Chris Ellis

Chris Ellis

Biography: Chris Ellis is an American film and television actor who was born April 14, 1956 in Dallas, Texas. 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. Additional films in which Ellis has appeared include Home Fries, October Sky, Live Free or Die Hard, and Transformers. His television credits also include The West Wing, Ghost Whisperer, Chicago Hope, The Pretender, Alias, JAG, CSI: NY, Burn Notice, and Cold Case. He appeared in three season one episodes of Millennium as group member Jim Panseayres. He has established a reputation as being particularly talented at portraying Southern lawmakers or serious military or police-type characters. He also appeared in Criminal Minds as Sheriff Jimmy Rhodes who calls for the BAU's help in investigating a string of murders in New Mexico. In addition to that, he also had two guest appearances in NCIS as Gunnery Sergeant John Deluca. Ellis's appearance in the Season 1 episode, "The Curse" was uncredited while his second and final appearance in Season 2's "The Bone Yard" was credited. Description above from the Wikipedia article Chris Ellis (actor), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Place of Birth: Not available

Birthday: April 14, 1956

Deathday: N/A

Popularity:

6.412

Known For

Armageddon
Armageddon

1998-07-01

Godzilla
Godzilla

1998-05-20

Bean
Bean

1997-07-03

Apollo 13
Apollo 13

1995-06-30

Catch Me If You Can
Catch Me If You Can

2002-12-16

Live Free or Die Hard
Live Free or Die Hard

2007-06-20

My Cousin Vinny
My Cousin Vinny

1992-03-13

The Watcher
The Watcher

2000-09-08

Sparkler
Sparkler

1997-10-01

Gospel Hill
Gospel Hill

2008-02-09

In Enemy Hands
In Enemy Hands

2004-02-25

Home Fries
Home Fries

1998-11-25

Teenage Dirtbag
Teenage Dirtbag

2009-10-20

My Dinner with Jimi
My Dinner with Jimi

2003-02-16

October Sky
October Sky

1999-02-19

Wag the Dog
Wag the Dog

1997-12-25

G-Force
G-Force

2009-07-24

In the Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance
In the Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance

1994-01-23

Jessabelle
Jessabelle

2014-11-07

Tiger Cruise
Tiger Cruise

2004-08-06

Helter Skelter
Helter Skelter

2004-07-23

Undercover Blues
Undercover Blues

1993-09-10

Sissy Frenchfry
Sissy Frenchfry

2006-07-15

That Thing You Do!
That Thing You Do!

1996-10-04

Faults
Faults

2014-03-06

A Little Princess
A Little Princess

1995-05-10

Love Liza
Love Liza

2002-12-30

The Ghost Trap
The Ghost Trap

2024-04-19

Beyond the City Limits
Beyond the City Limits

2001-12-17

The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Rises

2012-07-17

What Still Remains
What Still Remains

2018-08-14

Crazy
Crazy

2008-03-02

Death and Texas
Death and Texas

2004-03-12

The Tie That Binds
The Tie That Binds

1995-09-08

The Show
The Show

2017-09-21

Transformers
Transformers

2007-06-27

Pitching Tents
Pitching Tents

2017-03-31

If These Walls Could Talk
If These Walls Could Talk

1996-09-11

The Island
The Island

2005-07-21

Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes

2001-07-25

Amelia 2.0
Amelia 2.0

2017-08-04

The Oath
The Oath

2018-10-12

Kenny
Kenny

2018-10-15

Her Costly Affair
Her Costly Affair

1996-10-28

Addams Family Values
Addams Family Values

1993-11-19

Daddy and Them
Daddy and Them

2001-10-26

Fun with Dick and Jane
Fun with Dick and Jane

2005-12-21

The Devil's Rejects
The Devil's Rejects

2005-07-22

Domestic Disturbance
Domestic Disturbance

2001-10-28

The Guest
The Guest

2014-09-05

Days of Thunder
Days of Thunder

1990-06-27

Con Air
Con Air

1997-06-05

Crimson Tide
Crimson Tide

1995-05-12

Silo
Silo

2021-05-07

Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn
Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn

1982-02-27

Believe in Me
Believe in Me

2006-09-07

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