Born: July 13, 1968
Age: 56
Birthplace: Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Robert Gant (born Robert John Gonzalez; July 13, 1968) is an American actor. He is sometimes credited as Robert J. Gant.
Gant was born in Tampa, Florida, of Spanish, Italian, Cuban, Irish, and English descent. He was raised Baptist. He began acting in television commercials and joined the Screen Actors Guild at the age of ten in his home state of Florida. At the age of 11, he performed a soft-shoe routine with Bob Hope as part of Hope's USO tour.
He majored in English literature at the University of Pennsylvania and then studied law at Georgetown University Law Center. It was his career as a lawyer that brought him to Los Angeles when he accepted a position with the LA office of Chicago-based Baker & McKenzie. The international firm's Los Angeles office was closed soon after. Rather than continuing his career in law, he decided to focus on acting thereafter.
Gant is involved in a number of philanthropic organizations with a great deal of focus going to the issue of aging in the gay community. He currently resides in Los Angeles.
Between 2001 and 2005, Gant appeared on television in Showtime's Queer as Folk as Ben Bruckner, his best-known role to date. Prior to Queer as Folk, he appeared in recurring roles in Popular and Caroline in the City. Other guest appearances on television programs include Melrose Place, Ellen, Friends and Nip/Tuck, among others.
In June 2004, Gant starred in the short film Billy's Dad Is a Fudge-Packer!, an homage to 1950s educational films.
In 2005, he appeared in an episode of the television crime drama The Closer.
In 2007, Gant, Chad Allen and Judith Light acted and produced Save Me. The movie about the ex-gay movement was distributed by Mythgarden, the production company formed by Gant, Allen, and Christopher Racster in 2004.
In 2009, Gant appeared in Personal Affairs, a BBC Three-produced drama set in London's financial sector.
He also appeared in the independent films Special Delivery, The Contract, Fits and Starts and Marie and Bruce.
He plays the role of the Famous Director in the 2012 feature film Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean. In 2011, Gant made a cameo appearance in season 1, episode 8 of TV Land's Happily Divorced.
In 2015, Gant played Zor-El, the titular character's father in Supergirl.
Gant supports such organizations as Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) and Gay & Lesbian Elder Housing (GLEH).
He supported Hillary Rodham Clinton in her bid for the Democratic Party's Presidential nomination in 2008.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | Bitter Vengeance | Bookstore customer | Television film |
1994 | Cityscrapes: Los Angeles | Policeman B | |
1996 | Jane Street | Jay | |
1999 | Teaching Mrs. Tingle | Professor | |
2001 | Uta Hagen's Acting Class | Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew | Direct-to-video |
2002 | Contract, TheThe Contract | Gene Collins | |
2002 | Fits and Starts | Ian | |
2004 | Marie and Bruce | Bartender | |
2004 | Billy's Dad Is a Fudge-Packer! | Billy's dad | Short film |
2007 | Save Me | Scott | Also co-producer |
2007 | Live! | Casting director | |
2008 | Kiss Me Deadly | Jacob Keane | Television film |
2008 | Mask of the Ninja | Chief Garver | Television film |
2008 | Special Delivery | Nate Spencer | Television film |
2010 | Walter | Jim Benjamin / God | Short film |
2012 | Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean | Famous DirectorThe Famous Director | |
2015 | Million Happy Nows, AA Million Happy Nows | Dr. Hansen | Filming |
2016 | Love Is All You Need? | Pete Santilli | In post-production |
