Walter Kohl Sudduth (born August 8, 1974) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Luther "Suitcase" Simpson in nine Jesse Stone television films."Kohl Sudduth"

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

. Retrieved June 22, 2016.

Early life and education

Walter Kohl Sudduth was born August 8, 1974, in

Granada Hills, Los Angeles Granada Hills is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles. The community has a sports program and a range of city recreation centers. The neighborhood has fourteen public and ten private schools. History The Granada Hills ...

, the younger brother of actor Skipp Sudduth. He was raised in the small town of

Circleville, Ohio Circleville is a city in Pickaway County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The city is situated along the Scioto River 25 miles (40 km) south of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 13,927 at the 2020 United States census, 2 ...

. Sudduth acted in several high school plays, including ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' and ''Flowers for Algernon'', before attending

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

, where he focused his energies on music. During his college years, Sudduth was the guitarist and vocalist of Edison, a

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band that played throughout the American Midwest. He graduated in 1995 with a BA in English.

Career

In 1995, Sudduth moved to New York City to pursue a professional acting career. He appeared regularly at

improv comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv or impro in British English, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its ...

clubs and theaters such as the Red Room to hone his comedy skills. Sudduth made his film debut in director

John Turturro John Michael Turturro ( ; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his varied roles in independent films, and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers and Spike Lee. He has received a Primetime Emmy Award a ...

's '' Illuminata'' (1997) playing

Christopher Walken Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Christopher Walken on stage and screen, His work on stage and screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Christopher Walken, accolades includin ...

's concubine. The following year he appeared in two films, '' 54'' (1998) as Rhett and ''

Rounders Rounders is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a wooden, plastic, or metal bat that has a cylindrical end. The players score b ...

'' (1998) as Wagner with

Edward Norton Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. After graduating from Yale College in 1991 with a degree in history, he worked for a few months in Japan before moving to New York City ...

and

Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon ( ; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He was ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars in 2007, and in 2010 was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received va ...

. Sudduth's breakthrough role came in 1999 with ''

Bowfinger ''Bowfinger'' is a 1999 American satirical comedy film directed by Frank Oz. The film depicts a down-and-out filmmaker in Hollywood attempting to make a film on a small budget with a star who does not know that he is in the movie. It was writ ...

'' (1999) playing Slater, an aspiring actor, opposite

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...

and

Heather Graham Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress. The accolades she has received include nominations for two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and an Independent Spirit Award. After appearing in tel ...

. The role introduced Sudduth to a broader audience through his portrayal of a slacker actor. In 2000, Sudduth appeared in two films, the teen comedy ''

Road Trip A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance Travel, journey traveled by a car or a motorcycle. History First road trips by automobile The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by the automobile took place in German Em ...

'' (2000) as Mark and the Masterpiece Theater production '' Cora Unashamed'' (2000), based on the Langston Hughes short story, as Joe. Throughout this period, Sudduth also appeared in several television series, including one episode of ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

'' (1997) as Rick the waiter, one episode of ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO, based on Sex and the City (newspaper column), the newspaper column and 1996 book by Candace Bushnell. It premiered in th ...

'' (1998) as

Kim Cattrall Kim Victoria Cattrall (; born 21 August 1956) is a British, Canadian, and American actress. She is known for her portrayal of Samantha Jones on HBO's ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), for which she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominati ...

's love interest Jon, one episode of '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (1999) as Riley Couger and 17 episodes of ''

Grosse Pointe Grosse Pointe is a group of five adjacent suburbs in the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area on the shore of Lake St. Clair. From southwest to northeast, they are: *Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, Grosse Pointe Park *Grosse Pointe, Michiga ...

'' (2000–2001) as Quentin King and Stone Anders. Sudduth is best known for his role as Luther "Suitcase" Simpson co-starring opposite

Tom Selleck Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations fo ...

in nine Jesse Stone television films (2005–2015). He plays bass in his brother Skipp's rock band Minus Ted. He enjoys rock climbing and playing basketball while dividing his time between New York City and Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1997), Rick * ''Dating Games'' (1998), Prince Charming * '' Illuminata'' (1998), Concubine #1 * ''

'' (1998, TV series), Jon, 1 episode * '' 54'' (1998), Rhett * ''

'' (1998), Wagner * ''

'' (1999), Slater * '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (1999, TV series), Riley Couger, 1 episode * ''Table One'' (2000), Freddie * ''

'' (2000), Mark * '' Cora Unashamed'' (2000, TV movie), Joe * ''

'' (2000–2001, TV series), Quentin King / Stone Anders, 17 episodes * '' The Banger Sisters'' (2002), Hotel Clerk * '' Stone Cold'' (2005, TV movie), Luther "Suitcase" Simpson * ''The Notorious Bettie Page'' (2005), Police Officer * '' Jesse Stone: Night Passage'' (2006, TV movie), Luther "Suitcase" Simpson * '' Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise'' (2006, TV movie), Luther "Suitcase" Simpson * '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (TV series, 2006), Zach, 1 episode * '' Jesse Stone: Sea Change'' (2007, TV movie), Luther "Suitcase" Simpson * '' Jesse Stone: Thin Ice'' (2009, TV movie), Luther "Suitcase" Simpson * '' Jesse Stone: No Remorse'' (2010, TV movie), Luther "Suitcase" Simpson * '' Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost'' (2011, TV movie), Luther "Suitcase" Simpson * '' Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt'' (2012, TV movie), Luther "Suitcase" Simpson * ''

Blue Bloods ''Blue Bloods'' is an American police procedural drama (film and television), drama television series that aired on CBS from September 24, 2010, to December 13, 2024, across 14 seasons and 293 episodes. Its main characters were members of the fi ...

'' (2015, TV series), Sam Holbrooke, 1 episode * '' Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise'' (2015, TV movie), officer Luther "Suitcase" Simpson

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sudduth, Kohl 1974 births Living people Male actors from Ohio American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Los Angeles Ohio University alumni People from Circleville, Ohio People from Granada Hills, Los Angeles