William Joseph Devane (born September 5, 1937) is an American film, television and theater actor, known for his role as Greg Sumner on the primetime soap opera Knots Landing and as James Heller on the Fox serial drama 24, the role he reprised in Live Another Day. He is also known for his supporting roles in films such as McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Family Plot), Marathon Man, Rolling Thunder and Space Cowboys.
Devane began his acting career with the New York Shakespeare Festival where he performed in 15 plays. In 1966, Devane portrayed Robert F. Kennedy in the Off-Broadway spoof MacBird. He gained acclaim for his role as President John F. Kennedy in a television docudrama about the Cuban Missile Crisis, The Missiles of October, and again when he played blacklisted radio personality John Henry Faulk in the Emmy Award-winning TV movie Fear on Trial. He is widely known for his ten years as the ambitious and hardnosed politician-turned-corporate titan Greg Sumner on Knots Landing.
In 1994, Devane appeared as Al Capone in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman in an episode entitled "That Old Gang of Mine". He also had a recurring role on the CBS show Early Edition as the lead character's father. Devane appeared in the films McCabe & Mrs. Miller; Lady Liberty; Family Plot; Marathon Man; Rolling Thunder; Yanks; Testament; Timestalkers; Forgotten Sins; Exception to the Rule; Payback; Hollow Man and Space Cowboys.
Devane has played members of the Presidential Cabinet on two evening dramas. In 2004, on The West Wing, he guest-starred as the Secretary of State and potential Vice-Presidential nominee. Devane appeared in several scenes with Martin Sheen; they also appeared together as President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert, respectively, 30 years earlier in The Missiles of October. In 2005, he joined the cast of 24 as Secretary of Defense James Heller for seasons 4, 5 and 6.
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History professor Scott McKenzie makes an anachronistic discovery in a photograph from the Old West ...
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This is the story of a young woman who was found dead. Now the police investigate, and evidence poin...
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Someone is killing people in Portland, Oregon, and later blackmails the relatives, who profit most f...
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As they enter their third year of medical school, a group of young students must prepare to decide w...
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The take-down of an infamous leader of a small polygamous Mormon fundamentalist group, who ordered a...
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A divorced cop investigating the sadistic murders of high-class prostitutes discovers that the prime...
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The parents of an anorexic woman fight to save her life....
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True story of a brand-new Canadian airliner running out of fuel in-flight and forced to glide to the...
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An aggressive woman tries to blackmail a married gem trader who had an affair with her....
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Mike and Lenny are two buddies who dream of getting out of the trailer park. Out of desperation they...
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Cocky researcher Sebastian Caine is working on a project to make living creatures invisible. Determi...
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Frank Corvin, ‘Hawk’ Hawkins, Jerry O'Neill and ‘Tank’ Sullivan were hotdog members of Project Daeda...
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The Boyajian family learned of 18-year-old John's death in the Persian Gulf War on Christmas Eve ele...
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When Jesse Stone looks into the murder of a teen-age girl whose body is found floating in a local la...
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Police Chief Jesse Stone's relationship with his ex-wife worsens, and he fears he's relapsing into a...
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Ba'al travels back in time and prevents the Stargate program from being started. SG-1 must somehow r...
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Jesse Stone and Captain Healy are shot during an unauthorized stake-out in Boston. Meanwhile, a cryp...
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Police Chief Jesse Stone, who was suspended by the Paradise, Mass. Town Council, begins moonlighting...
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A young man abandons his family for a solitary life of fly-fishing. His goal was to find his own way...
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Serving her country is an honour for Judith (GiGi Erneta: Friday NIght Lights, Vernonica Mars), an a...
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Follows FBI Special Agent Ana Gray as she hunts for a kidnapper. As Ana develops a rapport with the ...
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Jesse investigates the suspicious death of a young friend while the police force deals with the arro...
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An evil leprechaun who has been imprisoned within the roots of a majestic old oak tree, is accidenta...
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Following the death of District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman assumes responsibility for Dent's crime...
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Jesse finds himself struggling to get his job back as the Paradise police chief, and he is forced to...
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The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the li...
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Three teenage friends get in way over their head when they cross a down-home crime syndicate. They h...
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Police Chief Jesse Stone now presides over the quiet, seaside village of Paradise, Massachusetts. Wh...
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| # | Name | Character | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Truth (2015) | Gen. Hodges (voice) (uncredited) | 6.7 | |
| 2 | Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise (2015) | Dr. Dix | 7.5 | |
| 3 | Interstellar (2014) Top 100 by FilmGator | Williams | 8.5 | |
| 4 | Bad Turn Worse (2014) | Big Red | 6 | |
| 5 | Leprechaun's Revenge (2012) | Pop O'Hara | 4.5 | |
| 6 | The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Top 100 by FilmGator | President | 8.3 | |
| 7 | Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt (2012) | Dr. Dix | 8 | |
| 8 | Flag of My Father (2011) | Jake | - | - |
| 9 | Good Morning, Killer (2011) | Everett Morgan Gray | 6 | |
| 10 | Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost (2011) | Dr. Dix | 7.5 | |
| 11 | Jesse Stone: No Remorse (2010) | Dr. Dix | 7.5 | |
| 12 | The River Why (2010) | Dutch Hines | 6 | |
| 13 | Jesse Stone: Thin Ice (2009) | Dr. Dix | 8 | |
| 14 | Stargate: Continuum (2008) | President Henry Hayes | 7.2 | |
| 15 | Jesse Stone: Sea Change (2007) | Dr. Dix | 7.5 | |
| 16 | Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise (2006) | Dr. Dix | 7.5 | |
| 17 | A Christmas Visitor (2002) | George Boyajian | 9 | |
| 18 | Poor White Trash (2000) | Ron Lake | - | - |
| 19 | Hollow Man (2000) Oscars 2001 | Dr. Kramer | 5.9 | |
| 20 | Space Cowboys (2000) Oscars 2001 | Eugene Davis | 6.4 | |
| 21 | Payback (1999) | Carter | 6.8 | |
| 22 | Exception to the Rule (1997) | Lawrence Kellerman | - | - |
| 23 | Virus (1995) | Dr. Harbuck | 5 | |
| 24 | Freefall: Flight 174 (1995) | Capt. Bob Pearson | - | - |
| 25 | Lady in Waiting (1994) | Lt. Barrett | - | - |
| 26 | For the Love of Nancy (1994) | Tom | - | - |
| 27 | Prophet of Evil: The Ervil LeBaron Story (1993) | Daniel 'Dan' Fields | - | - |
| 28 | Obsessed (1992) | Ed Bledsoe | - | - |
| 29 | Murder C.O.D. (1990) | Alex Brandt | - | - |
| 30 | Vital Signs (1990) | Dr. Chatham | - | - |
| 31 | The Preppie Murder (1989) | Jack Litman | - | - |
| 32 | Timestalkers (1987) | Scott McKenzie | 3 | |
| 33 | Testament (1983) | Tom Wetherly | 7.7 | |
| 34 | Yanks (1979) | John | - | - |
| 35 | Rolling Thunder (1977) | Major Charles Rane | 7 | |
| 36 | The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977) | Mike Leak | - | - |
| 37 | Red Alert (1977) | Frank Brolen | - | - |
| 38 | Family Plot (1976) | Arthur Adamson | 5.3 | |
| 39 | Marathon Man (1976) | Janeway | 7.4 | |
| 40 | McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) | Lawyer | 6 |

