Leon Russom


Leon Russom is an American actor. He appeared in numerous television series, particularly soap operas. He portrayed Admiral Toddman and the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. In his later years, he has appeared in shows such as X-Files, Bones, Jericho, Prison Break, and Cold Case. Russom worked with the Coen brothers twice, playing smaller parts in The Big Lebowski and True Grit, as well appearing in John Krasinski's A Quiet Place.

Early career

Russom was in the original cast of the 1969 Off-Broadway show Oh! Calcutta!. His first television acting work was on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light in the late 1960s. He subsequently appeared in another CBS soap opera Love is a Many Splendored Thing as Joe Taylor from 1972 to 1973. Russom was the second actor to play the role of Willis Frame on the NBC soap Another World, a role that he kept for several years. His early film career included The Trial of the Catonsville Nine as David Durst and Stephen King's Silver Bullet. He also appeared on the TV show Mission: Impossible as Sam Evans.

Later work

Leon Russom's later work included many appearances in dramas, mainly legal or crime. He appeared in many TV shows in the 1990s and the early 2000s, including L.A. Law, Bones, Cold Case, Law & Order, JAG, NYPD Blue, John Doe, The X-Files, Dark Skies, Seinfeld and other shows. He played the police chief of Malibu in the Coen brothers' The Big Lebowski. He appeared in Prison Break as General Jonathan Krantz, head of The Company.
Russom is also a stage actor, and in 2012, he was nominated for an LA Weekly Theater Award for his portrayal of Hamm in Samuel Beckett's Endgame at Los Angeles' Sacred Fools Theater Company, where he served as a co-artistic director for the company's sixteenth season, alongside fellow company members French Stewart and Alyssa Preston. In 2013, he appeared as the Earl of Gloucester in King Lear with The Porters of Hellsgate, alongside Larry Cedar as King Lear. In 2018, he appeared in a small but significant role in John Krasinski's acclaimed horror film, A Quiet Place.

Filmography

Film

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1969Guiding LightPeter Wexler1 episode
1971Mission: ImpossibleSam EvansEpisode: "The Miracle"
1972–1973Love is a Many Splendored ThingJoe Taylor248 episodes
1975KojakGallen1 episode
1978–1980Another WorldWillis Frame272 episodes
1987The EqualizerSergeant WorleyEpisode: "Solo"
1988The EqualizerLieutenant BorleyEpisode: "Something Green"
1993L.A. LawMatthew Wilton1 episode
1993Law & OrderGordon BryceEpisode: "Benevolence"
1993The X-FilesDetective MilesEpisode: Pilot
1995NYPD BlueWilliam Crawford1 episode
1995SeinfeldClaytonEpisode: "The Hot Tub"
1995Star Trek: Deep Space NineVice Admiral ToddmanEpisode: "The Die is Cast"
1996Nowhere ManDr. John ShayzinEpisode: "Forever Jung"
1996Dark SkiesAdmiral Roscoe Hillenkoetter1 episode
1997JAGCaptain Gayle Osbourne2 episodes
1998The Magnificent SevenMr. Wheeler1 episode
1999Diagnosis: MurderClaude Campbell1 episode
2000The PracticeBrian Kerns2 episodes
2000The X-FilesDetective MilesEpisode: "Requiem"
2002JAGLt. General Anthony Manzarek1 episode
2002John DoeLorne Barker1 episode
2002The West WingNetwork News President1 episode
2004NYPD BlueLarry Praegitzer1 episode
2005AliasJames Lehman1 episode
2006Cold CaseOwen Murphy1 episode
2006–2008JerichoSheriff2 episodes
2006-2009Prison BreakGeneral Jonathan Krantz30 episodes
2007BonesArchbishop Stephen Wallace1 episode
2007Boston LegalColonel George Hegarty1 episode
2019Shameless Chester1 episode