Michael O'Neill

Michael O'Neill

Born 1947-05-29 (age 79) Montgomery, Alabama, USA
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Biography

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Michael O'Neill (born May 29, 1951) is an American actor. With a career stretching through three decades, he usually portrays senior law enforcement or military officers. He is perhaps best known for his role as Special agent Ron Butterfield, the head of President Josiah Bartlet's Secret Service detail, on The West Wing. He played CTU Administrative Director Richard Walsh in the first two episodes of 24. He played Sgt. Maj. Ron Cheals in the CBS action-drama series The Unit. He starred in the Season Six 2 part Finale of Grey's Anatomy as the broken widower who holds the hospital hostage with a 9mm while pursuing the doctors responsible for unplugging his wife. His most notable film performances occur in Seabiscuit, Secondhand Lions, Transformers, Dancer, Texas Pop 81, Traffic, Sea of Love, A Quiet Little Marriage, Nothing But the Truth, and Green Zone. O'Neill graduated from Auburn University in 1974. After attending Auburn he spent time under the tutelage of actor Will Geer and his daughter, Ellen, at Theatricum Botanicum in Los Angeles before moving to New York to pursue his career there.

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Known For

War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds

2025

as Secretary of Defense Walter Crystal

Air
Air

2023

as Joe Dean

Dallas Buyers Club
Dallas Buyers Club

2013

as Richard Barkley

Traffic
Traffic

2000

as Lawyer Rodman

Transformers
Transformers

2007

as Tom Banacheck

Bride Hard
Bride Hard

2025

as Frank

Green Zone
Green Zone

2010

as Colonel Bethel

Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit

2003

as Mr. Pollard

Secondhand Lions
Secondhand Lions

2003

as Ralph

Sea of Love
Sea of Love

1989

as Raymond Brown

Dreamcatcher
Dreamcatcher

2003

as Gen. Matheson

J. Edgar
J. Edgar

2011

as Senator McKellar

The Legend of Bagger Vance
The Legend of Bagger Vance

2000

as O.B. Keeler

Lorenzo's Oil
Lorenzo's Oil

1992

as School Psychologist

Jennifer Eight
Jennifer Eight

1992

as Serato

Ghost Story
Ghost Story

1981

as Churchill

Nothing But the Truth
Nothing But the Truth

2008

as CIA Director

The Mod Squad
The Mod Squad

1999

as Greene

Bushwhacked
Bushwhacked

1995

as Jon Jordan

Clemency
Clemency

2019

as Chaplain David Kendricks