Alan Ruck | |
---|---|
![]() Ruck in 2019 | |
Born | Alan Douglas Ruck July 1, 1956 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
Alma mater | University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (BFA) |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1983–present |
Spouse(s) |
|
Children | 4 |
Alan Douglas Ruck (born July 1, 1956) is an American actor, best known for portraying Cameron Frye, Ferris Bueller's best friend, in John Hughes's film Ferris Bueller's Day Off ; Stuart Bondek, a lecherous, power-hungry member of the mayor's staff in the ABC sitcom Spin City ; and Connor Roy, the eldest son of a media magnate, in the HBO series Succession . His other notable parts include those in Bad Boys (1983), Three Fugitives (1989), Young Guns II (1990), Speed (1994), Twister (1996), and Kickin' It Old Skool (2007). In 2016, he co-starred with Geena Davis in an updated Fox TV adaptation of William Peter Blatty's best-selling novel The Exorcist.
Ruck was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to a schoolteacher mother and a father who worked for a pharmaceutical company. [1] He attended Parma Senior High School located in Parma, Ohio, and graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.F.A. in drama in 1979. [2] He recalled:
After school, I went up to Chicago, because I didn't really know anybody in New York or Los Angeles, and I knew people who were doing plays in Chicago. So I went up there, and I knocked around a little bit. And I guess about a year after I was out of school, I got my first job.
Ruck made his Broadway debut in 1985 in Neil Simon's Biloxi Blues with Matthew Broderick. Early on, Ruck was a prominent stage actor at many theaters around the country, including Wisdom Bridge Theatre in Chicago. In his initial foray into film acting, Ruck appeared in Class and Hard Knocks as well as some television films. [2]
Ruck's first film role was in the 1983 drama film Bad Boys , in which he played Carl Brennan, Sean Penn's friend in the film. The same year he played Roger Jackson in Class , with his role as Cameron Frye, Ferris Bueller's hypochondriac best friend in John Hughes' Ferris Bueller's Day Off coming three years later. One of his other film roles was in the 1987 film Three for the Road .
Ruck later appeared in the 1989 comedy film Three Fugitives . Following that, he played a significant role as Hendry William French in Young Guns II , the 1990 sequel to Young Guns . He also played Captain John Harriman of the USS Enterprise-B in the 1994 film Star Trek Generations , a role that he has reprised along with Generations co-star Walter Koenig and other Trek alumni in the fan film Of Gods and Men . [3] Alan also played an annoying tourist named Doug Stephens on an ill-fated bus in the blockbuster Speed . Another supporting role was of the eccentric storm chaser Robert 'Rabbit' Nurick in the 1996 disaster film Twister . [4]
From 1990 to 1991, Ruck starred as Chicago ad man Charlie Davis, in the ABC series Going Places . ABC canceled the series after one season (22 episodes). He appeared in the series Daddy's Girls in 1994, which was canceled after three episodes. From 1996 to 2002, Alan played Stuart Bondek in the sitcom Spin City alongside Michael J. Fox and later, Charlie Sheen. In 2005, he played Leo Bloom in the Broadway version of Mel Brooks' The Producers , a role also played by his Ferris Bueller co-star, Matthew Broderick.
Ruck was then cast in the pilot of the Tim Minear-created Fox Network series Drive , but did not appear in the actual series. He also starred in one episode of the Comedy Central sitcom Stella as Richard, a man looking for work. He later starred in the season two Scrubs episode "My Lucky Day" as a patient, and played reporter Steve Jacobson on the ESPN miniseries The Bronx Is Burning .
In 1998, Ruck guest starred in the fifth episode of the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon as the NASA engineer Tom Dolan.
In 2006, Ruck guest starred in a single episode of Stargate Atlantis called "The Real World" and, in 2007, as unscrupulous property developer Albert Bunford in an episode of Medium .
