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

Dexter Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series ''Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British web series ''Diary of a Bad Man'' * Dexte ...

'', '' Unhappily Ever After'', ''

Grace Under Fire ''Grace Under Fire'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 29, 1993, to February 17, 1998. The show starred Brett Butler as a single mother learning how to cope with raising her three children alone after finally divorcing her ...

'', '' 24'', ''

Ryan's Hope ''Ryan's Hope'' is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7, 1975, to January 13, 1989. It revolves around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in ...

'', and '' Designated Survivor''. He has guest-starred in dozens of other TV shows.

Career

Pierson appeared with George C. Scott on Broadway 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 ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...

'' 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 stude ...

, Stanley in ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...

'' at the Penn Ctr. Stage, Bobby in '' Speed The Plough'' at the

Philadelphia Theatre Company The Philadelphia Theatre Company (PTC) is a theater company located Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1974 as The Philadelphia Company by Robert Hedley and Jean Harrison. Since October 2007, PTC's home has been the new Suzanne Robe ...

, and Ricky in ''

Glengarry Glen Ross ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' is a play by David Mamet that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984. The play shows parts of two days in the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to engage in any number of unethical, illegal acts ...

'' and Teach in '' American Buffalo'' at the Virginia Stage Company. His most prominent daytime role was as Frank Ryan on ''

'', 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 ov ...

, 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'', 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, offi ...

'' ( USA) and ''

The Firm The FIRM (stylized as The FIRM) is a brand of exercise videos and equipment currently owned by Gaiam. The original "The FIRM" videos are best known for popularizing a hybrid of aerobic exercise and weight training. History In 1979, Anna Bens ...

'' (

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 ...

). He also had a recurring role as Rodney's long lost dad on the ABC comedy ''

Rodney Rodney may refer to: People * Rodney (name) * Rodney (wrestler), American professional wrestler Places ;Australia * Electoral district of Rodney, a former electoral district in Victoria * Rodney County, Queensland ;Canada * Rodney, Ontario, a ...

''. 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 prem ...

'' as Stewart Manning, the father of Meg Manning. 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'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 ...

series ''

''. He appeared in the 2008

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' D ...

-directed film ''

Changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found in folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This in ...

'' as the flamboyant defense attorney Sammy "S.S." Hahn. In 2011 he portrayed Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer in Eastwood's '' J. Edgar''. 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 ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter and broadcast on the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s ...

'' as Senator Walter Edge. In 2011, Pierson played Midas Mulligan in ''Atlas Shrugged'', based on

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...

'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 pr ...

'' and he had a recurring role as the mysterious Mr. Smith on ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

''. In 2014 he appeared in an episode of '' Suburgatory''. In 2015 he co-starred as Defense Secretary Pierce Grey on HBO's '' The Brink''. Recently, he stars in the former ABC 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 ...

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)