Lee Tergesen
Lee Allen Tergesen is an American actor. He is known for his roles in Weird Science, as Tobias Beecher in HBO's prison drama Oz, and as Evan Wright in Generation Kill, as well as guest starring in many other series.
Early life
Tergesen was born in Ivoryton, Connecticut and graduated from Valley Regional High School in nearby Deep River. He moved to New York to try to become an actor. He graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy 's two-year program in Manhattan, where, from 1986 to 1989, he worked at the Empire Diner. "I wasn't a great waiter. I was funny, but I gave a lot of attitude", he told Rosie magazine in March 2002. He added: "The place is like a vortex for me". He met Tom Fontana, the future creator of Oz, at the diner.He did some stage work during this time. "I was doing plays all the time, but there's no money in it", Tergesen said in a 1995 Los Angeles Times article. "After graduation, I thought I'd be making a living at it." He went to Los Angeles to help Fontana move into his house. While dining at a restaurant on the day after arriving in Los Angeles, California, a casting director and friend of Fontana's asked Lee if he was an actor. "He told me there was a part in this movie and at that time, I couldn't imagine what it could be," Tergesen told the L.A. Times. The movie turned out to be Point Break, starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. "It was the beginning of me never having to do anything else but act", he told LT.com in 1990.
Career
Tergesen began his career with a bit role in the 1991 prime-time aired pilot, Acting Sheriff.Tergesen then appeared in Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, in the 1994 series Weird Science as Chester "Chett" Donnelly, and in a recurring role in the first season of '.
He portrayed Tobias Beecher on HBO's Oz, a critically acclaimed role he played until the series ended in 2003. His film credits include Point Break, Shaft, Monster, The Forgotten, ', Cast A Deadly Spell and Wild Iris. He has made several appearances in TV shows such as ER, Rescue Me, ' episode 517, Criminal Minds episode 511, The 4400, House, Law & Order and two of its spin-offs, ' and . He played a murderous Navy SEAL, Larrick, in Season 2 of The Americans on the FX television network.
He played an Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor in the second season of Desperate Housewives, becoming romantically involved with Bree Van de Kamp. He appeared in the USA Network series Royal Pains and in Seasons 4–5 of the Lifetime Network series Army Wives. He played Evan Wright in the HBO mini-series Generation Kill.
He has appeared on stage in the Off-Broadway productions of Long Lost by Donald Margulies and Rapture, Blister, Burn in 2012 at Playwrights Horizons, among others.
Personal life
He married Yuko Otomo in 2011; their daughter Lily was born December 5, 2012. Turgesen’s brother, Chris, is married to actress Toni Lewis.Filmography
Film
Sources: tcm.com allmovie.com| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | Mind Benders | Crash Hopkins | |
| 1991 | Point Break | Rosie | |
| 1991 | Session Man | Neal | Short |
| 1992 | Wayne's World | Terry | |
| 1993 | Wayne's World 2 | Terry | |
| 1997 | George B. | Frank | |
| 1999 | Inferno | Luke | |
| 2000 | Shaft | Luger | |
| 2001 | ' | Ben Thorpe | |
| 2001 | Mergers & Acquisitions | Isaac | |
| 2002 | Bark! | Peter | |
| 2003 | Monster | Vincent Corey | |
| 2004 | ' | Al Petalis | |
| 2005 | Extreme Dating | Hack | |
| 2006 | ' | Holden | |
| 2008 | Pineapple | Bruce | |
| 2010 | Helena from the Wedding | Alex Javal | |
| 2011 | Silver Tongues | Gerry | |
| 2011 | 2ND Take | Bobby | |
| 2012 | Red Tails | Col. Jack Tomlinson | |
| 2012 | No One Lives | Hoag | |
| 2012 | ' | Lucello | |
| 2014 | Desert Cathedral | Peter Collins | |
| 2015 | Tooken | Bryan Millers | |
| 2016 | Equity | Randall | |
| 2017 | Jim Murphy | ||
| 2017 | Norman Pinski Come Home | Dr. Vanderwal | Short |
Television
Source: allmovie.com| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1990 | Law & Order | Clemens | Episode: "Prescription for Death" |
| 1991 | ' | Ron Donoho | TV film |
| 1991 | Acting Sheriff | Robbie | Unsold TV pilot |
| 1991 | Cast a Deadly Spell | Larry Willis / Lilly Sirwar | TV film |
| 1993–1997 | ' | Chris Thormann | Recurring role |
| 1994 | Up All Night | Chett Donnelly | Episode: "Zapped Again!/H.O.T.S." |
| 1994 | Philly Heat | Ivan Loki | TV series |
| 1994–1998 | Weird Science | Chester 'Chett' Donnelly | Main role |
| 1995 | JAG | Gunnery Sgt. Gentry | Episode: "Brig Break" |
| 1996 | Hudson Street | Larry Fetchko | Episode: "In the Line of Duty" |
| 1996 | Duckman | Chett Donnelly | Episode: "Color of Naught" |
| 1997 | ' | Carter | Episode: "Honey, the House Is Trying to Kill Us" |
| 1997 | Cracker | Dan Green | Episode: "Sons and Lovers" |
| 1997–2003 | Oz | Tobias Beecher | Recurring role, main |
| 1998 | