Holt McCallany (born Holt Quinn McAloney; September 3, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for portraying FBI Special Agent Bill Tench on the series Mindhunter (2017–19) and has had leading and supporting roles in various television series and films, including Lights Out, Fight Club, Three Kings, Shot Caller, Wrath of Man, Nightmare Alley, and The Iron Claw.

Holt McCallany
Born
Holt Quinn McAloney

(1963-09-03) September 3, 1963 (age 61)[1]
OccupationActor
Years active1986–present
MotherJulie Wilson

Early life and education

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McCallany was born September 3, 1963, in New York City, to theatrical parents. His mother, Julie Wilson (1924–2015), was an American singer and actress, "widely regarded as the queen of cabaret."[2] His father, Michael McAloney (1924–2000), was an Irish actor and producer best known for his Tony Award-winning production of Brendan Behan's Borstal Boy, an autobiographical play about a young member of the Irish Republican Army, which was the first Irish production to win top honors on Broadway.

Because his father wanted a classical education for his two sons, McCallany and his younger brother were sent to live with another family in Dublin, while his parents stayed in New York City, working. In Ireland, he attended the National School in Howth.[3] However, following his parents' divorce the children moved back to the United States. He attended school first in New Jersey and was later sent to live with his maternal grandparents in Omaha, Nebraska, where he had a troubled childhood and was expelled from Creighton Preparatory School. At the age of 14, he ran away from home and took a Greyhound bus to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of becoming an actor, but ended up with a job in a factory unloading trucks. His parents eventually tracked him down and sent him back to Ireland to a boarding school in County Kildare that his father had attended forty years earlier, Newbridge College.[4]

He soon left Ireland and eventually was allowed to return to Creighton Preparatory School, and graduated in 1981. After high school, he went to France to continue his education, first to study French at the Sorbonne and art at the Paris American Academy, and later theater at L'École Marcel Marceau and L'École Jacques Lecoq. McCallany spent a summer studying Shakespeare at Oxford University and went with a production of Twelfth Night to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival before moving to New York City to begin his professional acting career.[5]

Career

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His first job in the professional theater was as an apprentice actor at the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Cleveland, Ohio, in the same apprenticeship once served by Tom Hanks, among others. Subsequently, he returned to New York City and was cast as an understudy in the Broadway production of Biloxi Blues.

McCallany landed a series of supporting parts in such films as Casualties of War, Alien 3, Creepshow 2, The Search for One-eye Jimmy and Jade, as well as the TV miniseries Rough Riders. After playing the legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas in the HBO telefilm Tyson, he became a supporter of the Atlas Foundation Charity, a grassroots organization dedicated to helping children and families with medical and financial hardships.[citation needed]

He continued working in films and television throughout the nineties and 2000s with roles in films such as Fight Club, Three Kings, Men of Honor and Below, among others. He played a detective with psychological problems in CSI: Miami and a soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder on Criminal Minds.

He appeared in the 2010 Warner Bros. film, The Losers, based on the graphic novel from DC Comics. McCallany also was the star of the 2011 FX television series, Lights Out, playing an aging boxer ("Patrick 'Lights' Leary") forced out of retirement and into a comeback bid to regain the heavyweight title, despite having pugilistic dementia.[citation needed]

He followed this with roles in films like Sully, Shot Caller and Blackhat, among many others.

From 2017 to 2019, McCallany co-starred in the Netflix series Mindhunter for director David Fincher. He played Bill Tench, an FBI agent researching serial killers in the late 1970s.[6] His first French-language film, an adaptation of the Georges Feydeau comedy Le Dindon, was released in September 2019.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1987 Creepshow 2 Sam Whitemoon
1988 After School Jay
Shakedown Roadblock Officer
1989 Casualties of War Lt. Kramer
1992 Alien 3 Junior
1994 Amateur Usher
The Search for One-eye Jimmy Les
1995 Flirt Bartender
Jade Bill Barrett
1997 The Peacemaker Mark Appleton
1999 Mumford Newcomer Uncredited
Fight Club The Mechanic
Three Kings Capt. Doug Van Meter
2000 Men of Honor MM1 Dylan Rourke
2001 Out of Line Henri Brulé
2002 Below Loomis
2004 Against the Ropes Doug Doherty
2005 The Kingdom of Ultimate Power Boss #2 Short film
2006 Alpha Dog Detective Tom Finnegan
2007 Rise: Blood Hunter Rourke
2008 Vantage Point Agent Ron Matthews
Toxic Van
2009 A Perfect Getaway Police Lieutenant
Stolen Swede
2010 The Losers Wade
2012 Hijacked Rostow
Bullet to the Head Hank Greely
2013 Gangster Squad Karl Lennox
Crush Mike Norris Direct-to-DVD
2015 Run All Night Frank
Blackhat Deputy United States Marshal Jessup
The Perfect Guy Detective Hansen
Concussion Angry Neurologist
2016 The Ganzfeld Haunting Detective Murphy
Sully Mike Cleary
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back Col. Sam Morgan
Monster Trucks Burke
2017 Shot Caller Jerry "The Beast" Manning
Justice League Burglar Uncredited
2018 Beyond White Space Richard Bentley
2019 Sgt. Will Gardner Officer Callahan
Le Dindon Mr. Wayne
2020 Greenland Pilot #1
2021 Wrath of Man Haiden "Bullet" Blaire
The Ice Road Rene Lampard
Nightmare Alley Anderson
2022 Wolves Westview Country Supply Manager Voice
2023 The Iron Claw Fritz Von Erich
2025 The Amateur CIA Deputy Director Moore Post-production
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Secretary of Defense Bernstein Post-production

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1986 All My Children Bruce Emory 1 episode
1993 Zelda Television film
1994 Law & Order Marc Kenner Episode: "Doubles"
1995 Tyson Teddy Atlas Television film
1995 Tecumseh: The Last Warrior Blue Jacket Television film
1997 The Advocate's Devil Joe Campbell Television film
1997 Rough Riders Sgt. Hamilton Fish 2 episodes
1999 Law & Order Officer Steve Felton Episode: "Shield"
2000 Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye Minnow Television film
2000 L.A. County 187 Deputy John Gustodas Pilot
2000–2001 Freedom Owen Decker 12 episodes
2003, 2005 CSI: Miami Detective John Hagen 11 episodes
2004 Monk Pat van Ranken Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Three Pies"
2006 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Walter Inman Episode: "Manipulated"
2006 Underfunded Alex Breech Television film
2007 Medium Nick Lewin Episode: "Better Off Dead"
2007 Heroes Ricky McKenna 4 episodes
2007 Criminal Minds Roy Woodridge Episode: "Distress"
2007–2008 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Det. Patrick Copa 2 episodes
2008 CSI Mr. Westerman Episode: Young Man with a Horn
2009 Bound by a Secret Jimmy Television film
2009 Burn Notice Santora Episode: "Question and Answer"
2010 Night and Day Bobby Kohl Pilot
2011 Lights Out Patrick "Lights" Leary 14 episodes
2012 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Donald O'Keefe Episode: "Official Story"
2013 Golden Boy Detective Joe Diaco 13 episodes
2014–2015 Blue Bloods D.A. Robert McCoy 5 episodes
2015 Warrior Andriv Vorobin Pilot
2017–2019 Mindhunter Bill Tench 19 episodes
2022 61st Street Lt. Brannigan 8 episodes
2023 Foundation Warden Jaegger Fount 2 episodes
2024 The Lincoln Lawyer Neil Bishop 3rd season

Video games

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Year Title Voice role
2000 Star Wars: Demolition Wade Vox
2004 Fight Club Mechanic

References

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  1. ^ "Holt Mccallany". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  2. ^ Holden, Stephen (April 6, 2015). "Julie Wilson, Sultry Cabaret Legend and Actress, Dies at 90". The New York Times. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  3. ^ Kelly, Aoife (October 22, 2017). "Mindhunter star Holt McCallany on channelling his late Irish father for role in hit new Netflix series". Irish Independent. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  4. ^ "Holt McCallany". The Adam Carolla Show. March 2, 2011. Archived from the original on March 7, 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
  5. ^ "Biography". Holt McCallany.net. Retrieved November 1, 2019.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (March 9, 2016). "David Fincher's Netflix Drama 'Mind Hunter' Finds Its Star". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
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