shows like Melrose Place, NYPD Blue, and The X-Files. Since working with Hanks on Apollo 13, the two have worked together on That Thing You Do, the TV miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, and Catch Me If You Can. Ellis returned to a fictional NASA Mission Control when he played a Flight Director in 1998's Armageddon. Additional films in which Ellis has appeared include Home Fries, October Sky, Live Free or Die Hard, and Transformers. His television credits also include The West Wing, Ghost Whisperer, Chicago Hope, The Pretender, Alias, JAG, CSI: NY, Burn Notice, and Cold Case. He appeared in three season one episodes of Millennium as group member Jim Panseayres. He has established a reputation as being particularly talented at portraying Southern lawmakers or serious military or police-type characters. He also appeared in Criminal Minds as Sheriff Jimmy Rhodes who calls for the BAU's help in investigating a string of murders in New Mexico. In addition to that, he also had two guest appearances in NCIS as Gunnery Sergeant John Deluca. Ellis's appearance in the Season 1 episode, "The Curse" was uncredited while his second and final appearance in Season 2's "The Bone Yard" was credited. Description above from the Wikipedia article Chris Ellis (actor), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
Series
The Mentalist
Sherrif Mullery
2008
Series
Criminal Minds
Sheriff Rhodes
2005
Series
NCIS
John Deluca
2003
Series
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Clinton Malton
2000
Series
The Office
Chris O'Keefe
2005
Series
The X-Files
Sheriff Lance Hindt
1993
Series
Young Sheldon
Marty Steinbecker
2017
Series
Mad Men
Del Hill
2007
Series
The West Wing
Congressman Fields
1999
Series
Melrose Place
Cop
1992
Series
Cold Case
Jim Horn (2008)
2003
Series
CSI: NY
Vincent Williams
2004
Series
NYPD Blue
Marshal
1993
Series
Chicago Hope
Bill Erskine
1994
Series
Ghost Whisperer
Captain Ken Nilsen
2005
Series
Diagnosis: Murder
Leonard Wilson
1993
Series
Six Feet Under
Construction Worker #2
2001
Series
Justified
Douglas Cooper
2010
Series
Las Vegas
Dr. Sassen
2003
Series
9-1-1: Lone Star
Derek Poole
2020
Series
The Practice
Zoning Board Chairman Donald Blane
1997
Film
The Dark Knight Rises
Fr. Reilly
2012
Series
Veronica Mars
Reverend Ted Capistrano
2004
Series
Burn Notice
Virgil Watkins
2007
Series
The Unit
Congressman Bruce Gelber
2006
Series
Warehouse 13
Colonel Arnold Cassell
2009
Series
Arli$$
Henneman
1996
Series
Arli$$
Maynard Dupree
1996
Film
Catch Me If You Can
Special Agent Witkins
2002
Series
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Hayes
2008
Series
K.C. Undercover
Christos Markos
2015
Film
Apollo 13
Deke Slayton
1995
Series
The Pretender
Daniel Crockett
1996
Series
In Plain Sight
Reidell
2008
Series
Millennium
Jim Penseyres
1996
Series
Roswell
T. Greer
1999
Series
Family Law
Mr. Reese
1999
Film
The Island
Aces & Spades Barman
2005
Film
Armageddon
Flight Director Clark
1998
Film
Con Air
BOP Official Grant
1997
Series
Law & Order: LA
Walter Exley
2010
Series
Harry's Law
2011
Series
From the Earth to the Moon
Bob Parker
1998
Film
Live Free or Die Hard
Capt. Jack Scalvino
2007
Series
Murder One
Mr. Switzer
1995
Film
Crimson Tide
Additional Magician
1995
Film
Addams Family Values
Moving Man
1993
Film
Godzilla
General Anderson
1998
Series
The Finder
Warden Nick Larsen
2012
Film
Planet of the Apes
Commander Karl Vasich
2001
Series
Homecoming
Richard Lehmann
2018
Film
Days of Thunder
Harlem Hoogerhyde
1990
Series
Space: Above and Beyond
Adm. Stenner
1995
Film
My Cousin Vinny
J.T.
1992
Series
Fairly Legal
Maddox Resor
2011
Film
The Guest
Hendricks
2014
Series
The Good Guys
Beau Teague
2010
Film
G-Force
NSA Director
2009
Series
Alias
Agent Chapman
2001
Film
Fun with Dick and Jane
Vice President - Grand Cayman Bank
2005
Film
Bean
Detective Butler
1997
Series
Promised Land
Brian Pascal
1996
Film
Transformers
Admiral Brigham
2007
Series
Birds of Prey
Larry Ketterly
2002
Series
Vanished
Shelton
2006
Film
October Sky
Principal Turner
1999
Film
That Thing You Do!
Phil Horace
1996
Film
A Little Princess
Policeman
1995
Film
Wag the Dog
Officer
1997
Series
First Monday
2002
Series
Political Animals
Jubal Jacobs
2012
Film
The Watcher
Hollis
2000
Film
The Devil's Rejects
Coggs
2005
Film
McFarland, USA
Coach Jenks (as Chris Ellis Jr.)
2015
Film
Domestic Disturbance
Detective Warren
2001
Film
The Show
Keller
2017
Film
Wonderland
Captain Nimziki
2003
Film
Jessabelle
Sheriff Pruitt
2014
Film
Home Fries
Henry Lever
1998
Film
In Enemy Hands
Samuel Littleton
2004
Film
Tiger Cruise
Captain Anderson
2004
Film
The Oath
Hank
2018
Film
Undercover Blues
Burt
1993
Film
If These Walls Could Talk
Crowd Leader
1996
Film
Faults
Dad
2014
Film
Daddy and Them
Dewey
2001
Film
Helter Skelter
Sgt. Whiteley
2004
Film
Love Liza
Patriot Model Aeronautics Clerk
2002
Film
Teenage Dirtbag
Pops
2009
Film
Her Costly Affair
Wes
1996
Film
The Darkroom
Jackson
2006
Film
Crazy
Glen the Carousel Manager
2008
Film
Gospel Hill
L Donn Murray
2008
Film
On the Line
Officer Roux
1998
Film
Believe in Me
Jim Stovall
2006
Film
What Still Remains
Harvey
2018
Film
Silo
Mr. Adler
2021
Film
Amelia 2.0
Senator Thaddeus Williams
2017
Film
In the Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance
News Vendor
1994
Film
Beyond the City Limits
Det. Hanson
2001
Film
Sparkler
Buddy #1
1997
Film
Sissy Frenchfry
Willinger McDodey
2006
Film
The Tie That Binds
Security Guard #1
1995
Film
The Ghost Trap
Doug Kane
2024
Film
Death and Texas
Phillip Brodeur
2004
Film
Pitching Tents
Principal Don Bishop
2017
Film
My Dinner with Jimi
Sergeant
2003
Film
Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn
Clown
1982
Film
Kenny
Al
2018