In the 2007 comedy Kickin' It Old Skool , he appears as Dr. Frye, a possible connection to Cameron Frye; he even mentions still trying to pay off an old Ferrari, a reference to Cameron totaling his dad's Ferrari in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Ruck played the part of a ghost of a family man in the 2008 film Ghost Town starring Ricky Gervais. In 2009, he had a minor role as a married man named Frank in an episode of Cougar Town . In his role, he has problems with his marriage due to a crush he had long ago on Jules, played by Courteney Cox.
Ruck also has a small role in the 2008 M. Night Shyamalan film The Happening . He played the role of Dean Bowman in the college fraternity drama Greek . He appeared in a guest role as a manic geologist in an episode of Eureka . Additionally, he plays Mr. Cooverman in the film I Love You, Beth Cooper . In 2009, Ruck filmed the medical drama Extraordinary Measures [5] [6] in Portland, Oregon, with star Harrison Ford.
Ruck then appeared as a bank robber in a season three episode of the USA Network series Psych , and as a lawyer in season five of the ABC series Boston Legal . He recently guest starred as Martin, a magazine reporter, on an episode of Ruby & the Rockits entitled "We Are Family?".
In 2010, Ruck was cast as a lead character in the NBC mystery-drama, Persons Unknown . He also guest-starred on the television show Fringe as a scientist turned criminal, in the NCIS: Los Angeles season two episode "Borderline", and guest-starred as ex-money laundering accountant turned dentist on an episode of Justified entitled "Long in the Tooth". He also appeared in the Grey's Anatomy season five episode "In The Midnight Hour".
In 2012, Ruck was cast in the ABC Family series Bunheads as the husband to Sutton Foster's character, Michelle. In 2013, he appeared in NCIS, guest-starring in the season 11 episode, "Gut Check".
In autumn 2016, Ruck began a 10-episode run on The Exorcist as Henry Rance, the husband (who has suffered mild brain damage in a vaguely explained accident) of Angela Rance (Geena Davis), better known as the adult Regan MacNeil, the tortured girl (played by Linda Blair) who is possessed by a demon in the 1973 hit film The Exorcist . This Fox TV adaptation is "inspired by" the 1971 William Peter Blatty best-selling novel. In this update, the demon that tortured Regan/Angela as a girl did not die as it did at the end of the feature film, and it now inhabits one of Angela and Henry's daughters. Once again, they must turn to exorcism-practicing priests (Alfonso Herrera and Ben Daniels) for help. Regan/Angela's mother, Chris MacNeil (played by recurring guest star Sharon Gless and Ellen Burstyn in the feature film), is welcomed by the rest of the family but utterly scorned by her own daughter.
![]() | This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification . (December 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
Ruck married Claudia Stefany in 1984, and they had two children: a daughter, Emma, and a son, Sam. They divorced in 2005. He married actress Mireille Enos on January 4, 2008. They met in 2005 while co-starring in the Broadway revival of Absurd Person Singular . Mireille gave birth to their daughter Vesper in 2010. Their son Larkin was born in July 2014. [7]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Bad Boys | Carl Brennan | |
1983 | Class | Roger Jackson | |
1986 | Ferris Bueller's Day Off | Cameron Frye | |
1987 | Three for the Road | T.S. | |
1989 | Three Fugitives | Inspector Tener | |
1989 | Bloodhounds of Broadway | John Wangle | |
1990 | Young Guns II | Hendry William French | |
1994 | Speed | Doug Stephens | |
1994 | Star Trek Generations | John Harriman | |
1995 | Born to Be Wild | Dan Woodley | |
1996 | Twister | Robert "Rabbit" Nurick | |
