| Occupation | Actor |
|---|---|
| Years active | 1980–present |
Geoffrey "Geoff" Pierson is an American actor known for his television roles on Dexter, Unhappily Ever After, Grace Under Fire, 24, Ryan's Hope and Designated Survivor. He has also guest-starred in dozens of other TV shows such as Friends, Monk, Fringe, Homeland and 9-1-1.
Career
Geoffrey Pierson was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, one of seven children born to Helen T. (née Maginess) and Roy J. Pierson.[1]
Pierson appeared with George C. Scott on Broadway in Tricks of the Trade, before continuing on to do several New York soap operas and many regional theater plays. Some notable theatrical roles include Angelo in Measure For Measure at the Yale Rep, Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Penn Ctr. Stage, Bobby in Speed The Plough at the Philadelphia Theatre Company, and Ricky in Glengarry Glen Ross and Teach in American Buff a lo at the Virginia Stage Company.[2] His most prominent daytime role was as Frank Ryan on Ryan's Hope, a role he played from February 1983 through September 1985.
Pierson's first high-profile prime-time television role was as Jack Malloy, the head of a dysfunctional family, in The WB sitcom Unhappily Ever After, which was created by Ron Leavitt, one of the creators of FOX's Married... with Children. Other TV roles include a leading role as R.T. Howard on That 80's Show, and recurring roles on Grace Under Fire, In Plain Sight (USA) and The Firm (NBC). He also had a recurring role as Rodney's long lost dad on the ABC comedy Rodney. In 2001, he guest-starred in a Season 8 episode of Friends, "The One with Rachel's Date," playing Chandler's boss, Mr. Franklin.[3]
In 2005 and 2006, he appeared in two episodes of Veronica Mars as Stewart Manning, the father of Meg Manning.[4] In 2006, he guest-starred in Criminal Minds, playing Max Ryan, a former FBI agent-turned-author and Jason Gideon's mentor who comes out of his retirement to capture a serial killer known as the Keystone Killer in the episode, "Unfinished Business". From 2006 to 2013, he portrayed Miami-Dade Police Captain Tom Matthews on the Showtime series Dexter.
He appeared in the 2008 Clint Eastwood-directed film Changeling as the flamboyant defense attorney Sammy "S.S." Hahn. In 2011 he portrayed Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer in Eastwood's J. Edgar.[5] He appeared in Touched by an Angel, Season 9, Episode 16.
Beginning in 2010, he had a recurring role in Boardwalk Empire as Senator Walter Edge. In 2011, Pierson played Midas Mulligan in Atlas Shrugged, based on Ayn Rand's novel of the same name. He played Russell Dunbar's wealthy father in Rules of Engagement and he had a recurring role as the mysterious Mr. Smith on Castle. In 2014 he appeared in an episode of Suburgatory.[6]
In 2015, he co-starred as Defense Secretary Pierce Grey on HBO's The Brink. He starred in the ABC and Netflix political thriller Designated Survivor, where he portrayed Former President of the United States and Secretary of State Cornelius Moss alongside Kiefer Sutherland.[7]
Filmography
Film
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1995 | Two Bits | Dr. Wilson | |
| 1997 | Leave It to Beaver | Coach Gordon | |
| 1998 | The Right Way | Michael Peretti | |
| 2001 | Behind Enemy Lines | Admiral Donnelly | |
| Venomous | General Arthur Manchek | ||
| 2004 | Spartan | Pearce | |
| 2005 | The Poseidon Adventure | Admiral Jennings | TV movie |
| 2006 | Stay | Dad | |
| 2007 | D-War | Secretary of Defense | |
| Already Dead | Pierce | ||
| 2008 | A Line in the Sand | The Mayor | |
| Changeling | S.S. Hahn | ||
| Get Smart | Vice President | ||
| 2009 | World's Greatest Dad | Principal Anderson | |
| Better off Ted | Elijah Palmer | ||
| 2011 | Atlas Shrugged: Part I | Michael 'Midas' Mulligan | |
| Something Borrowed | Dexter Thaler Sr. | ||
| God Bless America | Frank's Boss | ||
| J. Edgar | A. Mitchell Palmer | ||
