Ryan Cutrona (born July 29, 1949) 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 ...
.
Career
Ryan Cutrona is an American actor best known for playing gruff authority figures and military men in both dramatic and comedic roles in films and on television. The second son of Joseph F. H. "Pro Joe" Cutrona, an Army general and combat veteran (
Silver Star), he was a native of
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
and spent much of his early life in a military setting. His first law enforcement roles came on the TV dramas ''
Hunter'' and ''
DEA
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...
'' in 1990. He was Captain Margolis in the ''Top Gun'' parody ''
Hot Shots!
''Hot Shots!'' is a 1991 American comedy film directed by Jim Abrahams, co-writer and co-director of ''Airplane!'', and written by Abrahams and Pat Proft. It stars Charlie Sheen, Cary Elwes, Valeria Golino, Lloyd Bridges, Jon Cryer, Kevin Dunn ...
'' and played a detective in the Sharon Stone thriller ''
Sliver''. He had larger supporting roles in the 1996 action film ''
The Glimmer Man
''The Glimmer Man'' is a 1996 American buddy-cop action comedy film directed by John Gray and produced by Steven Seagal. The film stars Seagal, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Bob Gunton, and Brian Cox. The film was released in the United States on Octob ...
'' and the 1999 thriller ''
Deterrence
Deterrence may refer to:
* Deterrence theory, a theory of war, especially regarding nuclear weapons
* Deterrence (penology), a theory of justice
* Deterrence (psychology)
Deterrence in relation to criminal offending is the idea or theory that t ...
'' while continuing to make frequent guest appearances in all genres of TV shows. He satirized his military roles in a TV commercial for the KAYAK travel site and showed up in sitcoms like ''
Becker
Becker () is one of the German-language surnames, along with Bäcker and Baecker, that derive from the root, which refers to baking. The surname began as a name for a baker (and thus his family). In northern Germany it can also derive from the ...
'' and in crime dramas like ''
Brooklyn South
''Brooklyn South'' is an American ensemble police drama television series that aired on CBS for one season from September 22, 1997, to April 27, 1998. It was aired during the 1997–98 television season. The series was co-created by Steven Boc ...
''. He had one of his most notable recurring roles on the political drama ''
The West Wing
''The West Wing'' is an American 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 West Wing of the White Hous ...
'' as the CIA director from 2000 until 2005 and in 2007 begin two other significant TV roles. He was Admiral John Smith on the thriller ''
24'' and played Betty's ailing father on the 1960s era hit ''
Mad Men
''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its f ...
''.
He collaborated with
Joe Frank
Joe Frank (August 19, 1938 – January 15, 2018) was a French-born American writer, teacher, and radio performer best known for his often philosophical, humorous, surrealist, and sometimes absurd monologues and radio dramas he recorded often i ...
on his Peabody Award-winning series' on National Public Radio produced by KCRW: ''Work in Progress'', ''Somewhere Out There'', ''In The Dark'',
''The Other Side'' and ''Unfictional'' from 1987 until 2016.
He has performed at noted theater festivals including The Theatre of Nations. In
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
he appeared at the
New York Theatre Workshop, The Vineyard Theater, Ensemble Studio Theater, with The Alliance Francais at the John Houseman Theater, The Dia Foundation, Performance Space 122, NYSF, and WP Theater (The Women's Project) at The American Place Theater. In Los Angeles he appeared at The Mark Taper Forum, Geffen Playhouse, and the defunct but bracing Padua Hills Playwrights Workshop/Festival.
Samuel Beckett granted him rights to perform three theatrical solo premieres of his prose texts ''
All Strange Away'' at
La MaMa
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...
.
Filmography
Television
Video Games
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutrona, Ryan
1949 births
American male film actors
American male television actors
Living people
Male actors from New York (state)
People from West Point, New York