Memory Alpha
Register
Advertisement
Memory Alpha
Real world article
(written from a Production point of view)

Bruce McGill (born 11 July 1950; age 73) is the American actor who played Braxton in the Star Trek: Voyager fifth season episode "Relativity". He took over the role from Canadian actor Allan G. Royal.

McGill was born in San Antonio, Texas, and graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in acting. He is well-known for his role as Daniel Simpson Day (aka "D-Day") in the 1978 comedy film National Lampoon's Animal House, which co-starred fellow Voyager guest star Mark Metcalf. McGill reprised his role as D-Day in the short-lived Animal House television series which aired in 1979.

Since his appearance in Animal House, McGill has become highly recognized for his supporting roles in many other popular films, including My Cousin Vinny, The Insider, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Collateral, The Lookout, and Cinderella Man. He is also known for his numerous television appearances, including the recurring role of Jack Dalton on MacGyver and guest spots on Quantum Leap and Babylon 5.

Stage work[]

McGill began his professional stage acting career as a member of the Washington, District of Columbia-based National Shakespeare Company in 1973. Later that year, he joined Trinity Square Repertory Company of Providence, Rhode Island, where he remained until 1975. During his time with Trinity Square, he performed in such productions as Tom Jones, Peer Gynt, and Sherlock Holmes.

McGill made his Broadway stage debut in a revival of William Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre in 1975, in which he played the part of Oscric and understudied for the role of Laertes. He then appeared in a 1977 revival of The Cherry Orchard with David Clennon at the same venue.

In 1983, McGill was part of the original cast of the Broadway musical My One and Only. Among his co-stars in this production was Star Trek: Deep Space Nine regular Nana Visitor, making her Broadway debut. Both McGill and Visitor departed the show later in the year; the play closed in 1985 after 767 performances.

In January and February 2008, McGill worked alongside Sharon Lawrence in the Pasadena Playhouse production of Orson's Shadow.

Film career[]

Animal House was only McGill's second film, following Handle with Care (1977, co-starring Ed Begley, Jr. and Charles Napier). Following Animal House, McGill landed supporting roles in such films as Silkwood (1983, featuring Jim Beaver and Bill Cobbs), Wildcats (1986, with Bruce French), Club Paradise (1986, starring Joanna Cassidy and Andrea Martin), The Secret of My Success (1987, with Mark Margolis and Three Fugitives (1989, with Tim de Zarn, Alan Ruck, and Brian Thompson).

In the 1990s, McGill had roles in such popular films as The Last Boy Scout (1991, with Frank Collison, Jack Kehler, Frank Kopyc, and Noble Willingham), My Cousin Vinny (1992), Cliffhanger (1993, with Vyto Ruginis, Zach Grenier, Jeff McCarthy and Paul Winfield), A Perfect World (1993, with Keith Szarabajka), and Courage Under Fire (1996, with Albert Hall, Tim Ransom, and Ned Vaughn). He was also the third male lead in Timecop (1994, co-starring Scott Lawrence and Kenneth Welsh; his role of Eugene Matuzak would later be played by Don Stark in the TV series adaptation.

McGill had a supporting role in The Insider (1999, with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country actor Christopher Plummer). McGill reunited with Mann on Ali (2001, featuring LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, and Brad Greenquist) and Collateral (2004).

McGill co-starred with Deep Space Nine regular Terry Farrell and Star Trek: The Next Generation regular Wil Wheaton in Deep Core (2000). McGill followed this with a major supporting role in The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000, co-starring Harve Presnell. He then appeared in Shallow Hal (2001, with Jason Alexander), The Sum of All Fears (2002, co-starring James Cromwell) Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003, with David Doty, Michael Krawic, James Read, Bruce Thomas, Ruth Williamson, Carolyn Hennesy, Monika Spruch, and Keone Young), Matchstick Men (2003, with Tim Kelleher) and Runaway Jury (2003, with Bruce Davison).

McGill played boxing promoter Jimmy Johnston in Cinderella Man (2002, with Ron Canada and Clint Howard ). He then co-starred with Kirsten Dunst in Elizabethtown and appeared in Slow Burn, starring Jolene Blalock. He has since appeared in Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of Evil (2006, co-starring Ben Cross) and Vantage Point (2008, co-starring Zoe Saldana).

