Chris Ellis
Known for Acting · 107 credits
- Born
- 1956-04-14 (age 70)
- Place of birth
- Dallas, Texas, USA
Biography
Chris Ellis (born April 14, 1956) is an American film and television actor. Ellis always wanted to be an actor because of television. He grew up in the 50's in the deep south in a "world of privation and violence", but saw on television people who seemed to have lives of ease and privilege.
It took him seven years to finish college however, because "I have always been shiftless". During those years Chris became involved in community theatre in Memphis, where "I did and do still think the quality of the work has always been quite good". By the time he moved to New York, he had worked with many excellent actors in about two dozen plays, classical and contemporary. "I cannot imagine what might have supplanted that background for a newcomer in New York."
His first part in either television or film came in 1979, where he played a truck driver in the TV movie The Suicide's Wife, which starred Angie Dickinson. The role resulted in very little TV or film work. After working in regional theatre for a year or so, Chris fell off the radar screen and did not work for about ten years. During that time he lived in "bone-grinding poverty" in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen. In one nine-month period of 1987, Chris accepted 102 dinner invitations. "I don't know why they kept arriving, nor why I counted them, though I do know why I accepted them."
In 1990, a break came when he got a part in Days of Thunder, which starred Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Cary Elwes, Robert Duvall, and Randy Quaid. John C. Reilly and Fred Dalton Thompson also appear. This seemed to jump-start Ellis' career as parts in films like My Cousin Vinny with Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei, a small part in Addams Family Values, and a larger one in Apollo 13 as former NASA Mercury Seven astronaut Deke Slayton, alongside Tom Hanks, followed. He also began picking up credits on well-known television shows like Melrose Place, NYPD Blue, and The X-Files.
Since working with Hanks on Apollo 13, the two have worked together on That Thing You Do, the TV miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, and Catch Me If You Can. Ellis returned to a fictional NASA Mission Control when he played a Flight Director in 1998's Armageddon.
Known For
TV Shows (47)
NCIS
2003
as John Deluca
The Mentalist
2008
as Sherrif Mullery
Criminal Minds
2005
as Sheriff Rhodes
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
2000
as Clinton Malton
The Office
2005
as Chris O'Keefe
The X-Files
1993
as Sheriff Lance Hindt
Young Sheldon
2017
as Marty Steinbecker
CSI: NY
2004
as Vincent Williams
The West Wing
1999
as Congressman Fields
Mad Men
2007
as Del Hill
Diagnosis: Murder
1993
as Leonard Wilson
Ghost Whisperer
2005
as Captain Ken Nilsen
Melrose Place
1992
as Cop
Cold Case
2003
as Jim Horn (2008)
The Practice
1997
as Zoning Board Chairman Donald Blane
Veronica Mars
2004
as Reverend Ted Capistrano
Burn Notice
2007
as Virgil Watkins
Chicago Hope
1994
as Bill Erskine
Las Vegas
2003
as Dr. Sassen
Six Feet Under
2001
as Construction Worker #2
9-1-1: Lone Star
2020
as Derek Poole
Justified
2010
as Douglas Cooper
NYPD Blue
1993
as Marshal
Warehouse 13
2009
as Colonel Arnold Cassell
Millennium
1996
as Jim Penseyres
The Unit
2006
as Congressman Bruce Gelber
The Pretender
1996
as Daniel Crockett
Harry's Law
2011
From the Earth to the Moon
1998
as Bob Parker
Roswell
1999
as T. Greer
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
2008
as Hayes
Arli$$
1996
as Henneman / Maynard Dupree
Family Law
1999
as Mr. Reese
Law & Order: LA
2010
as Walter Exley
Murder One
1995
as Mr. Switzer
In Plain Sight
2008
as Reidell
K.C. Undercover
2015
as Christos Markos
Homecoming
2018
as Richard Lehmann
The Finder
2012
as Warden Nick Larsen
Promised Land
1996
as Brian Pascal
Space: Above and Beyond
1995
as Adm. Stenner
The Good Guys
2010
as Beau Teague
Alias
2001
as Agent Chapman
Birds of Prey
2002
as Larry Ketterly
Fairly Legal
2011
as Maddox Resor
First Monday
2002
Political Animals
2012
as Jubal Jacobs
Movies (60)
The Dark Knight Rises
2012
as Fr. Reilly
Catch Me If You Can
2002
as Special Agent Witkins
Armageddon
1998
as Flight Director Clark
Con Air
1997
as BOP Official Grant
Apollo 13
1995
as Deke Slayton
Godzilla
1998
as General Anderson
Live Free or Die Hard
2007
as Capt. Jack Scalvino
Bean
1997
as Detective Butler
The Island
2005
as Aces & Spades Barman
Planet of the Apes
2001
as Commander Karl Vasich
Addams Family Values
1993
as Moving Man
Crimson Tide
1995
as Additional Magician
Transformers
2007
as Admiral Brigham
The Guest
2014
as Hendricks
Days of Thunder
1990
as Harlem Hoogerhyde
G-Force
2009
as NSA Director
My Cousin Vinny
1992
as J.T.
