Gary Cole: Movies & Box Office

Gary Michael Cole is an American actor whose career spans over four decades of film, television, and voice work. Born on September 20, 1956, in Park Ridge, Illinois, he grew up in Rolling Meadows, the son of a municipal finance director and a school administrative assistant, and he discovered his love for performing while playing Snoopy in a high‑school production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. After studying theater at Illinois State University alongside future stars such as Laurie Metcalf and John Malkovich, Cole moved to Chicago where he joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985, launching a prolific stage career that would soon translate to the screen.

His breakthrough television role came as Jack “Nighthawk” Killian on the NBC drama Midnight Caller (1988‑1991), and he later became a familiar face on series like American Gothic, The West Wing, The Good Wife, Veep, and NCIS. Cole’s film credits include memorable performances as the deadpan boss Bill Lumbergh in Office Space (1999) and the beloved patriarch Mike Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and its sequel. In animation, his distinctive voice brings characters to life in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, Family Guy, Kim Possible, Scooby‑Doo! Mystery Incorporated, and Bob’s Burgers. Throughout his career, Cole has earned Emmy nominations and a Screen Actors Guild award, while continuing to work in commercials, video games, and stage productions, demonstrating a versatility that has kept him relevant from the 1980s to the present.