Robert John Burke

Infobox actor
name = Robert John Burke
birthdate = bda|1960|9|12
birthplace = city-state|New York City|New York, U.S.
occupation = Film, television actor

Robert John Burke (born September 12, 1960) is an American actor.

Biography

Career

Currently, Burke is with the cast of Denis Leary's "Rescue Me" and plays Bart Bass on The CW's "Gossip Girl". Recently, he was working on the TV series "Kidnapped" for NBC and was a featured character on ABC's series "Six Degrees". Burke has also had recurring roles on "Law & Order", and he appeared on "The Sopranos" in 2004.

Burke's largest mainstream role to date has been taking over the lead from Peter Weller in "Robocop 3". He is notable for being a regular performer in fellow Purchase alum Hal Hartley's indie films, co-starring in 1989's "The Unbelievable Truth," playing an ex-con who gets mixed up with a schoolgirl; in 1992's "Simple Men", playing a man who, having sworn to destroy the first woman he meets, falls in love with the owner of a diner in the middle of nowhere; and in 2001's "No Such Thing", in which he plays a foul-mouthed mythical beast living in Iceland. He also cameoed in Hartley's 1995 film "Flirt".

In 1996, he played the lead role in the Stephen King adaptation "Thinner". More recently, 2005 was a big year for Burke, having had a small yet memorable role in the John Polson film "Hide and Seek", a psychological thriller, starring Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning. He also made cameo appearances in the Academy Award-nominated films "Munich" directed by Steven Spielberg and "Good Night, and Good Luck".

In 2008 he portrayed the legendary Major General James Mattis, Commanding General of 1st Marine Division in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill.

Personal life

Burke attended the acting conservatory of the State University of New York at Purchase in the mid eighties.

Burke spent several days at Ground Zero after the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks assisting with the search and rescue. He has since become a New York State certified fire fighter. He also recently traveled to New Orleans to assist in the re-building of New Orleans FireHouses.

Burke holds a 3rd degree black belt in Matsubayashi Shorin-ryu Okinawan Karate. He has a twin brother, who made a cameo appearance in Burke's 1993 film "Dust Devil", playing his twin.

Burke is married with two children.

External links

*imdb name|id=0121559|name=Robert John Burke
*amg name|2:9625
*tvtome person|id=61859|name=Robert John Burke
* [http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=9625&mod=bio New York Times Biography]