1998 | Walking to the Waterline | Duane Hopwood | |
2000 | Everything Put Together | Kessel | |
2003 | Cheaper by the Dozen | Bill Shenk | |
2007 | Kickin' It Old Skool | Dr. Frye | |
2007 | InAlienable | Dr. Proway | |
2008 | The Happening | School Principal | |
2008 | Ghost Town | Ghost Dad | |
2008 | Eavesdrop | Casper | |
2008 | Star Trek: Of Gods and Men | John Harriman | |
2009 | I Love You, Beth Cooper | Mr. Cooverman | |
2009 | Don't You Forget About Me | Himself | |
2010 | Extraordinary Measures | Pete Sutphen | |
2012 | Goats | Dr. Eldridge | |
2012 | Shanghai Calling | Marcus Groff | |
2013 | Zombie Night | Joseph | |
2015 | Deathly | Richard | Short |
2016 | Carnage Park | Sheriff Wyatt Moss | |
2016 | Dreamland | Walter | |
2017 | War Machine | Lt. Gen. Pat McKinnon | |
2018 | Gringo | Jerry | |
2018 | Sierra Burgess Is a Loser | Stephen Burgess | |
2019 | Captive State | Charles Rittenhouse | |
2020 | Freaky | Mr. Bernardi |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1984 | Hard Knox | Frankie Tyrone | Television film |
1985 | First Steps | Dave | Television film |
1988 | Shooter | Stork O'Connor | Television film |
1989 | The Famous Teddy Z | Sheldon Samms | Episode: "Teddy Sells the House" |
1990–1991 | Going Places | Charlie Davis | 19 episodes |
1992–1993 | The Edge | Various | 13 episodes |
1993 | Picket Fences | Patrick Gatwood | Episode: "Unlawful Entries" |
1993 | Tales from the Crypt | Carty | Episode: "Oil's Well That Ends Well" |
1994 | Daddy's Girls | Lenny | 3 episodes |
1995 | Muscle | Dr. Marshall Jones | 13 episodes |
1995–1996 | Mad About You | Lance Brockwell | 4 episodes |
1996 | The Outer Limits | Howard Sharp | Episode: "Unnatural Selection" |
1996–2002 | Spin City | Stewart Bondek | Main cast; 140 episodes |
1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | Tom Dolan | Episode: "Spider" |
1998 | The Ransom of Red Chief | Ambrose Dorset | Television film |
2002 | Scrubs | Mr. Bragin | Episode: "My Lucky Day" |
2003 | Queens Supreme | Dr. Katz | Episode: "That Voodoo That You Do" |
2005 | Stella | Richard | Episode: "Coffee Shop" |
2006 | Stargate Atlantis | Dr. Fletcher | Episode: "The Real World" |
2007 | Drive | John Ashton | Episode: "Unaired Pilot" |
2007 | Medium | Albert Bunford | Episode: "Second Opinion" |
2007 | The Bronx Is Burning | Reporter Steve Jacobson | 8 episodes |
2007 | Ghost Whisperer | Steve Sinclair | Episode: "Bad Blood" |
2007–2011 | Greek | Dean Bowman | 6 episodes |
2008 | Eureka | Dr. Hood | Episode: "Best In Faux" |
2008 | Boston Legal | Wayne Davidson | Episode: "Kill, Baby, Kill!" |
2008, 2014 | Psych | Phil Stubbins / Ruben Leonard | Episodes: "Gus Walks Into a Bank" and "Remake A.K.A. Cloudy... With a Chance of Improvement" |
2009 | Ruby & the Rockits | Martin Wexler | Episode: "We Are Family?" |
2009 | FlashForward | Tomasi | Episode: "White to Play" |
2009 | Cougar Town | Frank Miller | Episode: "Two Gunslingers" |
2010 | CSI: Miami | Dr. Allan Beckham | Episode: "Show Stopper" |
2010 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Buddy Mills | Episode: "Unshockable" |
2010 | Numbers | Arnold Winslow | Episode: "Growin' Up" |
2010 | Persons Unknown | Charlie Morse | 13 episodes |
2010 | Rules of Engagement | Dr. Greenblatt | Episode: "The Four Pillars" |
2010 | Justified | Roland Pike | Episode: "Long in the Tooth" |
2010 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Donald Wexling | Episode: "Borderline" |
2011 | Fringe | Dr. Krick | Episode: "Os" |
2011 | Five | Sam Jarente | Television film |
2012–2013 | Bunheads | Hubbell Flowers | 3 episodes |
2012 | Ben and Kate | Principal Geoff Feeney | Episode: "Bad Cop/Bad Cop" |
2012 | Hawaii Five-0 | Brian Slater | Episode: "Ohuna" |
2013 | Hot in Cleveland | Reverend Lare | Episode: "Magic Diet Candy" |