| Jack and Jill | Carter Simmons | ||
| 2014 | Revenge of the Green Dragons | FBI Director Sam Higgins | |
| You're Not You | Kate's Father | ||
| 2016 | Rules Don't Apply | Merrill Lynch Executive | |
| 2020 | The Wrong Missy | Jack Winstone | |
| 2024 | Watchmen Chapter 1 | Hollis Mason / Nite Owl I (voice) | Direct-to-Video[8][9] |
| Watchmen Chapter 2 | Hollis Mason / Nite Owl I, Prison Guard #1 (voice) | ||
Television
| Television | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1980–1981 | Texas | Detective Donovan | 19 episodes |
| 1983–1985 | Ryan's Hope | Frank Ryan | 126 episodes |
| 1985 | The Equalizer | Lawyer | Episode: "Bump and Run" |
| 1989 | Days of Our Lives | Barney Gillespie | 4 episodes |
| 1993 | The Adventures of Pete & Pete | Mr. Perfect | 1 episode: "King of the Road" (Season 1) |
| 1994–1998 | Grace Under Fire | Jimmy Kelly | 30 episodes |
| 1995–1999 | Unhappily Ever After | Jack Malloy | 100 episodes |
| 2000–2001 | Nash Bridges | Deputy Chief Max Petit | 3 episodes |
| 2001 | Becker | Mr. Tipton | 1 episode |
| Friends | Mr Franklin | 1 episode: "The One With Rachel's Date" (Season 8) | |
| 2002 | That '80s Show | R.T. Howard | 13 episodes |
| 2002–2003 | The West Wing | Senate Minority Leader Tripplehorn | 4 episodes |
| 2003 | The Drew Carey Show | 1 episode: "Two Days Of The Condo" | |
| 2003–2005 | 24 | Senator John Keeler / President John Keeler | 20 episodes |
| 2004 | Monk | Harry Bolston | 1 episode |
| 2005–2008 | Rodney | Dale Hamilton | 3 episodes |
| 2005 | Desperate Housewives | Sam | 1 episode: "Live Alone and Like It" (Season 1) |
| 2006 | Criminal Minds | Max Ryan | 1 episode |
| NCIS | Roy Carver | 1 episode | |
| 2008 | Medium | Sam Winters | 1 episode |
| 2009 | The Mentalist | Noah Plaskett | 1 episode |
| 2012 | The Firm | Judge Ken Walsh | 4 episodes |
| 2010–2012 | Boardwalk Empire | Senator Walter Edge | 4 episodes |
| 2006–2013 | Dexter | Tom Matthews | 43 episodes |
| 2012; 2019–2022 | Young Justice | Jay Garrick / The Flash | Voice; 5 episodes |
| 2015 | The Brink | Pierce Gray | 10 episodes |
| 2011–2015 | Castle | Michael Smith | 6 episodes |
| 2016 | Person of Interest | FBI SAIC Roberts | 1 episode |
| 2017–2019 | Designated Survivor | Cornelius Moss | 16 episodes |
| 2018–2019 | Splitting Up Together | Henry | 13 episodes |
| 2019 | Homeland | Senator Richard Eames | 1 episode |
| The Face of Evil | Narrator | 6 episodes | |
| 2022 | The Terminal List | Senator Joe Pryor | 1 episode |
| 2023 | City on Fire | Bill Sr | 7 episodes |
| 2025 | 9-1-1 | Lewis Kern | 3 episodes |
| 2026 | Scrubs | Mr. Walton | 1 episode |
| Margo's Got Money Troubles | Lawrence J. Boch | 3 episodes | |
Video games
| Video games | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Source |
| 2025 | Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii | Spade Tucker | [10] | |
References
- ^ Obituary: Helen Pierson, donnellanfuneral.com. Accessed January 27, 2026.
- ^ "Obituary for Helen Pierson - SKOKIE, IL"
- ^ "FRIENDS -- "The One with Rachel's Date" Episode 5 -- Aired --...". Getty Images. 4 February 2012. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ Li, Shirley (2014-09-17). "A Definitive Ranking of Every Notable Guest Star On 'Veronica Mars'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
- ^ Foundas, Scott (December 19, 2007). "Clint Eastwood: The Set Whisperer - Shooting quietly on the Changeling set". LA Weekly. Archived December 23, 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 29, 2007.
- ^ Geoff Pierson at IMDb
- ^ Petski, Denise (February 17, 2017). "'Zoo' Casts Sophina Brown; 'Designated Survivor' Adds Geoff Pierson". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
- ^ "Watchmen Chapter I: Exclusive Trailer, Voice Cast, Boxart and Release Date". 10 July 2024.
- ^ "Watchmen Chapter II Exclusive Trailer". 16 Oct 2024.
- ^ "Geoff Pierson (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
External links
- Geoff Pierson at IMDb