Fun with Dick and Jane
2005
as Vice President - Grand Cayman Bank
The Devil's Rejects
2005
as Coggs
October Sky
1999
as Principal Turner
Wag the Dog
1997
as Officer
A Little Princess
1995
as Policeman
That Thing You Do!
1996
as Phil Horace
Jessabelle
2014
as Sheriff Pruitt
McFarland, USA
2015
as Coach Jenks (as Chris Ellis Jr.)
Wonderland
2003
as Captain Nimziki
Undercover Blues
1993
as Burt
The Watcher
2000
as Hollis
If These Walls Could Talk
1996
as Crowd Leader
The Show
2017
as Keller
Domestic Disturbance
2001
as Detective Warren
In Enemy Hands
2004
as Samuel Littleton
Helter Skelter
2004
as Sgt. Whiteley
Daddy and Them
2001
as Dewey
The Oath
2018
as Hank
Faults
2014
as Dad
Home Fries
1998
as Henry Lever
Crazy
2008
as Glen the Carousel Manager
In the Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance
1994
as News Vendor
Tiger Cruise
2004
as Captain Anderson
The Tie That Binds
1995
as Security Guard #1
Gospel Hill
2008
as L Donn Murray
Amelia 2.0
2017
as Senator Thaddeus Williams
Believe in Me
2006
as Jim Stovall
Love Liza
2002
as Patriot Model Aeronautics Clerk
Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn
1982
as Clown
What Still Remains
2018
as Harvey
Silo
2021
as Mr. Adler
Her Costly Affair
1996
as Wes
Pitching Tents
2017
as Principal Don Bishop
The Darkroom
2006
as Jackson
Beyond the City Limits
2001
as Det. Hanson
Sparkler
1997
as Buddy #1
The Ghost Trap
2024
as Doug Kane
Death and Texas
2004
as Phillip Brodeur
On the Line
1998
as Officer Roux
Teenage Dirtbag
2009
as Pops
My Dinner with Jimi
2003
as Sergeant
Sissy Frenchfry
2006
as Willinger McDodey
Kenny
2018
as Al
About Chris Ellis
Chris Ellis (born April 14, 1956) is an American film and television actor. Ellis always wanted to be an actor because of television. He grew up in the 50's in the deep south in a "world of privation and violence", but saw on television people who seemed to have lives of ease and privilege. It took him seven years to finish college however, because "I have always been shiftless". During those years Chris became involved in community theatre in Memphis, where "I did and do still think the quality of the work has always been quite good". By the… With 107 credits spanning from 1982 to 2024, Chris Ellis has appeared in 60 films and 47 TV shows.
Fans searching for Chris Ellis movies, Chris Ellis filmography, or the latest projects starring Chris Ellis can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Chris Ellis Movies
- The Dark Knight Rises (2012) — as Fr. Reilly
- Catch Me If You Can (2002) — as Special Agent Witkins
- Armageddon (1998) — as Flight Director Clark
- Con Air (1997) — as BOP Official Grant
- Apollo 13 (1995) — as Deke Slayton
Where to Watch Chris Ellis Films
Most Chris Ellis movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Chris Ellis, check our movies catalogue and browse page.