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John Getz

John Getz

Born: 1946-10-15 • Davenport, Iowa, U.S.

​John Getz (born October 15, 1946) is an American actor. Getz dropped out of college to attend the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. While working in a winery, he helped found the Theater Company in Napa County, California. His location in the grape-growing Napa Valley led to Getz's television debut in a made-for-television horror film Killer Bees. Killer Bees starred Gloria Swanson, Craig Stevens, Kate Jackson, and Edward Albert. Getz then moved to New York City, where he became active in local theater while doing an 18-month stint as Neil Johnson on the soap opera Another World.

Getz appeared in The Happy Hooker and followed up with several other roles before starring in the Coen Brothers' neo-noir thriller Blood Simple. He played the doomed lover of a married woman (Frances McDormand) who woefully misinterprets his increasingly complex circumstances.

Getz also appeared in The Fly and The Fly II as Stathis Borans, a science magazine editor who pays a heavy price for his curiosity. Also in 1989, he played a Marine Corps Major in Born on the Fourth of July. In 1991, Getz appeared as the unpleasant boyfriend of professional women in Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead and Curly Sue. In 1990, Getz appeared as a crime boss in the Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez spoof Men At Work. In 1994, he appeared in the film Playmaker, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Rubin.

In 2007, he had a role in David Fincher's film Zodiac. Also in 2007, he appeared in Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman's documentary film Nanking as George Ashmore Fitch, head of the local YMCA and administrative director of the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone. Getz also had a role in Fincher's film The Social Network, about the founding of Facebook. He appeared in the suspense thriller Elevator as a Wall Street executive trapped in an elevator with a group of strangers, one of whom has a bomb. Written and produced by Marc Rosenberg and directed by Stig Svendsen, Elevator was released in July 2012. He appeared in Trumbo (2015) as director Sam Wood.

Through the decades, Getz has guest-starred in many television series, including Barney Miller and Three's Company, where he played Lee Tripper, brother of Jack Tripper. He has guest-starred in How I Met Your Mother, Prison Break, The King of Queens and Private Practice, and had recurring roles in Homeland, Timeless and Bosch.

Description above from the Wikipedia article John Getz, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Filmography
The Dead Don't Hurt poster
The Dead Don't Hurt
2024 • Reverend Simpson
Body at Brighton Rock poster
Body at Brighton Rock
2019 • Sheriff
Brampton's Own poster
Brampton's Own
2018 • Bart
Certain Women poster
Certain Women
2016 • Sheriff Rowles
Trumbo poster
Trumbo
2015 • Sam Wood
The Perfect Guy poster
The Perfect Guy
2015 • Renkin
Eagleheart: Paradise Rising poster
Eagleheart: Paradise Rising
2013 • Bernard Moss
Jobs poster
Jobs
2013 • Paul Jobs
Desperate Acts of Magic poster
Desperate Acts of Magic
2013 • Don Tarzia
Elevator poster
Elevator
2013 • Henry Barton
How Did They Ever Make a Movie of Facebook? poster
How Did They Ever Make a Movie of Facebook?
2011 • Self / Sy
The Social Network poster
The Social Network
2010 • Sy
A Line in the Sand poster
A Line in the Sand
2008 • Captain McClenon
Superhero Movie poster
Superhero Movie
2008 • Lunatic Editor
Hard Four poster
Hard Four
2007 • Blazedell Woodruff
Zodiac poster
Zodiac
2007 • Templeton Peck
Nanking poster
Nanking
2007 • George Fitch
No Image
Home, James, and Don't Spare the Horses
2006 • Maurice Perrin
Living 'til the End poster
Living 'til the End
2005 • Mr. Hines
Fear of the Flesh: The Making of The Fly poster
Fear of the Flesh: The Making of The Fly
2005 • Self
Mystery Woman: Sing Me a Murder poster
Mystery Woman: Sing Me a Murder
2005 • Dan
A Day Without a Mexican poster
A Day Without a Mexican
2004 • Senator Abercombie
Hunger Point poster
Hunger Point
2003 • David Hunter
Zenon: The Zequel poster
Zenon: The Zequel
2001 • General Hammond
Held for Ransom poster
Held for Ransom
2000 • Mr. Kirkland
Some Girl poster
Some Girl
1998 • Claire's Father
Painted Hero poster
Painted Hero
1997 • Sheriff Acuff
Mojave Moon poster
Mojave Moon
1996 • Police Officer
A Friend's Betrayal poster
A Friend's Betrayal
1996 • Dennis Hewitt
The Late Shift poster
The Late Shift
1996 • Brandon Tartikoff
Awake to Danger poster
Awake to Danger
1995 • Steve Murdock
Fortunes of War poster
Fortunes of War
1994 • Franklin Hewitt
A Passion to Kill poster
A Passion to Kill
1994 • Jerry
Untamed Love poster
Untamed Love
1994 • Dan
Playmaker poster
Playmaker
1994 • Eddie
Betrayal of Trust poster
Betrayal of Trust
1994 • Curt
Triumph Over Disaster: The Hurricane Andrew Story poster
Triumph Over Disaster: The Hurricane Andrew Story
1993 • Doug Hulin
Majority Rule poster
Majority Rule
1992 • Paul Taylor
In My Daughter's Name poster
In My Daughter's Name
1992 • Michael Elias
Curly Sue poster
Curly Sue
1991 • Walker McCormick
Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead poster
Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
1991 • Gus
Men at Work poster
Men at Work
1990 • Maxwell Potterdam III
Born on the Fourth of July poster
Born on the Fourth of July
1989 • Marine Major - Vietnam
The Fly II poster
The Fly II
1989 • Stathis Borans
Police Story: Burnout poster
Police Story: Burnout
1988 • Sgt. Jack Leland
The Fly poster
The Fly
1986 • Stathis Borans
No Image
I Want To Go Home
1985 • Thomas Sanders
Blood Simple poster
Blood Simple
1985 • Ray
Thief of Hearts poster
Thief of Hearts
1984 • Ray Davis
Concrete Beat poster
Concrete Beat
1984 • Mickey Thompson
No Image
Not in Front of the Children
1982 • Dr. Paul Adams
Muggable Mary: Street Cop poster
Muggable Mary: Street Cop
1982 • Dan Waters
Tattoo poster
Tattoo
1981 • Buddy
Rivkin: Bounty Hunter poster
Rivkin: Bounty Hunter
1981 • Lester Dederow
Kent State poster
Kent State
1981 • Prof. Ted Arnold
The Sentinel poster
The Sentinel
1977 • Film Crew (uncredited)
The Happy Hooker poster
The Happy Hooker
1975 • Trout Fisherman
Killer Bees poster
Killer Bees
1974 • Attendant