William Devane
William Joseph Devane (born September 5, 1937) is an American film, television and theater actor, known for his role as Greg Sumner on the primetime soap opera Knots Landing and as James Heller on the Fox serial drama 24, the role he reprised in Live Another Day. He is also known for his supporting roles in films such as McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Family Plot), Marathon Man, Rolling Thunder and Space Cowboys.
Devane began his acting career with the New York Shakespeare Festival where he performed in 15 plays. In 1966, Devane portrayed Robert F. Kennedy in the Off-Broadway spoof MacBird. He gained acclaim for his role as President John F. Kennedy in a television docudrama about the Cuban Missile Crisis, The Missiles of October, and again when he played blacklisted radio personality John Henry Faulk in the Emmy Award-winning TV movie Fear on Trial. He is widely known for his ten years as the ambitious and hardnosed politician-turned-corporate titan Greg Sumner on Knots Landing.
In 1994, Devane appeared as Al Capone in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman in an episode entitled "That Old Gang of Mine". He also had a recurring role on the CBS show Early Edition as the lead character's father. Devane appeared in the films McCabe & Mrs. Miller; Lady Liberty; Family Plot; Marathon Man; Rolling Thunder; Yanks; Testament; Timestalkers; Forgotten Sins; Exception to the Rule; Payback; Hollow Man and Space Cowboys.
Devane has played members of the Presidential Cabinet on two evening dramas. In 2004, on The West Wing, he guest-starred as the Secretary of State and potential Vice-Presidential nominee. Devane appeared in several scenes with Martin Sheen; they also appeared together as President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert, respectively, 30 years earlier in The Missiles of October. In 2005, he joined the cast of 24 as Secretary of Defense James Heller for seasons 4, 5 and 6.
Known for
NCIS
Nicolas Mason
Stargate SG-1
President Hayes
The X-Files
General Mark Suveg
Psych
Peters
24
James Heller
Interstellar
Williams
Revenge
Edward Grayson
The West Wing
Lewis Berryhill
Bosch: Legacy
Whitney Vance
Mannix
Al Kordic
Knots Landing
Greg Sumner
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Al Capone
Medical Center
Dr. Ray Waltham
The Dark Knight Rises
President
Touched by an Angel
Benjamin Parker
Gunsmoke
Moss Stratton
Early Edition
Bernie Hobson
From Here to Eternity
Sgt. Milt Warden
Phenom
Lou Della Rosa
The Snoop Sisters
David Prine
Hollow Man
Dr. Kramer
Space Cowboys
Eugene Davis
Payback
Carter
Hope and Gloria
William Devane
The Grinder
Dean Sanderson Sr.
Ancient Secrets of the Bible
Host & Narrator
Stargate: Continuum
President Henry Hayes
Crumbs
Billy Crumb
Marathon Man
Janeway
The Missiles of October
John F. Kennedy - US President
A Woman Named Jackie
Black Jack Bouvier
Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac
Greg Sumner
The Kane Files: Life of Trial
Thompson
Virus
Dr. Harbuck
Truth
Gen. Hodges (voice) (uncredited)
Turks
Sergeant Joseph Turk
The Michael Richards Show
Brady McKay
Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise
Dr. Dix
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
The Lawyer
Family Plot
Arthur Adamson
Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise
Dr. Dix
The Badge
The Judge
Rolling Thunder
Major Charles Rane
Black Beauty
John Manly
Monte Walsh
Cal Brennan
Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost
Dr. Dix
The Bait
Earl Stokey
The Preppie Murder
Jack Litman
Yanks
John
Testament
Tom Wetherly
Freefall: Flight 174
Capt. Bob Pearson
Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt
Dr. Dix
Honky Tonk Freeway
Mayor Kirby T. Calo
The River Why
Dutch Hines
Jesse Stone: Sea Change
Dr. Dix
Jesse Stone: No Remorse
Dr. Dix
The Monroes
50 to 1
Leonard Doc Blach
Bad Turn Worse
Big Red
Jesse Stone: Thin Ice
Dr. Dix
A Christmas Visitor
George Boyajian
Night Watch
Nick Caldwell
Report to the Commissioner
Asst. D.A. Jackson
Lady Liberty
Jock Fenner
The Dark
Roy Warner, aka Steve Dupree
Fear on Trial
John Henry Faulk
The Absolute Truth
Sen. Emmett Hunter
Red Flag: The Ultimate Game
Maj. Phil Clark
Race to Space
Roger Thornhill
The Fall
judge Stanley Seeban
Leprechaun's Revenge
Pop O'Hara
The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training
Mike Leak
Timestalkers
Scott McKenzie
Lady in Waiting
Lt. Barrett
The Pursuit of Happiness
Pilot
Vital Signs
Dr. Chatham
Good Morning, Killer
Everett Morgan Gray
The Dealership
Frank Carson
With Intent to Kill
Aaron Charney
Obsessed
Ed Bledsoe
Hadley's Rebellion
Coach Ball
For the Love of Nancy
Tom
Murder C.O.D.
Alex Brandt
The Other Victim
Harry Langford
Prophet of Evil: The Ervil LeBaron Story
Daniel 'Dan' Fields
In the Country
Poor White Trash
Ron Lake
The Man Who Used to Be Me
Older Sam Ryan
Judgment: The Court Martial of the Tiger of Malaya — General Yamashita
Threat of Exposure
Col. Weldon
The Missiles of October
President John F. Kennedy
Deceit
Grove McCarthy
Exception to the Rule
Lawrence Kellerman
Miracle on the Mountain: The Kincaid Family Story
Tom Kincaid
The President's Child
Elliot McSwain
Plotting 'Family Plot'
Self
Flag of My Father
Jake
Nightmare in Columbia County
Sheriff Jim Metts
The Irish Whiskey Rebellion
LT. Ashley
Red Alert
Frank Brolen
The Least Among You
Alan Beckett
Jane Doe
William Quinn
Rubdown
Harry Orwitz
Crime Club
Kilburn
Doomsday Rock
Dr. Karl Sorenson
Forgotten Sins
Dr. Richard Ofshe
Chips, the War Dog
Col. Charnley
The 300-Year Weekend
Tom
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
My Old Man's Place
Jimmy Pilgrim