Excellent, prolific and versatile character actor Gregg Lee Henry was born on May 6, 1952 in Lakewood, Colorado. Henry studied acting at the University of Washington in Seattle. Right after graduating from college, Gregg moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue an acting career. He played in a band for three or four months and worked as an apprentice at the Old Globe theater in San Diego prior to getting his first television acting gig as Nick Nolte’s son, Wesley Jordache, in Rich Man, Poor Man – Book II (1976). Henry’s most memorable movie roles include nice guy drifter Paul Ramsey in Mean Dog Blues (1978), swaggering macho braggart Warren in the superior backwoods slasher movie Just Before Dawn (1981), rugged ex-Navy Seal Lt. Matt Ryder in The Patriot (1986); splendidly sneaky as Mel Gibson’s backstabbing, duplicitous partner Val Resnick in Payback (1999) and a hilarious scene-stealing turn as pompous good old boy small town mayor Jack MacReady in the delightful horror comedy Slither (2006).
Gregg has acted in several films for director Brian De Palma; he is especially fine and impressive as the smarmy Sam Bouchard in Body Double (1984). Henry has recurring parts on the television series Reasonable Doubts (1991), Gilmore Girls (2000) and The Riches (2007). Among the numerous television series he has done guest spots on are The Love Boat (1977), Simon & Simon (1981), Remington Steele (1982), Airwolf (1984), Moonlighting (1985), Designing Women (1986), Magnum, P.I. (1980), Falcon Crest (1981), Cagney & Lacey (1981), In the Heat of the Night (1988), L.A. Law (1986), Walker, Texas Ranger (1993), Matlock (1986), Chicago Hope (1994), Murder, She Wrote (1984), EZ Streets (1996), Family Law (1999), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000), Boston Public (2000), Firefly (2002), Enterprise (2001), Judging Amy (1999) and 24 (2001).
Moreover, Gregg has appeared in many made-for-TV movies, with his supremely chilling and convincing portrayal of the infamous Dennis Rader in The Hunt for the BTK Killer (2005) rating as a definite crowning achievement in this particular medium. Outside of his film and television work, Henry has acted on stage; he has won thirteen Drama Logue Awards, an L.A. Weekly Award, and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his stage work. Besides acting, Gregg is also a professional singer, songwriter (Dwight Yoakam recorded a single of his song “The Back of Your Hand”), and pianist who has recorded several albums. He is a good friend of fellow actor and musician Bruce Greenwood. Gregg Henry lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife Lisa James; she is a noted director for the American Theater who Gregg has collaborated with on various stage productions as both an actor and producer.
