Alexander Harper Berkeley (born December 16, 1955) is an American actor and voice actor. Since beginning his career in the early 1980s, he has appeared in over 200 film and television projects. His film roles include ''
Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991), ''
Candyman'' (1992), ''
Barb Wire'' (1996), ''
Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and used ...
'' (1997), ''
Gattaca
''Gattaca'' is a 1997 American dystopian science fiction thriller film written and directed by Andrew Niccol in his filmmaking debut. It stars Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman with Jude Law, Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, Gore Vidal, and Alan Arki ...
'' (1997), and ''
Shanghai Noon'' (2000). He also appeared in the crime drama ''
Heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
'' (1995) after being cast in ''
L.A. Takedown
''L.A. Takedown'', also called ''L.A. Crimewave'' and ''Made in L.A.'', is a 1989 crime thriller. Originally filmed as an unsuccessful pilot for an NBC television series, it was reworked and aired as a stand-alone TV film. The film was later rel ...
'' (1989), an earlier rendition of the film's script, although he played two different characters on the two different films. On television, he headlined the
Citytv
Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television A ...
psychological thriller ''
The Booth at the End'' (2010–2012) and was a series regular on the
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelv ...
action drama ''
24'' (2001–03) and
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
action thriller ''
Nikita
Nikita may refer to:
* Nikita (given name)
* Nikita, Crimea, a town in Crimea
* Nikita the Tanner, a character in East Slavic folklore
Film and television
*''Little Nikita'', a 1988 film
* ''La Femme Nikita'' (film), also known as ''Nikita'', a 19 ...
'' (2010–2012). As a guest star, Berkeley portrayed
Sheriff Thomas McAllister on the
CBS drama ''
The Mentalist
''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show f ...
'' (2008–13) and
Gregory on the
AMC post-apocalyptic horror ''
The Walking Dead'' (2016–18).
Early life and education
Berkeley was born in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
and raised in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...
. He is of English and Scottish descent.
[ ] He attended
Hampshire College
Hampshire College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges in the Pioneer Valley: Amherst College, Smith College, Mo ...
,
and worked in theaters at the
Five Colleges, including
Smith,
Mount Holyoke
Mount Holyoke, a traprock mountain, elevation , is the westernmost peak of the Holyoke Range and part of the 100-mile (160 km) Metacomet Ridge. The mountain is located in the Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts, and is the na ...
,
Amherst Amherst may refer to:
People
* Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name
* Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst''
* Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...
and the
University of Massachusetts
The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medi ...
. He worked in regional and repertory theaters in addition to
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...
in New York City. A casting agent spotted Berkeley in a play written by
Reynolds Price
Edward Reynolds Price (February 1, 1933 – January 20, 2011) was an American poet, novelist, dramatist, essayist and James B. Duke Professor of English at Duke University. Apart from English literature, Price had a lifelong interest in Bibli ...
called ''Early Dark'' and encouraged him to move to Hollywood.
Career

Berkeley began playing roles in 1981, with early appearances in ''
M*A*S*H
''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker (auth ...
'', ''
Cagney & Lacey
''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very di ...
'', ''
Remington Steele
''Remington Steele'' is an American television series co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from O ...
'', ''
Miami Vice
''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two Me ...
'', ''
Moonlighting'', and ''
The A-Team
''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court m ...
''.
His later television roles included ''
The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
'',
''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', ''
ER'' and ''
Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering o ...
''.
On screen, he has appeared in ''
North Country
North Country may refer to:
Places
* North Country, Cornwall, England
* North Country, the northern third of New Hampshire, U.S.
** Great North Woods Region (New Hampshire)
* North Country (New York), a region of Upstate New York
** North Country ...
'',
''
Terminator 2: Judgment Day'', ''
Mommie Dearest'',
''
Phoenix'', ''
Kick-Ass'',
''
A Few Good Men'', ''
The Rookie'', ''
Candyman'', ''
Apollo 13
Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted af ...
'', ''
Leaving Las Vegas
''Leaving Las Vegas'' is a 1995 American drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis, and based on the semi-autobiographical 1990 novel of the same name by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic in Los Angeles who, havin ...
'', ''
Gattaca
''Gattaca'' is a 1997 American dystopian science fiction thriller film written and directed by Andrew Niccol in his filmmaking debut. It stars Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman with Jude Law, Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, Gore Vidal, and Alan Arki ...
'', ''
The Rock'', ''
Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and used ...
'', ''
Sid and Nancy
''Sid and Nancy'' (also known as ''Sid and Nancy: Love Kills'') is a 1986 British biographical film directed by Alex Cox, co-written with Abbe Wool, and starring Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. The film portrays the life of Sid Vicious, bassist of ...
'',
''
Amistad'', ''
Shanghai Noon'',
''
Barb Wire''
and ''
Timecode
A timecode (alternatively, time code) is a sequence of numeric codes generated at regular intervals by a timing synchronization system. Timecode is used in video production, show control and other applications which require temporal coordinatio ...
''. He appeared in the television film ''
L.A. Takedown
''L.A. Takedown'', also called ''L.A. Crimewave'' and ''Made in L.A.'', is a 1989 crime thriller. Originally filmed as an unsuccessful pilot for an NBC television series, it was reworked and aired as a stand-alone TV film. The film was later rel ...
''
in 1989 and its 1995 acclaimed theatrical remake ''
Heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
'',
directed by
Michael Mann
Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American film director, director, screenwriter, and Film producer, producer of film and television who is best known for his distinctive style of crime drama. His most acclaimed works include ...
. Several of his earlier roles were in films directed by
Alex Cox
Alexander B. H. Cox (born 15 December 1954) is an English film director, screenwriter, actor, non-fiction author and broadcaster. Cox experienced success early in his career with '' Repo Man'' and '' Sid and Nancy'', but since the release and c ...
.
In 2001, Berkeley became a recurring guest star (and later a series regular) on ''
24'' in the role of George Mason, the head of the counter-terrorist unit. He portrayed the mysterious John Smith on the CBS drama ''
Jericho''.
In 2010, he received one of his best-known roles, Percy Rose on
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
action-thriller series ''
Nikita
Nikita may refer to:
* Nikita (given name)
* Nikita, Crimea, a town in Crimea
* Nikita the Tanner, a character in East Slavic folklore
Film and television
*''Little Nikita'', a 1988 film
* ''La Femme Nikita'' (film), also known as ''Nikita'', a 19 ...
''. He portrayed the character as a series regular and ''de facto'' main antagonist of its first two seasons. He also played
Sheriff Thomas McAllister on ''
The Mentalist
''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show f ...
''.
Berkeley portrayed Gregory on
AMC's ''
The Walking Dead'' as a guest star in season six and a series regular in season seven.
In 2018, he portrayed Peter Lockwood, the father of
Sam Lockwood
Samuel Lockwood (born 8 April 1988) is an English former rugby union player for Newcastle Falcons in Premiership Rugby. His primary position is prop.
Amongst various early jobs including a lifeguard and a firefighter in Suffolk, Lockwood bega ...
on the fourth season of ''
Supergirl
Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her ...
''.
Voice acting
Berkeley provides voice-work and voice-over for several animated series, such as ''
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
''Aaahh!!! Real Monsters'' is an American animated television series developed by Klasky Csupo for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on three young monsters—Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm—who attend a school for monsters under a city dump and learn t ...
'', ''
Gargoyles'' and ''
Teen Titans
The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to ...
''. He also voiced
Quentin Beck / Mysterio on ''
The Spectacular Spider-Man
''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' is a comic book and magazine series starring Spider-Man and published by Marvel Comics.
Following the success of Spider-Man's original series, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', Marvel felt the character could support ...
'',
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a superhero appearing in American comic books, first in the 1960s by Charlton Comics before being acquired in the 1980s by DC Comics. Captain Atom has existed in three basic incarnations.
Publication history
Captain Atom was cr ...
in ''
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies'' and
Dr. Kirk Langstrom in ''
Son of Batman''.
Awards
In 2013, Berkeley won the
Streamy Award
The YouTube Streamy Awards, also known as the Streamy Awards or Streamys, are presented annually by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter to recognize excellence in online video, including directing, acting, producing, and writing. The formal ...
"Best Male Performance, Drama" for his starring role in the acclaimed web series ''
The Booth at the End''.
Personal life
Berkeley is a make-up artist, painter and sculptor.
He met actress
Sarah Clarke on the set of ''24'' in 2001 and married her the following year.
The two live with their daughters, Olwyn Harper (born in 2006) and Rowan Amara (born in 2010), in
Maine
Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...
and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
References
External links
*
*
A conversation with Xander Berkeley(archived copy)
at www.reviewgraveyard.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berkeley, Xander
1955 births
Male actors from New Jersey
Male actors from New York City
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American people of English descent
American people of Scottish descent
Hampshire College alumni
Living people
People from Brooklyn
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
Streamy Award winners