Don Swayze

Don Swayze

Don Swayze (2010)
Born Donald Carl Swayze
Houston, Texas, United States of America
Occupation Actor
Years active 1983–present
Spouse(s) Charlene Swayze (m. 2014)

Don Swayze is an American actor.

Early life

Swayze was born in Houston, Texas, the middle son of Patsy Yvonne Helen (née Karnes), a choreographer, dance instructor, and dancer, and Jesse Wayne Swayze, an engineering drafter.[1][2] He is a younger brother of the late actor Patrick Swayze and of sister Vicky Lynn, and the older brother of Sean Kyle and adopted sister Bora Song (nicknamed Bambi).[3] He is a sixth cousin once removed of commentator John Cameron Swayze and a relative of noted Texas Revolution soldier Henry Karnes.

Film career

In 2010, Swayze guest starred in six episodes in a recurring role as Gus, a werewolf, on the HBO series True Blood.[4] He also played Col. Sherman Rutherford in a Western-Film Noir hybrid called Heathens and Thieves.[5]

His film work includes an appearance as a dancer in the 1980 film Urban Cowboy, as Ruben in the film Father for Charlie, and as Mark in the film Shy People. He also starred in the film Death Ring and as the Alamo courier James Bonham in Alamo...Price of Freedom, an IMAX film shown in San Antonio, Texas.

Television career

Swayze's television work includes multiple appearances in Murder She Wrote, The X Files, NYPD Blue, Days of Our Lives, NCIS, as well as dozens of other programs. Swayze had a role as a mentally handicapped man suspected of murder in an episode of the television drama Matlock. He played Jesse James in one season two episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. He also made several appearances on the HBO drama Carnivàle, as well as Criminal Minds, specifically the episodes "The Big Game" and "Revelations", in which he played Charles Hankel, the father and alternate personality of serial killer Tobias Hankel. On Cold Case, Swayze played the adult Grant Hall.

He is currently appearing in The Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives. Swayze had a small guest appearance on It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia as a crazy boat captain. He has also appeared on Beyond Belief, and The Bridge. He has also appeared on HBO's True Blood as Gus for 4 episodes of Season 3.[6]

Stage career

In 2001, Don was on stage as Pedro in Man of La Mancha, at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center. In 2005, he played Roy in Lone Star at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. His most recent stage production was in the fall of 2011, when he starred with Anne Archer in an original stage play titled Jane Fonda: In the Court of Public Opinion, at the Edgemar Theater in Santa Monica, California; he played U.S. Army Sgt. Don Simpson (retired), a wounded veteran of the Vietnam War.

Personal life

Don is an avid skydiver and cyclist and races cross country mountain bikes in his spare time. Don is married to Charlene Swayze.[7]

References

External links