Television Roles
McGill's television guest appearances range from Quantum Leap (in both the pilot and final episodes), Walker, Texas Ranger, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Crime Story, and Miami Vice (again, a Michael Mann production), to Star Trek: Voyager as Captain Braxton in the episode "Relativity". He also appeared multiple times as a regular guest star in MacGyver as the title character's comical best friend, soldier of fortune/bush pilot Jack Dalton. Echoing that role, McGill often plays friends of the lead character in film and television. In 1994 he made a guest appearance along with Jay Leno in the Emmy nominated TV series, Home Improvement. He played Willard Cates in the short-lived series Wolf Lake. He was scheduled to join the cast of Bionic Woman in the fall of 2007. He also voiced Agent Buford in the video game Mercenaries. In 2009, McGill appeared on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Gordon Garrison, a zealously bigoted anti-immigration talk-show host who, after sparking a mini-riot in court, sets up the acquittal of the killer. McGill also appeared on ABC's 2010 TV show, No Ordinary Family.
McGill also played Major Ed Ryan in the third season Babylon 5 episode "Severed Dreams" (which won the 1997 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation). Babylon 5 producer J. Michael Straczynski originally intended for Everett McGill to play the role. However he did not know McGill's first name, so when he asked to have McGill contacted, Straczynski was asked if he meant Bruce McGill, to which he replied yes. Even though it became apparent to Straczynski when Bruce McGill met him to discuss the role that this wasn't the McGill Straczynski had in mind, Straczynski decided to use him instead.
McGill also had a small role in a season 3 episode of Numb3rs as well as a season 3 episode of Psych.
McGill currently portrays the character of veteran Boston Police Homicide Detective Vince Korsak on the TNT television crime drama, Rizzoli & Isles. The character of Korsak is the mentor and friend of Detective Jane Rizzoli, portrayed by Angie Harmon. Korsak saved Rizzoli's life from a serial killer named Charles Hoyt. Korzak shot Hoyt just before he was about to kill Rizzoli with a knife. In the episode "She Works Hard for the Money" of Rizzoli & Isles (season 1 episode 4) Korsak is asked where he went to college. He responds "Didn't. Watched Animal House a few times", which is a reference to his Animal House persona.
Read more about this topic: Bruce McGill
Famous quotes containing the words television and/or roles:
“Anyone afraid of what he thinks television does to the world is probably just afraid of the world.”
—Clive James (b. 1939)
“There is a striking dichotomy between the behavior of many women in their lives at work and in their lives as mothers. Many of the same women who are battling stereotypes on the job, who are up against unspoken assumptions about the roles of men and women, seem to accept—and in their acceptance seem to reinforce—these roles at home with both their sons and their daughters.”
—Ellen Lewis (20th century)