Chris Ellis

Chris Ellis is an American film and television actor who was born April 14 1956 in Dallas Texas Ellis always wanted to be an actor because of television He grew up in the 50s in the deep south in a world of privation and violence but saw on television people who seemed to have lives of ease and privilege It took him seven years to finish college however because I have always been shiftless During those years Chris became involved in community theatre in Memphis where I did and do still think the quality of the work has always been quite good By the time he moved to New York he had worked with many excellent actors in about two dozen plays classical and contemporary I cannot imagine what might have supplanted that background for a newcomer in New York His first part in either television or film came in 1979 where he played a truck driver in the TV movie The Suicides Wife which starred Angie Dickinson The role resulted in very little TV or film work After working in regional theatre for a year or so Chris fell off the radar screen and did not work for about ten years During that time he lived in bonegrinding poverty in Manhattans Hells Kitchen In one ninemonth period of 1987 Chris accepted 102 dinner invitations I dont know why they kept arriving nor why I counted them though I do know why I accepted them In 1990 a break came when he got a part in Days of Thunder which starred Tom Cruise Nicole Kidman Cary Elwes Robert Duvall and Randy Quaid John C Reilly and Fred Dalton Thompson also appear This seemed to jumpstart Ellis career as parts in films like My Cousin Vinny with Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei a small part in Addams Family Values and a larger one in Apollo 13 as former NASA Mercury Seven astronaut Deke Slayton alongside Tom Hanks followed He also began picking up credits on wellknown television shows like Melrose Place NYPD Blue and The XFiles Since working with Hanks on Apollo 13 the two have worked together on That Thing You Do the TV miniseries From the Earth to the Moon and Catch Me If You Can Ellis returned to a fictional NASA Mission Control when he played a Flight Director in 1998s Armageddon Additional films in which Ellis has appeared include Home Fries October Sky Live Free or Die Hard and Transformers His television credits also include The West Wing Ghost Whisperer Chicago Hope The Pretender Alias JAG CSI NY Burn Notice and Cold Case He appeared in three season one episodes of Millennium as group member Jim Panseayres He has established a reputation as being particularly talented at portraying Southern lawmakers or serious military or policetype characters He also appeared in Criminal Minds as Sheriff Jimmy Rhodes who calls for the BAUs help in investigating a string of murders in New Mexico In addition to that he also had two guest appearances in NCIS as Gunnery Sergeant John Deluca Elliss appearance in the Season 1 episode The Curse was uncredited while his second and final appearance in Season 2s The Bone Yard was credited Description above from the Wikipedia article Chris Ellis actor licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia