Jon Gries

Jonathan Gries ( '; born June 17, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Uncle Rico in '' Napoleon Dynamite '' (2004), for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male, the recurring role of Roger Linus on '' Lost'' (2007–2010), and Greg Hunt on '' The White Lotus'' (2021–present). He is also known for other film and television credits such as ''Real Genius'' (1985), ''The Monster Squad'' (1987), ''Martin'' (1992–1994), ''Get Shorty'' (1995), '' The Pretender'' (1996–2000), the ''Taken'' trilogy (2008–2014), and '' Dream Corp LLC'' (2016–2020).

Life and career

Gries was born in Glendale, California, the son of writer, director, and producer Tom Gries. His first film role came at age 11, when he played the Boy Horace in the Charlton Heston film '' Will Penny'', which was written and directed by his father. Some of his signature roles have come in cult classics. He played Lazlo Hollyfeld in ''Real Genius'' (1985), Azzolini in '' Rainbow Drive'', Shawn McDermott in the TV series ''Martin'' (1992–1994), Ronnie Wingate in ''Get Shorty'' (1995), Harvey in '' The Rundown'', and Uncle Rico in ''Napoleon Dynamite'' (2004). Gries has played a werewolf on several occasions, such as '' Fright Night Part 2'' and ''The Monster Squad''.

In the historical Western film '' September Dawn'', he played executed murderer John D. Lee, in a performance praised by critics who otherwise panned the film. He played Casey in the films '' Taken'' (2008), '' Taken 2'' (2012), and '' Taken 3'' (2014), and was in '' TerrorVision'', as O.D. He lent his voice for the video game '' Hitman: Absolution''.

Among his television roles are that of a terrorist in season two of the hit show '' 24'' and as Broots on the NBC series '' The Pretender''. He had a guest role on ''The X-Files'' in the episode " Sleepless". He played Dylan McKay's drug dealer in season 5 of ''Beverly Hills, 90210''. He played Ben Linus's father Roger in a recurring role on the TV series '' Lost''. He played Shawn on the Fox sitcom ''Martin'' during the first two seasons. He appeared twice in the TV series ''Quantum Leap''—first, as a bookie in the episode "The Right Hand of God" and then as a band member in the episode "Glitter Rock". He appeared as Rusty the Bum in two episodes of ''Seinfeld''.

In 2007, he played the menacing dad to Samaire Armstrong in ''Around June''. In 2008, he appeared in the '' CSI: NY'' episode " The Box" as the father of that episode's victim. In 2010, he wrapped production on ''A True Story. Based on Things That Never Actually Happened. ...and Some that Did'' and appeared in one episode of ''Nikita''. He played Martin in the TV show ''Supernatural'' in the episodes "Sam, Interrupted" (2010), "Hello, Cruel World" (2011) and "Citizen Fang" (2012). He played Bob, a former drug addict who operates a safe haven for abused Mexican women, in '' The Bridge''. He played Strabinsky in the TV Show ''Psych'' in the episode "One, Maybe Two, Ways Out" (2010).

It was announced in March 2025 that Gries is a part-owner of a Northwoods League baseball team that will begin play in 2026 in Richmond, Indiana.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

;As director
* Flies on Fire - "Long Gone Dead" (1989)
* Low Profile - "Pay Ya Dues" (1989)
* Low Profile - "That's Y They Do It (1989)
* Low Profile - "Funky Song" (1990)
* Mere Mortals - "Cracked" (2006)

;As actor

* Alice in Chains - "Rooster" (1993)
* Lenny Kravitz - " Mr. Cab Driver" (1990)

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gries, Jon
1957 births
Living people
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American male television actors
American male film actors
Film directors from California
Film producers from California
Male actors from Glendale, California