2016 | The Thinning | Vince Davi | Filming |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | Ellen | Dr. Garber | Episode: "The Dentist" |
1994 | My So-Called Life | Gunther | Episode: "Pressure" |
1994 | Melrose Place | Room service waiter | Episode: "Just Say No" |
1995 | My Wildest Dreams | Stewart | Episode: "Sister's Mister" |
1995 | Step by Step | Fireman | Episode: "Three Girls and a Baby" |
1996 | High Tide | Episode: "Old Friends" | |
1996 | Melrose Place | Deputy Tom | Episode: "Moving Violations" |
1997 | Night Stand with Dick Dietrick | Frank Thatcher | Episode: "Leave Your Job or I'm Leaving You" |
1997 | Life with Roger | Rod Davis | Episode: "The Boxer Rebellion" |
1997 | Friends | Jason | Episode: "The One with Ross's Thing" |
1997 | Hangin' with Mr. Cooper | Robin Hood bartender | Episode: "Party, Party" |
1997 | Silk Stalkings | Kevin | Episode: "Night of the Parrot" |
1997 | Head over Heels | Blake | Episode: "Hot Guy" |
1997-98 | Caroline in the City | Trevor | 9 episodes |
1998 | Style & Substance | Matthew | Episode: "Terry, We Hardly Knew Ye" |
1998 | Fantasy Island | Dave Sullivan | Episode: "Estrogen" |
1999 | Becker | Doug | Episode: "Cyrano De-Beckerac" |
1999 | Rude Awakening | Jim | Episode: "Abstinence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder" |
2000 | Linc's | Dr. Brad Wheeler | Episode: "I Just Want to Testify" |
2000-01 | Popular | Principal Calvin Krupps | 11 episodes |
2000 | Veronica's Closet | Bernie | Episode: "Veronica Sets Josh Up" |
2002 | V.I.P. | Arthur Goodwin | Episode: "Val Cubed" |
2002-05 | Queer as Folk | Professor Ben Bruckner | 55 episodes |
2002 | Providence | Dancing groom | Episode: "It's Raining Men" |
2005 | Closer, TheThe Closer | Julian Carver | Episode: "Batter Up" |
2006 | Pepper Dennis | Benny Gold | Episode: "Celebrity Twin Could Hang" |
2007 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Lewis Greyburg | Episode: "Empty Eyes" |
2008 | Nip/Tuck | Jeff Morris | Episode: "Magda and Jeff" |
2009 | Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World | Mayor Mayer / another student | Voice; episode: "The Only Straight in the Village" |
2009 | CSI: NY | Felix Redman | Episode: "Green Piece" |
2009 | Tracey Ullman's State of the Union | Buzz | Season 2, episode 6 |
2009 | Personal Affairs | Rock van Gelder | 5 episodes |
2009 | Castle | Ron Bigby | Episode: "Deep in Death" |
2009 | CSI: Miami | Lloyd Arrington | Episode: "Hostile Takeover" |
2010 | Bones | Coach Jason Hendler | Episode: "The Dentist in the Ditch" |
2010 | Hot in Cleveland | Steve | Episode: "Birthdates" |
2010 | 90210 | Dr. Wright | Episode: "Catch Me If You Cannon" |
2011 | Mike & Molly | Kyle | Episode: "First Valentine's Day" |
2011 | Happily Divorced | Marc | Episode: "A Kiss Is Just a Kiss" |
2011 | Secret Life of the American Teenager, TheThe Secret Life of the American Teenager | Mr. Martin | Episode: "4-1-1" |
2011 | Free Agents | Mark | Episode: "The Kids Are Probably Alright" |
2012 | Shameless | Greg Garvin | Episode: "Father's Day" |
2013 | Vegas | Rick Kent | Episode: "From This Day Forward" |
2013 | NCIS | Lt. Michael Dunkel | Episode: "Detour" |
2013 | Anger Management | Dr. Konner | Episode: "Charlie and the Hot Nerd" |
2013 | Baby Daddy | Steve | Episode: "The Christening" |
2013 | Sean Saves the World | Chase | Episode: "Date Expectations" |
2013-14 | Young and the Restless, TheThe Young and the Restless | David Sherman | 4 episodes |
2014 | Tomorrow People, TheThe Tomorrow People | Peter | 2 episodes |
2014 | Hit the Floor | Lewis Jason | Episode: "Full-Court Press" |
2015 | Criminal Minds | Warden Miles Tate | Episode: "Lockdown" |
2015-16 | Supergirl | Zor-El | 3 episodes |