Dean Joseph Norris (born April 8, 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for playing DEA agent Hank Schrader on the AMC series ''
Breaking Bad
''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White ( Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited ...
'' (2008–2013) and its spin-off ''
Better Call Saul
''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, '' Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...
'' (2020). He also portrayed town councilman James "Big Jim" Rennie on the CBS series '' Under the Dome'' (2013–2015) and played mob boss Clay "Uncle Daddy" Husser on the TNT series '' Claws'' (2017-2022). Throughout his career, Norris has acted in nearly 50 movies and more than 100 different TV shows.
Norris has appeared in films such as '' Lethal Weapon 2'' (1989), '' Hard to Kill'' (1990), '' Total Recall'' (1990), '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991), ''
The Firm
The FIRM (stylized as The FIRM) is a brand of exercise videos and equipment currently owned by Gaiam. The original "The FIRM" videos are best known for popularizing a hybrid of aerobic exercise and weight training.
History
In 1979, Anna Bens ...
The Cell
Cell most often refers to:
* Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life
Cell may also refer to:
Locations
* Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery w ...
'' (2000), ''
Little Miss Sunshine
''Little Miss Sunshine'' is a 2006 American tragicomedy road film and the feature film directorial debut of the husband–wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The screenplay was written by first-time writer Michael Arndt. The film s ...
Sons of Liberty
The Sons of Liberty was a loosely organized, clandestine, sometimes violent, political organization active in the Thirteen American Colonies founded to advance the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. It p ...
South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...
. He graduated from Clay High School in 1981, where he was the class valedictorian. While in high school, he was a member of the award-winning student-produced comedy show '' Beyond Our Control'', which ran on WNDU-TV. He is a 1985 graduate of
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sena ...
The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
'', ''
The West Wing
''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...
'', and '' Lost'', and has appeared in films including ''
Gattaca
''Gattaca'' is a 1997 American dystopian science fiction thriller film written and directed by Andrew Niccol in his filmmaking debut. It stars Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman with Jude Law, Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, Gore Vidal, and Alan Arki ...
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within th ...
Breaking Bad
''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White ( Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited ...
'' from the show's
premiere
A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition.
A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its f ...
in 2008 to its final season in 2013. Norris' performance on ''Breaking Bad'' has received critical acclaim.Johns, Nikara "'Gravity,' 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' Lead Saturn Awards Noms: 'Breaking Bad,' 'Falling Skies,' and 'Game of Thrones' lead on TV," ''Variety'' (FEBRUARY 25, 2014).Blake, Meredit ''Los Angeles Times'' (JAN. 18, 2014).
Norris also starred in the CBS series '' Under the Dome''. He plays selectman James "Big Jim" Rennie, the only town council member in the area which is cut off from the rest of the United States. As of June 2017, he plays mob boss Clay "Uncle Daddy" Husser in the TNT series '' Claws''.
In 2020, Norris reprised the role of Agent Hank Schrader on-screen in the ''Breaking Bad'' prequel ''
Better Call Saul
''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, '' Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...
Norris and his wife, Bridget, a former entertainment attorney, live with their five children in
Temecula, California
Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a ...
. In 2018, the couple opened the Norris Performing Arts Center in Murrieta.
Norris was accused of sexually assaulting a 32-year-old woman from
Ohio
Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...
.
In 2019, he helped launch Schraderbräu, Hank Schrader's in-universe home-brewed craft beer, as an official product.
In 2022, Dean and Bridget Norris purchased The Swing Inn Cafe, a long-standing restaurant in Old Town, Temecula, for $6 million.