Age: 67
Birthplace: Ljubljana, PR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia
Željko Ivanek (born August 15, 1957) is a Slovenian-American actor, known for his role as Ray Fiske on Damages, for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award. Ivanek is also known for his role of Ed Danvers on Homicide: Life on the Street and Homicide: The Movie, Governor James Devlin on Oz, Andre Drazen on 24, Blake Sterling on the short-lived NBC series The Event, and Emile "The Hunter" Danko on Heroes. Since 2014, he has starred in the CBS drama Madam Secretary.
Ivanek was born in Ljubljana, PR Slovenia, FPR Yugoslavia. He emigrated with his parents to the United States in 1960, when he was 3 years old. After a two-year stay, in 1962, the family moved back to Slovenia for five years and then returned to the United States in 1967. Having performed in numerous community theater plays in the San Francisco Bay Area, Željko graduated from Ellwood P. Cubberley High School in Palo Alto in 1975. Ivanek went on to graduate from Yale University in 1978 and afterward attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Ivanek has worked extensively on the stage. In 1982, he originated the role of Hally in Athol Fugard's play "Master Harold"...and the Boys. He has also appeared in the U.S. premieres of such notable plays as Caryl Churchill's Cloud Nine (for which he earned the 1981 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play) and Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman. He performs frequently on Broadway and has been nominated for three Tony Awards, for his performances in the original production of Brighton Beach Memoirs, in Two Shakespearean Actors, and in a revival of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, alongside David Schwimmer and Tim Daly.
However, Ivanek is perhaps best known for his supporting roles in a number of well-known television series. The characters he portrays are most often professional men such as lawyers or government functionaries and are frequently antagonists. These roles include Emile Danko in Heroes; Roland in The X-Files; prosecuting attorney Ed Danvers in Homicide: Life on the Street; Ray Fiske in Damages; J.J. in Big Love; the Magister in True Blood; Governor James Devlin in Oz; and Blake Sterling, the Director of National Intelligence in the NBC drama series The Event. He has also portrayed a broader range of roles, however, including John Dickinson, the Pennsylvanian representative to the Second Continental Congress in the HBO miniseries John Adams. Ivanek has also guest starred on shows such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and House. He has appeared several times on Law & Order as both one-off characters and as Ed Danvers in crossover episodes with Homicide: Life on the Street. He has a role also in the series Madam Secretary.
Ivanek has received recognition for his on-screen work. In 2008, he was awarded the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance in the role of Ray Fiske on Damages.
As well as his stage and television work, Ivanek has appeared in more than 20 feature films, including The Bourne Legacy, In Bruges, Dogville, Black Hawk Down, Donnie Brasco, Argo, and Seven Psychopaths.
In 2012, he portrayed Dr. Stafford White in the Fox drama The Mob Doctor. As of 2014, he has supporting roles in several shows on broadcast and cable television, including the NBC drama series Revolution, where he plays the recurring roles of Dr. Calvin Horn and an illusory nanotech avatar of Horn; the USA Network drama Suits; the Cinemax drama Banshee; and the FX series The Americans.
In That Guy... Who Was in That Thing, he reveals that his contract includes a rider to ensure that the character Ž in "Željko" does not appear as Z in the credits.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1982 | Soldier, TheThe Soldier | Bombmaker | |
1982 | Tex | Hitchhiker | |
1982 | Sender, TheThe Sender | John Doe #83 / The Sender | |
1984 | Mass Appeal | Mark Dolson | |
1984 | The Sun Also Rises | Bill Gorton | |
1987 | Rachel River | Momo | |
1990 | Artificial Paradise | Willy | |
1991 | Our Sons | Donald Barnes | |
1992 | School Ties | Mr. Cleary | |
1996 | White Squall | Coast Guard Captain Sanders | |
1996 | Courage Under Fire | Ben Banacek | |
1996 | Infinity | Bill Price | |
1996 | Associate, TheThe Associate | SEC Agent Thompkins | |
1997 | Donnie Brasco | Tim Curley | |
1997 | Julian Po | Tom Potter | |
