Bob Gunton

Bob Gunton is the actor who played the vengeful Captain Benjamin Maxwell in the Star Trek: The Next Generation fourth season episode. He is perhaps best known for his role as Warden Norton in the 1994 motion picture The Shawshank Redemption and for his role as United States Secretary of Defense (and later Chief of Staff) Ethan Kanin on the FOX television series, 24. He has been nominated for two Tony Awards for his work in the Broadway musicals Evita and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Stage work and associated screen credits
In 1977, Gunton stood in for Christopher Lloyd in the play Happy End during its Broadway debut. Lloyd was starring in the play as Bill Cracker but was unable to make the premiere performance due to a leg injury. Gunton went on in his place until Lloyd was able return to the role (albeit on crutches). Gunton and Lloyd later co-starred together in the 1992 TV movie Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster (also featuring Bruce Gray) and the 1997 independent film Changing Habits (with Teri Garr and Anne Haney).

Gunton was nominated by the Drama Desk Awards for his performance in the 1978 Broadway musical, King of Hearts. In 1979, Gunton starred in the Broadway musical Evita in the role of Argentine dictator Juan Perón, for which he received his first Tony Award nomination in addition to winning a Drama Desk Award. He later received Drama Desk nominations for his off-Broadway play How I Got That Story and for his performance as The King in the Broadway musical Big River. The latter also starred Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Rene Auberjonois in the role of The Duke. Gunton and Auberjonois later worked together in the CBS TV movie Ned Blessing: The True Story of My Life, with Bill Bolender, Jeff Kober, and Jimmie F. Skaggs.

In 1982, Gunton worked with Robert Joy and John Vickery in the off-Broadway play The Death of Von Richtofen as Witnessed From Earth. He then played Claudius in an off-Broadway production of Hamlet which also starred James Cromwell as Horatio and Raphael Sbarge as Reynaldo. In 1983, he co-starred with Frank Langella in the Broadway production of Passion. In 1988, Gunton played the Governor and Caroline Lagerfelt his wife in Phaedra Britannica. Gunton received his second Tony nomination in 1990 for playing the title role in the revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. This role had previously been portrayed on Broadway first by Len Cariou and then by George Hearn.

Film work
Gunton made his feature film debut in the 1981 drama Rollover. His film work continued in the late 1980s with roles in the 1987 historical drama Matewan (with Gordon Clapp, Ken Jenkins, Kevin Tighe, and Tom Wright), the 1987 romantic comedy The Pick-Up Artist (with Vanessa Williams), and the 1989 American Civil War epic Glory. The latter film also featured fellow Star Trek alumni J.D. Cullum, Cliff DeYoung, Mark Margolis, and Richard Riehle, as well as Star Trek: Voyager regular Ethan Phillips.

In 1989, Gunton made an appearance in Oliver Stone's acclaimed drama Born on the Fourth of July, as did Reg E. Cathey, Ed Lauter, Mark Moses, Richard Poe, and Mike Starr. Gunton again worked with Stone on 1991's JFK, which also featured Bill Bolender and Tony Plana. In between these two films, Gunton shot a comedy entitled Missing Pieces, which co-starred Q actor John de Lancie. In 1992 and 1993, Gunton was seen in Patriot Games (with Ellen Geer), The Public Eye (with Ian Abercrombie, Richard Riehle, and Nick Tate), Jennifer Eight (with Kevin Conway), Father Hood (co-starring Adrienne Barbeau and Brian Bonsall), and Demolition Man (with Bill Cobbs).

Perhaps Gunton's best-known film role is that of Warden Norton in the acclaimed 1994 prison drama The Shawshank Redemption. Fellow Star Trek veterans Dion Anderson, Bill Bolender, Brian Brophy, Jude Ciccolella, Don McManus, Mark Rolston, and William Sadler also had roles in this film. The following year, Gunton appeared in the mystery drama Dolores Claiborne, along with Christopher Plummer, and played Burton Quinn in the comedy sequel Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. He then had supporting roles in the 1996 action thrillers Broken Arrow (which starred Christian Slater and also featured Casey Biggs, Raymond Cruz, Vince Deadrick, Gary Epper, James MacDonald, and Kurtwood Smith) and The Glimmer Man (with fellow TNG guest star Nikki Cox).

Gunton made an uncredited appearance in the 1997 drama A Thousand Acres, whose supporting cast included Keith Carradine, John Carroll Lynch, and Kenneth Tigar. Later that year, Gunton co-starred in Clint Eastwood's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, along with Anne Haney, Richard Herd, J. Patrick McCormack, Michael O'Hagan, and Leon Rippy. Gunton afterward portrayed Dean Walcott in the hit 1998 comedy-drama Patch Adams, which starred Robin Williams and featured Ellen Albertini Dow, Harry Groener, Richard Kiley, Randy Oglesby, Harve Presnell. Gunton then co-starred with 's Dina Meyer in the 1999 horror-thriller Bats, which was written by Nemesis scribe John Logan.

Gunton's next film role was that of Alexander McNally III, the owner of the yacht called the Mistral, in the 2000 blockbuster The Perfect Storm. Fellow TNG guest star Christopher McDonald also had a supporting role in this film. Gunton's more recent film credits have included the 2001 action thriller Scenes of the Crime (with Mädchen Amick), the 2004 comedy I Heart Huckabees, the 2004 drama Iron Jawed Angels, the 2007 thrillers Dead Silence, Fracture, and Rendition, the 2007 comedy Numb (with Brian George), the 2008 drama The Lazarus Project, and the 2011 legal thriller The Lincoln Lawyer.

Television work
Guntons notable T.V work includes Noah Taylor in Desperate housewives as well as Ethan Kanin in 24.

TV movies and mini-series
Gunton's earliest television acting role was that of Harry Gibbs in the 1982 made-for-TV movie Lois Gibbs and the Love Canal. Future Star Trek: Voyager actor Robert Picardo co-starred in the movie. Gunton's next TV movie was the 1985 HBO drama Finnegan Begin Again, which also featured David Huddleston and Deep Space Nine regular Avery Brooks.

In 1990, Gunton was seen in the TV movies Judgment (co-starring with Keith Carradine, Robert Joy, and Mitchell Ryan) and The Bride in Black (directed by James Goldstone and co-starring Stephen Liska, David Soul, and Tony Todd). The following year, he appeared in the TV movie Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, along with Vaughn Armstrong, Gordon Clapp, Jeffrey Nordling, Andrew Prine, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. This movie was directed by Robert Iscove.

His other TV movie credits during the 1990s included the movies Ladykiller (with Alice Krige and Bert Remsen), Roswell (with Michael Bofshever, Richard Fancy, Bruce Gray, John Hostetter, James MacDonald, Warren Munson, Eugene Roche, and David Selburg), In Pursuit of Honor (co-starring James B. Sikking), Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long (co-starring Bill Cobbs), The Siege at Ruby Ridge (with Kirsten Dunst, Gary Graham, Hal Landon, Jr., Bradley Pierce, and Joel Swetow), and Buffalo Soldiers (co-written by Frank Military). He also played Richard Nixon in the Showtime Network movie Elvis Meets Nixon, which featured an appearance by DS9 guest star Richard Beymer.

Gunton also had a role in the 1991 mini-series A Woman Named Jackie, which featured actor Stephen Collins as John F. Kennedy. Gunton's subsequently mini-series include 1992's Sinatra (with Marc Adams, Brad Blaisdell, Christopher Carroll, Jeff Corey, Robin Gammell, Bruce Gray, Brian Markinson, Jay Robinson, Don Stark, and Todd Waring) and 1994's Wild Palms (with Kim Cattrall, Brad Dourif, Bebe Neuwirth, Charles Rocket, and David Warner).

Gunton, along with Teri Hatcher and Bruce McGill, had a supporting role in the 2000 TNT Network movie Running Mates. The following year, Gunton appeared in the movie When Billie Beat Bobby along with Michael Cavanaugh, Paul Collins, Patrick Kerr, Leonard Kelly-Young, and Scott Klace. He was also one of the many Star Trek performers to appear in the acclaimed 2001 HBO movie 61*. Among his co-stars in this production were the aforementioned Robert Joy, Christopher McDonald, and Bruce McGill, as well as Seymour Cassel, Robert Costanzo, J.D. Cullum, Charles Esten, Michael Nouri, Dell Yount, and Star Trek: Enterprise star Connor Trinneer.

His more recent TV movie credits have included Paramount Television's 2004 production Judas and the 2007 horror film Pandemic. The latter also featured Robert Curtis Brown, Clyde Kusatsu, and Colby Paul in the cast.

TV series
In 1988, Gunton and fellow TNG guest star Susan Diol were regulars on the short-lived drama series Hothouse. Later that same year, Gunton appeared in a fifth season episode of the crime series Miami Vice along with Rosalind Chao and James Saito. In 1990, he made guest appearances on the NBC shows Law & Order (in an episode with Richard Poe) and L.A. Law (with Corbin Bernsen, Larry Drake, and Jennifer Hetrick).

In 1995, Gunton was a main cast member on the short-lived CBS crime drama Courthouse. Fellow TNG guest actor Dan Gauthier and actress Jacqueline Kim were also regulars on this series. In 1998, Gunton appeared on Ally McBeal, in an episode with Willie Garson and Albert Hall. This was followed by guest appearances on the drama Family Law (starring Christopher McDonald, Salli Elise Richardson, and Julie Warner) and the sitcom Spin City (starring Alan Ruck).

In 2002, Gunton starred as "Junction Jack" in the short-lived FOX sitcom Greg the Bunny, on which Sarah Silverman was also a regular cast member. From 2004 through 2006, Gunton was seen in the recurring role of Noah Taylor on the hit ABC drama Desperate Housewives. Starring in this series are one-time TNG guest actress Teri Hatcher, actress Alfre Woodard, and Voyager and Enterprise guest star Mark Moses; Gunton also worked with Steven Culp on this series before the latter's character was killed off.

In addition, Gunton had recurring roles on NBC's Mister Sterling (working with Vaughn Armstrong, Art Chudabala, David Doty, Nicole Forester, Jim Jansen, Stanley Kamel, Randy Oglesby, Eric Pierpoint, George D. Wallace, and Harris Yulin), Judging Amy (including one episode with Megan Cole and another episode directed by Andrew Robinson), Nip/Tuck (including an episode with John Billingsley), E-Ring (including one episode directed by Kenneth Biller and two others with Jack Kehler), and Pepper Dennis (with Jason Brooks, Brett Cullen, James Read, and Tom Virtue).

His recent one-off guest appearances have included CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (with Raymond Cruz and Wallace Langham), Monk (playing husband and wife with Rosemary Forsyth), and Linda Park's first episode of First Wives Club. In 2008, Gunton appeared as an attorney on Boston Legal, the drama series which starred William Shatner and, at the time, John Larroquette. Jack Shearer also appeared in Gunton's episode as a Supreme Court Justice.

Gunton played Secretary of Defense Ethan Kanin in three episodes of the sixth season of FOX's hit series 24. He reprised the role of Kanin as a regular cast member for the seventh season of 24, as Chief of Staff to President Allison Taylor. This season also featured such Trek notables as John Billingsley, Jeffrey Nordling, Tony Todd, Connor Trinneer, and Annie Wersching. Gunton continued playing the role for the show's eighth and final season, scheduled to air in January 2010.