McGill had a role in the drama A Line in the Sand, directed and produced by Jeffrey Chernov. McGill was also seen as CIA Director George Tenet in W. (2008), a chronicle of the life and presidency of George W. Bush. He acted alongside James Cromwell in this film. McGill's film credits in 2009 included Obsessed and Law Abiding Citizen, the latter of which also starred veteran Star Trek guest actor Gregory Itzin and Next Generation/Deep Space Nine regular Colm Meaney. He then appeared in The Perfect Game (2009, starring Clifton Collins, Jr.), and Fair Game (2010, with David Andrews). Reuniting with Gregory Itzin and Dakin Matthews, McGill portrayed Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in Lincoln (2012, with Grainger Hines).

Television work[]

Between 1986 and 1992, McGill made frequent appearances as pilot Jack Dalton on MacGyver. He worked with several Star Trek alumni during his time on this series, including performers John Anderson, Leslie Bevis, Roger Aaron Brown, Robin Curtis, Anthony De Longis, Judy Geeson, Teri Hatcher, Lance LeGault, Gary Lockwood, Tzi Ma, Patricia McPherson, Ned Romero, Gregory Sierra, Cary-Hiroyuki, and Victor Tayback, and directors Cliff Bole, Charles Correll, and Michael Vejar. In one episode, Deep Space Nine guest actress Constance Towers played McGill's character's mother. This episode was directed by Rob Bowman.

In 1987, McGill co-starred in the made-for-TV adaptation of Walter Tevis' novel, The Man Who Fell to Earth. Also part of this film's cast were Wil Wheaton and Voyager's Robert Picardo. That same year, McGill was seen in the TV movie The Last Innocent Man with Clarence Williams III.

McGill guest-starred in two episodes of Quantum Leap – the pilot episode in 1989 and the series finale in 1993. This series starred Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell, both of whom later worked on Star Trek: Enterprise. The finale was directed by James Whitmore, Jr., and also featured Dan Butler, Susan Diol, Mike Genovese, Richard Herd, Stephen McHattie, and W. Morgan Sheppard.

During the 1995-1996 television season, McGill starred in UPN's Live Shot. Fellow Star Trek alumni Sam Anderson, David Birney, David Coburn, and Jeff Yagher were also regulars on this series. Other Star Trek performers who appeared on the show include Casey Biggs, Chase Masterson, Dion Anderson, John Schuck, Lee Arenberg, Hal Landon, Jr., Cully Fredricksen and Kenneth Tigar.

In 1996, McGill guest-starred as Major Ed Ryan on Babylon 5. Bill Mumy and Andreas Katsulas were regulars on the series; Phil Morris and James Parks were also in McGill's episode, entitled "Severed Dreams."

In a blooper from McGill's Babylon 5 episode, Bruce Boxleitner (as Captain John J. Sheridan) asks McGill's character where General Hague is, to which McGill responds, "General Hague… is doing Deep Space Nine. It seems he was double-booked by his agent and there was nothing to be done. You'll have to do with me, sir." This is a reference to what actually occurred. [1] General Hague was portrayed by Robert Foxworth and he could not return to his role on Babylon 5 because he had indeed been double-booked by his agent and guest starred on Deep Space Nine as Admiral Leyton in the episodes "Homefront" and "Paradise Lost" at the time episodes where he had been cast were scheduled to shoot.

In 2001, McGill was among the many Trek performers to have a role in 61*; his co-stars included Seymour Cassel, Robert Costanzo, J.D. Cullum, Charles Esten, Bob Gunton, Robert Joy, Christopher McDonald, Michael Nouri and, as a pair of writers, Dell Yount and Enterprise star Connor Trinneer. The following year, McGill appeared in Path to War (with Cliff DeYoung and Albert Hall) and Live from Baghdad (with John Carroll Lynch).

McGill had a recurring role on Wolf Lake, with Bill Mondy, Gregory Itzin, Sharon Lawrence, Sam Anderson, and Kellie Waymire also worked on this series. He has since appeared on such television shows as The Practice, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. He also appeared in an episode of CBS' Numbers with Steven Culp and an episode of Psych in which he and Richard Riehle play fellow firefighters. McGill starred as Boston police Sergeant Vincent Korsak on Rizzoli & Isles from 2010 to 2016.

External links[]

Advertisement