Geoff Pierson is an American actor known for his starring television roles on '' Dexter'', ''

Unhappily Ever After ''Unhappily Ever After'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for 100 episodes on The WB from January 11, 1995, to May 23, 1999, for a total of five seasons. The series was produced by Touchstone Television. Synopsis The series fo ...

'', '' Grace Under Fire'', '' 24'', '' Ryan's Hope'', and '' Designated Survivor''. He has guest-starred in dozens of other TV shows.

Career

Pierson appeared with

George C. Scott George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 – September 22, 1999) was an American actor, director, and producer who had a celebrated career on both stage and screen. With a gruff demeanor and commanding presence, Scott became known for his port ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in ''Tricks Of The Trade'', before continuing on to do several New York soap operas and many regional theater plays. Some notable theatrical roles include Angelo in '' Measure For Measure'' at the

Yale Rep Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of Yale School of Drama, in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented student ...

, Stanley in '' A Streetcar Named Desire'' at the Penn Ctr. Stage, Bobby in '' Speed The Plough'' at the Philadelphia Theatre Company, and Ricky in '' Glengarry Glen Ross'' and Teach in ''

American Buffalo American Buffalo may refer to: *American Buffalo (play), ''American Buffalo'' (play), a play by David Mamet *American Buffalo (film), ''American Buffalo'' (film), a 1996 film of Mamet's play directed by Michael Corrente *American Buffalo (coin), a ...

'' at the Virginia Stage Company. His most prominent daytime role was as Frank Ryan on '' Ryan's Hope'', a role he played from February 1983 through September 1985. Pierson's first high-profile prime-time television role was as Jack Malloy, the head of a

dysfunctional family A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often child neglect or abuse and sometimes even all of the above on the part of individual parents occur continuously and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such ...

, in

The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on terrestrial television, broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture be ...

sitcom ''Unhappily Ever After'', which was created by

Ron Leavitt Ronald Leavitt (November 7, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American television writer and producer. He was the co-creator (with Michael G. Moye) of the American television show '' Married... with Children''. The show's 259 episodes over ...

, one of the creators of FOX's '' Married... with Children''. Other TV roles include a leading role as R.T. Howard on ''

That 80's Show ''That '80s Show'' is an American television sitcom set in 1984 that aired from January to May 2002 on Fox. Even though it had a similar name, show structure, and many of the same writers and production staff, it was not a direct spin-off of t ...

'', and recurring roles on Grace Under Fire, ''

In Plain Sight ''In Plain Sight'' is an American drama television series that premiered on the USA Network on June 1, 2008. The series revolves around Mary Shannon ( Mary McCormack), a Deputy United States Marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico, offic ...

'' (

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

) and '' The Firm'' (

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

). He also had a recurring role as Rodney's long lost dad on the ABC comedy '' Rodney''. In 2005 and 2006 he appeared in two episodes of ''

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series pr ...

'' as Stewart Manning, the father of

Meg Manning ''Veronica Mars'' is an American television series created by Rob Thomas (writer), Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during UPN's last two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Televisi ...

. In 2006, he guest-starred in ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...

'', playing Max Ryan, a former FBI agent-turned-author and

Jason Gideon Jason Gideon is a fictional character in the CBS crime drama ''Criminal Minds,'' portrayed by Mandy Patinkin. Gideon is a Senior Supervisory Special Agent and the unit chief of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, and appeared from the series' pi ...

's mentor who comes out of his retirement to capture a

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

known as the Keystone Killer in the episode, "Unfinished Business". From 2006 to 2013, he portrayed

Miami-Dade Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

Police Captain Tom Matthews on the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

series '' Dexter''. He appeared in the 2008 Clint Eastwood-directed film ''

Changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found in folklore throughout Europe. A changeling was believed to be a fairy that had been left in place of a human (typically a child) stolen by other fairi ...

'' as the flamboyant defense attorney Sammy "S.S." Hahn. In 2011 he portrayed Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer in Eastwood's ''

J. Edgar ''J. Edgar'' is a 2011 American biographical drama film based on the career of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, directed, produced and scored by Clint Eastwood. Written by Dustin Lance Black, the film focuses on Hoover's life from the 1919 Palme ...

''. He appeared in ''

Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American fantasy drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced ...

'', Season 9, Episode 16. Beginning in 2010, he had a recurring role in '' Boardwalk Empire'' as Senator

Walter Edge Walter Evans Edge (November 20, 1873October 29, 1956) was an American diplomat and Republican politician who served as the 36th governor of New Jersey, from 1917 to 1919 and again from 1944 to 1947, during both World War I and World War II. Edge ...

. In 2011, Pierson played Midas Mulligan in ''Atlas Shrugged'', based on Ayn Rand's novel of the same name. He played Russell Dunbar's wealthy father in ''

Rules of Engagement Rules of engagement (ROE) are the internal rules or directives afforded military forces (including individuals) that define the circumstances, conditions, degree, and manner in which the use of force, or actions which might be construed as pro ...

'' and he had a recurring role as the mysterious Mr. Smith on '' Castle''. In 2014 he appeared in an episode of ''

Suburgatory ''Suburgatory'' is an American television sitcom created by Emily Kapnek that aired on ABC from September 28, 2011, to May 14, 2014. The series originally aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30/7:30 Central following '' The Middle''. The title is ...

''. In 2015 he co-starred as Defense Secretary Pierce Grey on HBO's '' The Brink''. Recently, he stars in the former

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

and now,

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

political thriller '' Designated Survivor'', where he portrays Former President of the United States and Secretary of State Cornelius Moss alongside Kiefer Sutherland.

Filmography

Television filmography listed below only includes shows that Pierson appeared in three or more episodes.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pierson, Geoff Living people American male film actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Year of birth missing (living people)