Skip to main content
▶ WHOPLAYSNOW
John Getz

John Getz

​John Getz (born October 15, 1946) is an American actor. Getz dropped out of college to attend the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. While working in a winery, he helped found the Theater Company in Napa County, California. His location in the grape-growing Napa Valley led to Getz's television debut in a made-for-television horror film Killer Bees. Killer Bees starred Gloria Swanson, Craig Stevens, Kate Jackson, and Edward Albert. Getz then moved to New York City, where he became active in local theater while doing an 18-month stint as Neil Johnson on the soap opera Another World. Getz appeared in The Happy Hooker and followed up with several other roles before starring in the Coen Brothers' neo-noir thriller Blood Simple. He played the doomed lover of a married woman (Frances McDormand) who woefully misinterprets his increasingly complex circumstances. Getz also appeared in The Fly and The Fly II as Stathis Borans, a science magazine editor who pays a heavy price for his curiosity. Also in 1989, he played a Marine Corps Major in Born on the Fourth of July. In 1991, Getz appeared as the unpleasant boyfriend of professional women in Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead and Curly Sue. In 1990, Getz appeared as a crime boss in the Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez spoof Men At Work. In 1994, he appeared in the film Playmaker, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Rubin. In 2007, he had a role in David Fincher's film Zodiac. Also in 2007, he appeared in Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman's documentary film Nanking as George Ashmore Fitch, head of the local YMCA and administrative director of the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone. Getz also had a role in Fincher's film The Social Network, about the founding of Facebook. He appeared in the suspense thriller Elevator as a Wall Street executive trapped in an elevator with a group of strangers, one of whom has a bomb. Written and produced by Marc Rosenberg and directed by Stig Svendsen, Elevator was released in July 2012. He appeared in Trumbo (2015) as director Sam Wood. Through the decades, Getz has guest-starred in many television series, including Barney Miller and Three's Company, where he played Lee Tripper, brother of Jack Tripper. He has guest-starred in How I Met Your Mother, Prison Break, The King of Queens and Private Practice, and had recurring roles in Homeland, Timeless and Bosch. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Getz, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known for

The Dead Don't Hurt
The Dead Don't Hurt
2024 • Reverend Simpson
Body at Brighton Rock
Body at Brighton Rock
2019 • Sheriff
Brampton's Own
Brampton's Own
2018 • Bart
Certain Women
Certain Women
2016 • Sheriff Rowles
Trumbo
Trumbo
2015 • Sam Wood
The Perfect Guy
The Perfect Guy
2015 • Renkin
Eagleheart: Paradise Rising
Eagleheart: Paradise Rising
2013 • Bernard Moss
Jobs
Jobs
2013 • Paul Jobs

Full filmography

The Dead Don't Hurt
The Dead Don't Hurt
2024 • Reverend Simpson
View movie
Certain Women
Certain Women
2016 • Sheriff Rowles
View movie
Trumbo
Trumbo
2015 • Sam Wood
View movie
Jobs
Jobs
2013 • Paul Jobs
View movie
Elevator
Elevator
2013 • Henry Barton
View movie
A Line in the Sand
A Line in the Sand
2008 • Captain McClenon
View movie
Superhero Movie
Superhero Movie
2008 • Lunatic Editor
View movie
Hard Four
Hard Four
2007 • Blazedell Woodruff
View movie
Zodiac
Zodiac
2007 • Templeton Peck
View movie
Nanking
Nanking
2007 • George Fitch
View movie
A Day Without a Mexican
A Day Without a Mexican
2004 • Senator Abercombie
View movie
Hunger Point
Hunger Point
2003 • David Hunter
View movie
Zenon: The Zequel
Zenon: The Zequel
2001 • General Hammond
View movie
Held for Ransom
Held for Ransom
2000 • Mr. Kirkland
View movie
Some Girl
Some Girl
1998 • Claire's Father
View movie
Painted Hero
Painted Hero
1997 • Sheriff Acuff
View movie
Mojave Moon
Mojave Moon
1996 • Police Officer
View movie
A Friend's Betrayal
A Friend's Betrayal
1996 • Dennis Hewitt
View movie
The Late Shift
The Late Shift
1996 • Brandon Tartikoff
View movie
Awake to Danger
Awake to Danger
1995 • Steve Murdock
View movie
Fortunes of War
Fortunes of War
1994 • Franklin Hewitt
View movie
Playmaker
Playmaker
1994 • Eddie
View movie
Majority Rule
Majority Rule
1992 • Paul Taylor
View movie
In My Daughter's Name
In My Daughter's Name
1992 • Michael Elias
View movie
Curly Sue
Curly Sue
1991 • Walker McCormick
View movie
Men at Work
Men at Work
1990 • Maxwell Potterdam III
View movie
Born on the Fourth of July
Born on the Fourth of July
1989 • Marine Major - Vietnam
View movie
The Fly II
The Fly II
1989 • Stathis Borans
View movie
Police Story: Burnout
Police Story: Burnout
1988 • Sgt. Jack Leland
View movie
The Fly
The Fly
1986 • Stathis Borans
View movie
I Want To Go Home
1985 • Thomas Sanders
View movie
Thief of Hearts
Thief of Hearts
1984 • Ray Davis
View movie
Concrete Beat
Concrete Beat
1984 • Mickey Thompson
View movie
Tattoo
Tattoo
1981 • Buddy
View movie
Rivkin: Bounty Hunter
Rivkin: Bounty Hunter
1981 • Lester Dederow
View movie
Kent State
Kent State
1981 • Prof. Ted Arnold
View movie
The Sentinel
The Sentinel
1977 • Film Crew (uncredited)
View movie
The Happy Hooker
The Happy Hooker
1975 • Trout Fisherman
View movie
Killer Bees
Killer Bees
1974 • Attendant
View movie
John Getz – Biography, Known For & Filmography