Scott Nicolai Sowers (November 5, 1963 April 1, 2018) was an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective Parker in the late 1990s
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
series ''
Cracker'' and for his role as
Stanley Kowalski
Stanley Kowalski is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' play ''A Streetcar Named Desire''.
In the play
Stanley lives in the working-class Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans with his wife, Stella ( DuBois), and is employed a ...
on stage 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 ...
''. He established the
Signature Theatre Company
Signature Theatre Company is an American theatre based in Manhattan, New York. It was founded in 1991 by James Houghton and is now led by Artistic Director Paige Evans. Signature is known for their season-long focus on one artist's work. It has be ...
in 1991, and the following year he won the
Drama-Logue Award
The Drama-Logue Award was an American theater award established in 1977, given by the publishers of Drama-Logue newspaper, a weekly west-coast theater trade publication. Winners were selected by the publication's theater critics, and would recei ...
for Performance for his role as the colonel in ''
A Few Good Men
''A Few Good Men'' is a 1992 American legal drama film based on Aaron Sorkin's 1989 play. It was written by Sorkin, directed by Rob Reiner, and produced by Reiner, David Brown and Andrew Scheinman. It stars an ensemble cast including Tom Cr ...
'' at the
Shubert Theatre.
In films, he has played some notable minor roles, such as a mercenary in ''
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory'' (1995), a prison guard in ''
Dead Man Walking'' (1995), and a condemned man in ''
True Grit
True Grit may refer to:
Fiction
* True Grit (novel), ''True Grit'' (novel), a 1968 novel by Charles Portis
** True Grit (1969 film), ''True Grit'' (1969 film), a film adaptation by Henry Hathaway, starring John Wayne
** True Grit (2010 film), ''Tr ...
'' (2010). Aside from numerous dramatic readings for audiobooks, Sowers provided his voice for videogames such as ''
Batman: Dark Tomorrow'' (2003), ''
Manhunt 2
''Manhunt 2'' is a 2007 stealth game by Rockstar Games. It was developed by Rockstar London for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 2, Rockstar Leeds for the PlayStation Portable, and Rockstar Toronto for the Wii. It is the sequel to 2003's ...
'' (2007) and ''
Homefront'' (2011).
Early life
Sowers was born on November 5, 1963, in
Arlington County, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...
. There, he graduated from
Washington-Lee High School
Washington-Liberty High School, formerly known as Washington-Lee High School, is a public high school in the Arlington Public Schools district in Arlington, Virginia, covering grades 9–12. Its attendance area serves the central third of A ...
in 1982 (along with friend
Sandra Bullock
Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, Bullock was the world's highest-paid actress in 2010 and 2014. In 2010 ...
).
Sowers went on to study at the
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...
before moving to New York City.
Background and stage work
Sowers began his career as a stage actor. In 1989 ''
New York Magazine
''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...
'' praised his "excellent" performance as Starns in the play ''Heathen Valley''.
In 1991 he established the Signature Theater Company with
James Houghton.
In 1992 the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' noted Sowers' "formidable colonel" in a stage production of ''
A Few Good Men
''A Few Good Men'' is a 1992 American legal drama film based on Aaron Sorkin's 1989 play. It was written by Sorkin, directed by Rob Reiner, and produced by Reiner, David Brown and Andrew Scheinman. It stars an ensemble cast including Tom Cr ...
'' at the
Shubert Theatre. The production later went on a national tour, which won him the Drama-Logue Award for Performance.
In 1996, Sowers played Will Masters on stage in a Broadway production of ''
Bus Stop''.
In 2004 he played
Stanley Kowalski
Stanley Kowalski is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' play ''A Streetcar Named Desire''.
In the play
Stanley lives in the working-class Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans with his wife, Stella ( DuBois), and is employed a ...
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
Studio 54
Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and a former disco nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Operated by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Studio 54 has 1,006 seats on two levels. The theater ...
in New York City; the following year,
John C. Reilly
John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer, and writer. After his film debut in ''Casualties of War'' (1989), he gained exposure through his supporting roles in ''Days of Thunder'' (1990), ''Wh ...
played the part and Sowers played the more minor part of Steve.
