Michael Cudlitz (born December 29, 1964) is an American actor known for portraying John Cooper in the NBC/ TNT

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

series '' Southland'' for which he won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2013, Sergeant Denver "Bull" Randleman in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

miniseries '' Band of Brothers'', and

Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

Abraham Ford in the

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

horror series '' The Walking Dead''.

Early life

Cudlitz was born on on

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, and raised in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. He is a 1982 graduate of Lakewood High School. He holds a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

from the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

, from which he graduated in 1990.

Career

While attending

, Cudlitz landed the role in '' Band of Brothers'' and worked in TV and film production in the art department of various shows. Cudlitz was a construction coordinator on ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to as ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling via his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for 10 seasons on Fo ...

''. His first acting role was in the 1989 film ''Crystal Ball'', playing Scottie. Other roles were Tony Miller on ''

'' and Tad Overton on '' Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story'', and in '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', the second seasons of '' 24'', '' Lost'', FOX series '' Standoff'', and ''

Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The series revolves around two brothers: Lincoln Burrows (Dominic P ...

''. He was also in the movie A River Runs Through It. He guest starred on '' Over There''. He played Bob Destepello in the 1997 film '' Grosse Pointe Blank''. He also played a 30-second role as a bartender in the movie '' Forces of Nature'' in 1999. His breakout role came in 2001 with his portrayal of Sgt. Denver "Bull" Randleman in the ''

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

'' miniseries, '' Band of Brothers.'' Cudlitz starred on the critically acclaimed, five-season television drama '' Southland'' as patrol officer John Cooper, a 20-year veteran and training officer. It was picked up by TNT, who aired the remaining episodes of its first season, bringing it back for a total of five seasons. The character struggled with chronic back pain, addiction to pain medication, and ethical issues relating to his partners. Prior to the start of shooting for the show, Cudlitz had a large mole removed from his right upper lip, which had previously been a signature feature of his appearance. The show was cancelled in 2013. Cudlitz won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his role in 2013. In 2009, Cudlitz appeared in the science fiction film ''

Surrogates ''Surrogates'' is a 2009 American science fiction action film based on the 2005–2006 comic book series ''The Surrogates''. Directed by Jonathan Mostow, it stars Bruce Willis as Tom Greer, an FBI agent who ventures out into the real world to ...

'' as Colonel Brendon. In 2013, Cudlitz played opposite Melanie Griffith in the movie, '' Dark Tourist.'' From February 2014 to October 2016, he appeared in the

TV show '' The Walking Dead'' as

Abraham Ford, a character from the comic series of the same name. His first appearance was in the tenth episode of Season 4, an episode entitled "Inmates". Cudlitz's character was killed off in the premiere episode of the show's seventh season entitled " The Day Will Come When You Won't Be". Cudlitz quickly became a fan favorite, with fans noting his quirky and comedic sayings combined with his upfront approach. Since 2023, Cudlitz has played

Lex Luthor Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor () is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (published on February 22, 1940, with a cover d ...

in the CW

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

television series '' Superman & Lois''.

Voice work

Cudlitz voiced Sgt. Glenn "Hawk" Hawkins in the video game '' Call of Duty 2: Big Red One''. He provided additional voice work for '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'', '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3'' and '' Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare''.

Awards

* 2013: Critics Choice Awards, Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, '' Southland'' * 2013: Entertainment Industries Council PRISM Awards, '' Southland'' (episode: "Legacy")

Personal life

Cudlitz is married to Rachel Cudlitz. They met while students at CalArts.

Filmography

Film

Television (miniseries, TV movies, shorts)

Television

Video games

Crew work

Art department

* 1986–1988: '' Tales from the Darkside'' – carpenter (12 episodes) * 1988: '' The Unnamable'' – carpenter * 1989: ''W.B., Blue and the Bean'' – set construction * 1989: '' C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.'' – carpenter * 1990–1993: ''

'' – construction coordinator (65 episodes) * 1996: '' Dunston Checks In'' – propmaker gang boss * 1998: '' American History X'' – construction coordinator * 2007: '' Nobel Son'' – propmaker

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cudlitz, Michael 1964 births American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Living people People from Lakewood Township, New Jersey People from Long Island Male actors from New York (state) California Institute of the Arts alumni Male actors from New Jersey 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Lakewood High School (New Jersey) alumni Actors from Ocean County, New Jersey