2013 | Burn Notice | Max Lyster | Episode: "Reckoning" |
2013 | We Are Men | Minister | Episode: "Pilot" |
2013 | Zombie Night | Joseph | Television film |
2013 | Masters of Sex | Psychiatrist | 2 episodes |
2013 | NCIS | Ward Davis | Episode: "Gut Check" |
2013 | Super Fun Night | Spencer Quinn | Episode: "Merry Super Fun Christmas" |
2014 | Intelligence | Jonathan Cain | Episode: "Cain and Gabriel" |
2014 | Instant Mom | Mr. Shank | Episode: "Teacher's Pest" |
2015 | Hindsight | Harry Lavigne | Episode: "...Then I'll Know" |
2015 | The Whispers | Alex Myers | 4 episodes |
2015 | Major Crimes | Special Agent Jerry Shea | Episode: "Hostage to Fortune" |
2015 | Sofia the First | Herb (voice) | 2 episodes |
2016 | The Middle | Mr. Kershaw | Episodes: "Birds of a Feather" and "Film, Friends and Fruit Pies" |
2016 | Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life | Mark Barrett | Episode: "How to Survive Your Parents' Visit" |
2016 | The Catch | Gordon Bailey | Episodes: "The Trial" and "The Happy Couple" |
2016 | The Exorcist | Henry Rance | 10 episodes |
2016 | The Loud House | Lord Tetherby, Cop (voices) | Episode: "Out on a Limo" |
2018–present | Succession | Connor Roy | Main role |
2018 | My Dinner with Hervé | Stu Chambers | Television film |
2018 | Dirty John | John Dzialo | Episode: "One Shoe" |
2019 | One Day at a Time | Lawrence Schneider | Episode: "The Man" |
The Exorcist is a 1971 horror novel by American writer William Peter Blatty. The book details the demonic possession of eleven-year-old Regan MacNeil, the daughter of a famous actress, and the two priests who attempt to exorcise the demon. Published by Harper & Row, the novel was the basis of a highly successful film adaption released two years later, whose screenplay was also written and produced by Blatty, and part of The Exorcist franchise.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a 1986 American teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes, and co-produced by Tom Jacobson. The film stars Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller, a high-school slacker who skips school for a day in Chicago, with Mia Sara and Alan Ruck. Ferris regularly breaks the fourth wall to explain his techniques and inner thoughts.
Lyman Ward is a Canadian actor.
Lara Flynn Boyle is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her role as Donna Hayward in the ABC cult television series Twin Peaks (1990–1991). After portraying Stacy in Penelope Spheeris's comedy Wayne's World (1992), Boyle had a lead role in John Dahl's critically acclaimed neo-noir film Red Rock West (1993), followed by roles in Threesome (1994), Cafe Society (1995), and Happiness (1998). From 1997 to 2003, Boyle portrayed Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in the ABC television series The Practice for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
John Billingsley is an American actor known for his role as Doctor Phlox on the television series Star Trek: Enterprise.
Jeffrey Duncan Jones is an American actor, best known for his roles as Emperor Joseph II in Amadeus (1984), Edward R. Rooney in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), Charles Deetz in Beetlejuice (1988), Eddie Barzoon in The Devil’s Advocate (1997), and A. W. Merrick in both Deadwood (2004–2006) and Deadwood: The Movie (2019). His career started in Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and advanced to London and Broadway. In film and television, Jones has had many roles which capitalized on his deadpan portrayal of characters in unusual situations, often to comic effect. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance in Amadeus and a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the ensemble cast of Deadwood.
