| Jon Gries | |
|---|---|
Jon Gries at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con |
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| Born | Jonathan Francis Gries June 17, 1957 Glendale, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Jon Francis Johnathan Gries Jonathan Gries Jonathon Gries |
| Occupation | Actor, writer, director |
| Years active | 1968–present |
Jonathan Francis "Jon" Gries (born June 17, 1957) is an American actor, writer and director. He is also credited under the names Jon Francis and Jonathan Gries. He is known for his role in Napoleon Dynamite as Uncle Rico, and more recently as recurring character Roger Linus on Lost. He is also known for his roles in Martin and The Pretender.
Gries was born in Glendale, California, the son of Tom Gries, a writer, director, and producer.[1] His first film role came at the age of 11, when he played the Boy Horace in the Charlton Heston film Will Penny. Some of his signature roles have come in cult classics. He played Lazlo Hollyfeld in Real Genius (1985), Shawn McDermott in the TV series Martin (1992-1994), Ronnie Wingate in Get Shorty (1995), Harvey in The Rundown, and Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite (2004). Gries has played a werewolf on several occasions, such as Fright Night Part II and The Monster Squad. In the historical Western film September Dawn, he played executed murderer John D. Lee, in a performance praised by critics who otherwise panned the film.[2][3][4] His most recent role was as Casey in the film Taken released in 2008 in Europe, and 2009 in the US. He was also in TerrorVision as O.D.
Among his television roles are that of a terrorist in season two of the hit show 24 and as Broots on the NBC series The Pretender. He had a guest role on The X-Files in the episode "Sleepless". He played Dylan McKay's drug dealer in season 5 of Beverly Hills, 90210. He played Ben Linus' father Roger in a recurring role on the TV series Lost. He played Shawn on the Fox sitcom Martin during the first two seasons. He appeared as a band member in the Quantum Leap episode "Glitter Rock". He appeared in a few episodes of Seinfeld including "The Beard" and "The Bookstore". In 2007 he played the menacing dad to Samaire Armstrong in Around June. In 2008, he appeared in the CSI: NY episode "The Box" as the father of that episode's victim. Jon recently wrapped production on A True Story. Based on Things that Never Actually Happened. ...and Some that Did.