Daniel Eugene Butler (born December 2, 1954) is an American actor known for his role as

Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe The main character of the American television sitcom ''Frasier'' is Frasier Crane. Other regular characters include: his father Martin, brother Niles, producer Roz Doyle, and his live-in caregiver Daphne Moon. Other minor characters made regular ...

on the TV series ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Case ...

'' (1993–2004); Art in ''

Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American sitcom television series created by Matt Williams and Roseanne Barr which aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. The show stars Barr as Roseann ...

'' (1991–1992); for the voice of Mr. Simmons on the ''

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

'' TV show ''

Hey Arnold ''Hey Arnold!'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Craig Bartlett. It originally aired on Nickelodeon from October 7, 1996, to June 8, 2004. The show centers on fourth grader Arnold Shortman, who lives with his grandpare ...

'' (1997–2002), which was later reprised the role in '' Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie'' (2017); and films roles in ''

Enemy of the State An enemy of the state is a person accused of certain crimes against the state such as treason, among other things. Describing individuals in this way is sometimes a manifestation of political repression. For example, a government may purport to m ...

'' (1998) and ''

Sniper 2 ''Sniper 2'' is a 2002 American made-for-television action film directed by Craig R. Baxley and starring Tom Berenger, Bokeem Woodbine, Dan Butler and Linden Ashby. The film premiered on Cinemax, on December 28, 2002 and was released to video an ...

'' (2001).

Education

Butler was born in

Huntington, Indiana Huntington, known as the "Lime City", is the largest city in and the county seat of Huntington County, Indiana, Huntington County, Indiana, United States. It is in Huntington Township, Huntington County, Indiana, Huntington and Union Township, Hun ...

, and raised in Fort Wayne, the son of Shirley, a housewife, and Andrew Butler, a pharmacist. While a drama student at

Purdue University Fort Wayne Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW) is a public university in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. A campus of Purdue University, Purdue Fort Wayne was founded on July 1, 2018, when its predecessor university, Indiana University–Purdue University ...

in 1975, he received the

Irene Ryan Irene Ryan (born Irene Noblitt, Noblett, or Noblette; October 17, 1902 – April 26, 1973) was an American actress and comedienne who found success in vaudeville, radio, film, television, and Broadway. She is most widely known for her por ...

Acting Scholarship, sponsored by the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

. From 1976 to 1978, he trained at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.

Career

Butler is best known for his role as Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe in the NBC sitcom ''

'', appearing in every season but one between 1993 and 2004. The character was a volatile, boorish, intensely macho sports presenter who hosted the show which followed Frasier's daily broadcast at the radio station KACL. He is also one of two actors to play two different characters within the Hannibal Lecter franchise. In 1986, he played the role of Jimmy Price, a technician in the film '' Manhunter''; then, 5 years later, he played the role of Roden in 1991's '' The Silence of The Lambs''. The other actor is

Frankie Faison Frankie Russel Faison (born June 10, 1949) is an American actor known for his role as Deputy Commissioner, and, later, Commissioner, Ervin Burrell in the HBO series ''The Wire'', as Barney Matthews in the ''Hannibal Lecter'' franchise, and as Suga ...

. In 1998, Butler played the role of NSA Director Admiral Shaffer in ''

''. In 2006, Butler produced and starred in the faux documentary ''Karl Rove, I Love You'' (which he also co-wrote and co-directed). Other film work includes roles in ''Prayers for Bobby'' and ''Longtime Companion''. Butler is also an established stage actor. In 2018, he played Lenin in the Broadway revival of Tom Stoppard's ''

Travesties ''Travesties'' is a 1974 play by Tom Stoppard. The play centres on the figure of Henry Carr, an elderly man who reminisces about Zürich in 1917 during the First World War, and his interactions with James Joyce when he was writing '' Ulysses'' ...

''. Other recent appearances include as

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

in American Repertory Theatre's 2017 production of Rob Roth's ''Warhol/Capote'' and Jack in the 2013 Off-Broadway production of Conor McPherson's ''

The Weir ''The Weir'' is a play written by Conor McPherson in 1997. It was first produced at The Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London, England, on 4 July 1997. It opened on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre on 1 April 1999. As well as several oth ...

''.

Personal life

Butler lives in Vermont and is married to producer Richard Waterhouse. He

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

to his family when he was in his early 20s. He wrote a one-man show, ''The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me'', which opened in Los Angeles in 1994 and also played in San Francisco and off-Broadway in New York. It was Butler's public coming out. The play had ten characters "just processing what gay means". He was nominated for the 1995

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. The category was first presented at the ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Dan 1954 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American gay actors Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne alumni LGBT people from Indiana Male actors from Indiana Actors from Fort Wayne, Indiana People from Huntington, Indiana 21st-century LGBT people