Robert Patrick Gunton Jr. (born November 15, 1945) is an American character actor of stage and screen. He is known for playing strict authoritarian characters, including Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison drama ''

The Shawshank Redemption ''The Shawshank Redemption'' is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella ''Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption''. It tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), w ...

'', Chief George Earle in 1993's '' Demolition Man'', Dr. Walcott, the domineering dean of Virginia Medical School in '' Patch Adams,'' and Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in ''Argo''. He also played Leland Owlsley in the '' Daredevil'' television series, Secretary of Defense

Ethan Kanin The following is a list of characters in the American serial drama television series '' 24'', '' 24: Live Another Day'', and '' 24: Legacy'' by season and event. The list first names the actor, followed by the character. Some characters have their ...

in '' 24,'' and Noah Taylor in '' Desperate Housewives.'' In addition to his film and television careers, Gunton is a prolific theatre actor. He originated the role of Juan Perón in the Broadway premiere of ''Evita'' and the titular character in the 1989 revival of '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'', roles for which he received

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

nominations. He has received a Drama Desk Award, an Obie Award, and a

Clarence Derwent Award The Clarence Derwent Awards are theatre awards given annually by the Actors' Equity Association on Broadway in the United States and by Equity, the performers' union, in the West End in the United Kingdom. Clarence Derwent (23 March 1884 – 6 Aug ...

Early life and education

Gunton was born November 15, 1945, in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing t ...

, the son of Rose Marie ( née Banovetz) and Robert Patrick Gunton Sr., a labor union

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

. He attended Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, the Paulist Seminary St Peter's College, in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, and the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and p ...

. A lifelong devout

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Christian, Gunton initially planned to be a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

(1969–71) as a radio telephone operator with the 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, and was at the

Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord The Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord was a 23-day battle between elements of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and two reinforced divisions of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) that took place from 1 to 23 July 1970. It was the last ma ...

during the 23-day siege. He and a comrade were awarded the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

for returning to the base to retrieve important but forgotten radios in the evacuation's final moments, so that they would not fall into the hands of the People's Army of Vietnam forces about to capture the base. Due to this, he was one of the last people to evacuate. During the battle, he lost one of his

dog tag Dog tag is an informal but common term for a specific type of identification tag worn by military personnel. The tags' primary use is for the identification of casualties; they have information about the individual written on them, including ...

s, but it was returned to him over 40 years later in 2018.

Career

Gunton played the role of Juan Perón in the original 1980 Broadway production of '' Evita'', earning a nomination for

Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. The award has been given since 1947, but the nominees who did not win have only been publicly announced since 1956. Winner and ...

for his performance. He had a supporting role in the 1985 HBO film '' Finnegan Begin Again'' starring Robert Preston and

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), which ...

. Gunton later starred in the title role of a 1989 Broadway revival of ''

Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet Stre ...

'' and received a second Tony nomination for his portrayal. Additional Broadway credits include '' Working'', ''

King of Hearts The king of hearts is a playing card in the standard 52-card deck. King of Hearts may also refer to: Games * The King of Hearts Has Five Sons, card game that may have been a precursor to Cluedo Books * King of Hearts (''Alice's Adventures ...

'', ''The Music Women'', ''How I Got That Story'', and '' Big River''. Gunton portrayed

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

in a recreation of the

Watergate tapes The Nixon White House tapes are audio recordings of conversations between U.S. President Richard Nixon and Nixon administration officials, Nixon family members, and White House staff, produced between 1971 and 1973. In February 1971, a sound-a ...

incident for '' Nightline''. He also played President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

in the film ''

Iron Jawed Angels ''Iron Jawed Angels'' is a 2004 American historical drama film directed by Katja von Garnier. The film stars Hilary Swank as suffragist leader Alice Paul, Frances O'Connor as activist Lucy Burns, Julia Ormond as Inez Milholland, and Anjelica Hus ...

'' (2004). Gunton is also known for his guest starring role as Capt. Benjamin Maxwell in the well-received 1991 '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode " The Wounded". Gunton played Warden Samuel Norton, the head of Shawshank State Prison and the primary antagonist in ''

'' (1994) opposite

Tim Robbins Timothy Francis Robbins (born October 16, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for portraying Andy Dufresne in the film '' The Shawshank Redemption ''(1994), and has won an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards for his rol ...

. Gunton played Cecil Dobbs in the 2011 film ''

The Lincoln Lawyer ''The Lincoln Lawyer'' is a 2005 novel, the 16th by American crime writer Michael Connelly. It introduces Los Angeles attorney Mickey Haller, half-brother of Connelly's mainstay character Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. It was adapted as ...

''. Gunton also guest starred in the first season of '' Desperate Housewives'' and the sixth season of '' 24'', where he portrayed

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The ...

. He signed on as series regular afterward and reprised the role of Kanin but now as the Chief of Staff to the new president, Allison Taylor, in the show's seventh season as well as the two-hour television prequel film, '' 24: Redemption''. He returned again for the eighth season but this time as the President's Secretary of State. Gunton portrays Leland Owlsley in the 2015 TV series '' Daredevil''. Gunton made a guest appearance on ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' in January 2017. In 2021, Gunton was used as a body double for

Harold Ramis Harold Allen Ramis (; November 21, 1944 – February 24, 2014) was an American actor, comedian, director and writer. His best-known film acting roles were as Egon Spengler in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984) and ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), and as Russell ...

' character

Egon Spengler Egon Spengler, PhD is a fictional character from the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films '' Ghostbusters'', ''Ghostbusters II'', and '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'', in the animated television series '' The Real Ghostbusters'' and '' ...

in '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife''.

Stage credits

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunton, Bob 1945 births American male film actors American male television actors American male stage actors American Roman Catholics Drama Desk Award winners Living people Male actors from Santa Monica, California University of California, Irvine alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army soldiers