In 2007 he appeared on Broadway in ''
Inherit the Wind''.
With the
Ensemble Studio Theatre
The Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) is a non-profit membership-based developmental theatre located in Hell's Kitchen, New York City. It has a dual mission of nurturing individual theatre artists and developing new American plays.
Overview
The E ...
, Sowers appeared in productions of ''Matthew and the Pastor’s Wife'', ''Lenin’s Embalmers'', ''Princes of Waco'', ''Lucy'' and ''Hand to God''. He has also appeared on stage in the
Wilma Theater Wilma Theater may refer to:
*Wilma Theater (Philadelphia)
*Wilma Theatre (Missoula, Montana)
The Wilma was built in 1921 by William "Billy" Simons and dedicated to his wife, light opera artist Edna Wilma. Designed by Norwegian architect Ole Bak ...
of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, the
Long Wharf Theater
Long Wharf Theatre is a nonprofit institution in New Haven, Connecticut, a pioneer in the not-for-profit regional theatre movement, the originator of several prominent plays, and a venue where many internationally known actors have appeared.
Fou ...
of
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
in 2003, the Actor's Theater of Louisville, the Baltimore Center Stage, and the Oslo Festival in Norway.
In September 2012 he appeared at the Valborg Theatre of
Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...
in ''Romulus Linney ... Back Home in the Mountains: A Tribute to Romulus Linney''.
Film and television roles
Sowers starred in the 1995
Steven Seagal
Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th- dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...
film ''
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory'' as one of the mercenaries, and has played detectives and police officers in various films and television series, including ''
Cracker'', where he played Detective Parker from 1997 to 1999, and a prison guard in the 1995 film ''
Dead Man Walking''.
He appeared in ''
A Season for Miracles'' (1999), and several episodes of ''
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 ...
'' and its spinoffs, ''
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and ''
Law & Order: Criminal Intent''. He also made an appearance in ''
Erin Brockovich
Erin Brockovich (née Pattee; born June 22, 1960) is an American legal clerk, consumer advocate, and environmental activist who, despite her lack of education in the law, was instrumental in building a case against Pacific Gas & Electric Compan ...
'' in 2000.
In 2009 he portrayed Uncle Drake in the TV series ''Get Hit''.
This was followed by a role as Joseph Earl Dinler in the ''
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 ...
'' episode "Anastasia" in 2010.
In 2010 he also played an unrepentant condemned man in the acclaimed
Coen Brothers
Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...
film ''
True Grit
True Grit may refer to:
Fiction
* True Grit (novel), ''True Grit'' (novel), a 1968 novel by Charles Portis
** True Grit (1969 film), ''True Grit'' (1969 film), a film adaptation by Henry Hathaway, starring John Wayne
** True Grit (2010 film), ''Tr ...
'' opposite
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards.
Bridges comes from a prominent a ...
. In 2013 he had a minor role as Russo in an episode of the
CBS series ''
Blue Bloods''.
Other work
Sowers has done dramatic readings for
audiobook
An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements.
Spoken audio has been available in sch ...
s, notably many of
Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author who founded the gonzo journalism movement. He rose to prominence with the publication of '' Hell's Angels'' (1967), a book for which he s ...
's works, and provided voice characterization for the short documentary film ''An American Synagogue''. ''California Bookwatch'' praised Sowers' "dramatic prowess which translates well to audio as he tells of a police chief forced into identifying a dead woman". In 2003 he provided the voice of
Victor Zsasz
Victor Zsasz ( or or , the last being the original Hungarian pronunciation), also known as Mr. Zsasz or simply Zsasz, is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.'' Batman: Shadow of the Bat'' #1. The character first appea ...
for the video game ''
Batman: Dark Tomorrow'',
and in 2011 he provided the voice of Arnie in the videogame ''
Homefront''.
Death
On April 1, 2018, Sowers died of a heart attack at the age of 54, at a friend's home in New York City.
Filmography
References
External links
*
Scott Sowers audiobook titles at Amazon.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sowers, Scott
American male stage actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
1963 births
2018 deaths
American male voice actors
American male video game actors
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
Male actors from Virginia
Washington-Liberty High School alumni