Raymond Wilkes McKinnon (born November 15, 1957) is an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and producer. He is best known for the roles of H.W. Smith in '' Deadwood'' (2004) and Lincoln Potter in ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club ope ...

'' (2011) and ''

Mayans M.C. ''Mayans M.C.'' (also known simply as ''Mayans'') is an American crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter and Elgin James, that premiered on September 4, 2018, on FX. The show takes place in the same fictional universe as '' Sons of ...

'' (2018-2021), and for his film roles in '' Apollo 13'' (1995), ''

O Brother, Where Art Thou? ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' is a 2000 comedy drama film written, produced, co-edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson, with Chris Thomas King, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and ...

'' (2000), and the Oscar-winning short '' The Accountant'' (2001).

Early life and education

McKinnon was born on November 15, 1957 and grew up in Adel,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, the son of Raymond McKinnon, a car dealer, and his wife Dorothy McKinnon. He attended local schools. VSUVisit-2007 ''Valdosta Daily Times'', 2007 In 1981, McKinnon graduated with a degree in theatre from Valdosta State University.

Career

McKinnon began acting and later directed. As an actor, he is best known for his role as Reverend Smith in the HBO series '' Deadwood'', which ran from 2004 to 2006, a total of three seasons and 36 episodes. He is also known for his role as Lincoln Potter in the fourth season of the FX show ''

'' and its spin-off series ''

'' He founded

Ginny Mule Pictures Ginny Mule Pictures was an independent film production company created by actors, Ray McKinnon, Lisa Blount and Walton Goggins. Ginny Mule was involved with producing four independent films, each featuring McKinnon and Goggins onscreen. Blount appe ...

, a production company, with his wife (deceased)

Lisa Blount Lisa Suzanne Blount (July 1, 1957 – October 27, 2010) was an American film and television actress, and Academy Award-winning producer. Early life Blount was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Margaret Louise Martin and Glen Roscoe Blount, ...

, an actress and producer, and

Walton Goggins Walton Sanders Goggins Jr. (born November 10, 1971) is an American actor. He has starred in a number of television series, including ''The Shield'' (2002–2008), '' Justified'' (2010–2015), '' Vice Principals'' (2016–2017), ''The Righteous ...

. Together the trio won the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

in 2001 in the category Live Action Short Film for '' The Accountant'', which they produced with their company. McKinnon wrote, produced, directed and played 'Snake' in the 2004 film '' Chrystal,'' starring Blount and

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller ''One False Move'', and received international attention after writing, directing, a ...

. The supporting cast included Goggins,

Grace Zabriskie Grace Zabriskie (' Caplinger; born May 17, 1941) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Sarah Palmer in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991; 2017) and its film prequel '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992), Lois Henrickson in '' ...

Harry Lennix Harry Joseph Lennix III (born November 16, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Terrence "Dresser" Williams in the Robert Townsend film ''The Five Heartbeats'' (1991) and as Boyd Langton in the science-fiction series ''Dollh ...

Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor, musician, and singer. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''Kelly's Heroes ...

and

Johnny Galecki John Mark Galecki (born April 30, 1975) is an American actor. He played Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom '' The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019) for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and David Healy in the ABC sitcoms ''Ro ...

. He wrote and directed the television series ''

Rectify ''Rectify'' is an American television drama series exploring the life of a man after he is released from prison after nearly 20 years on death row following a wrongful conviction. It was created by Ray McKinnon and is the first original series f ...

'', the first original series from

SundanceTV Sundance TV (formerly known as Sundance Channel) is an American pay television channel owned by AMC Networks that launched on February 1, 1996. The channel is named after Robert Redford's character in ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' and, w ...

, featuring a man released from Georgia state prison after 19 years on

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...

, and it explores the effects on him, his family and his small town.

Aden Young Aden Young (born 30 November 1971) is a Canadian-Australian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Daniel Holden in the SundanceTV drama '' Rectify'', for which he was twice nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Acto ...

stars as Daniel Holden. The first season was broadcast from April to May 2013, and the fourth and final season ended in December 2016. The series won a Peabody Award in 2013.

Personal life

McKinnon was married to

, an actress and producer, from 1998 to her death in 2010. He currently lives in

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

, the hometown of Blount.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKinnon, Ray 1957 births American male film actors American male television actors Directors of Live Action Short Film Academy Award winners Living people Male actors from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Cook County, Georgia Valdosta State University alumni Film directors from Georgia (U.S. state)