Jennifer Grey is an American actress. She made her acting debut starring as Cathy Bennario in the film Reckless (1984). She soon gained worldwide recognition for her role as Jeanie Bueller in the teen comedy film Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), and earned critical acclaim for starring as Frances "Baby" Houseman in the romantic drama film Dirty Dancing (1987), for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination. Her other feature films include Red Dawn (1984), The Cotton Club (1984), Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989), Bounce (2000), Redbelt (2008), The Wind Rises (2013), In Your Eyes (2014), Duck Duck Goose (2018), and Bittersweet Symphony (2019).
Kristen Noel Swanson is an American actress. She is best recognized for having played Buffy Summers in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer and appeared in the 1996 film The Phantom.
Cindy Pickett is an American actress.
Ferris Bueller is an American sitcom television series based on the 1986 John Hughes film Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The show stars Charlie Schlatter in the title role. The series debuted on August 23, 1990, on NBC and was cancelled within its first season, a few months after its debut. The show was produced by Maysh, Ltd. Productions in association with Paramount Television. Hughes was not involved in the show's production.
James Hong is an American actor, voice actor, producer, and director of Chinese descent. He has worked in numerous productions in American media since the 1950s, playing a variety of East Asian roles.
Regan Teresa MacNeil is a fictional character from William Peter Blatty's horror novel and film adaptation The Exorcist as a supporting character and its first sequel, Exorcist II: The Heretic, and the sequel television series The Exorcist as one of the main protagonists in season one. She was portrayed by Linda Blair in both films and by Geena Davis in the television series.
Charles Thomas Schlatter is an American actor and voice actor, who has appeared in numerous films and television series. He is best known as the titular lead in the Ferris Bueller TV series, for playing Dr. Jesse Travis, the student of Dr. Mark Sloan, in the CBS series Diagnosis: Murder and for starring in the big screen comedy 18 Again!, opposite George Burns. Since the early 2000s, he has been primarily a voice actor.
Cristine Sue Rose is an American actress. She has also been credited as Christine Rose. She is best known for her role as Angela Petrelli on the hit NBC science fiction drama Heroes.
Marie Mireille Enos is an American actress. Drawn to acting from a young age, she graduated in performing arts from Brigham Young University, where she was awarded the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. Having made her acting debut in the 1994 television film Without Consent, she has since received nominations for a Tony Award, a Golden Globe Award, and an Emmy Award.
John Smith was an American actor remembered in particular for his leading roles in two NBC western television series, Cimarron City and Laramie.
Pazuzu is the main antagonist in The Exorcist horror novels and film series, created by William Peter Blatty. Blatty derived the character from Assyrian and Babylonian mythology, where the historic Pazuzu was considered the king of the demons of the wind, and the son of the god Hanbi. In The Exorcist, Pazuzu appears as a demon who possesses Regan MacNeil.
"Os" is the 16th episode of the third season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and the 59th episode overall. The episode centered on the Fringe team's investigation into a series of robberies of the element osmium, which they connect to a scientist who is able to defy the laws of physics.
The Exorcist is an American media franchise that originated with William Peter Blatty's 1971 horror novel of the same name and most prominently featured in a 1973 film adapted from the novel, and many subsequent prequels and sequels. All of these installments focus on fictional accounts of people possessed by Pazuzu, the main antagonist of the series, and the efforts of religious authorities to counter this possession.
The Exorcist is an American supernatural horror television series created by Jeremy Slater for Fox. Part of The Exorcist franchise, the series serves as a direct sequel to the original 1973 film and ignores the film's various sequels. Alfonso Herrera and Ben Daniels star as a pair of exorcists who investigate cases of demonic possession.
![]() | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alan Ruck . |