1998 | Nowhere to Go | Principal Jack Walker | |
1998 | Civil Action, AA Civil Action | Bill Crowley | |
1999 | Snow Falling on Cedars | Dr. Whitman | |
2000 | Dancer in the Dark | District Attorney | |
2001 | Hannibal | Dr. Cordell Doemling | |
2001 | Black Hawk Down | Lieutenant Colonel Gary Harrell | |
2002 | Unfaithful | Detective Dean | |
2003 | Dogville | Ben | |
2004 | Manchurian Candidate, TheThe Manchurian Candidate | Vaughn Utly | |
2005 | Manderlay | Dr. Hector | |
2006 | Hoax, TheThe Hoax | Ralph Graves | |
2007 | Ascension Day | Master Travis | |
2007 | Live Free or Die Hard | Molina | |
2008 | In Bruges | Canadian Guy | |
2011 | Tower Heist | FBI Director | |
2012 | Bourne Legacy, TheThe Bourne Legacy | Dr. Donald Foite | |
2012 | Argo | Robert Pender | Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Nominated—San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by an Ensemble |
2012 | Seven Psychopaths | Paulo | Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cast Nominated—San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by an Ensemble |
2012 | The Words | Cutler |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Great Performances | March Hare | Episode: "Alice in Wonderland" |
1986 | American Playhouse | George Deever | Episode: "All My Sons" |
1987 | St. Elsewhere | Mark Dolson | Episode: "You Again?" |
1987 | Echoes in the Darkness | Vince Valaitis | Television movie |
1990 | L.A. Law | Joel Lassen | Episode: "Bound for Glory" |
1993 | Law & Order | Phillip Swann | Episode: "American Dreams" |
1993-1999 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Ed Danvers | 37 episodes |
1994 | X-Files, TheThe X-Files | Roland Fuller / Dr. Arthur Grable | Episode: "Roland" |
1995 | Murder, She Wrote | Eddie Saunders | Episode: "Home Care" |
1995 | Truman | Eddie Jacobsen | Television movie |
1997-1999 | Law & Order | ASA Ed Danvers | 2 episodes |
1997 | Frasier | Dr. Arnold Shaw | Episode: "Death and the Dog" |
1997 | The Practice | D.A. Mark McGovern | Episode: "The Civil Right" |
1997 | Millennium | Dr. Daniel "Danny" Miller | Episode: "Walkabout" |
1997-2003 | Oz | Governor James Devlin | 27 episodes |
1997 | Ally McBeal | Judge Marshal Pink | Episode: "One Hundred Tears Away" |
1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | Ken Mattingly | Episode: "The Original Wives Club" |
1998 | Rat Pack, TheThe Rat Pack | Robert F. Kennedy | Television movie |
2000 | ER | Bruce Resnick | Episode: "The Dance We Do" |
2000 | Homicide: The Movie | Ed Danvers | TV film |
2001 | The Practice | U.S Attorney Sanders | Episode: "The Confession" |
2002 | The Practice | Matthew Davies | Episode: "Neighboring Species" |
2002 | 24 | Andre Drazen | 15 episodes |
2002 | The Twilight Zone | ER chief | Episode: "The Lineman" |
2003 | The West Wing | Steve Atwood | 2 episodes |
2004 | Law & Order | Mr. Capplin | Episode: "Gov Love" |
2004 | Touching Evil | Ronald Hinks | Episode: "Pilot" |
2005 | NYPD Blue | Justin Deroos | Episode: "Stoli With a Twist" |
2005 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Andrew Melton | Episode: "Nesting Dolls" |
2006 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Everett Drake | Episode: "Taboo" |
2006 | Bones | Carl Decker | Episode: "The Woman in the Car" |
2006 | Shark | Eliot Dasher | 2 episodes |
2006 | Cold Case | John Doe | Episode: "One Night" |
2007-2010 | Damages | Raymond "Ray" Fiske | 16 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries, or Television Film |
2007 | Lost | Edmund Burke | Episode: "Not in Portland" |
2008-2014 | Mentalist, TheThe Mentalist | Dr. Linus Wagner | 3 episodes |
2008 | Numbers | William Fraley | Episode: "When Worlds Collide" |
2008 | John Adams | John Dickinson | 2 episodes |
2008-2014 | True Blood | Magister | 5 episodes |
2008 | House | Jason | Episode: "Last Resort" |
2009 | Heroes | Emile "The Hunter" Danko | 13 episodes |
2009-2010 | Big Love | J.J. | 12 episodes |
2010-2011 | Event, TheThe Event | Blake Sterling | 22 episodes |
2013 | White Collar | Brett Forsythe | Episode: "Digging Deeper" |
2012-2013 | Mob Doctor, TheThe Mob Doctor | Dr. Stafford White | 13 episodes |
2013-2014 | Revolution | Dr. Calvin Horn | 5 episodes |
2014 | Banshee | F.B.I. Special Agent Jim Racine/Racine | 3 episodes |
2014-2015 | Suits | Eric Woodall | 4 episodes |
2014 | The Americans | John Skeevers | Episode: "Stealth" |
2014-present | Madam Secretary | Russell Jackson | 37 episodes |
2015 | 12 Monkeys | Leland Goines | 2 episodes |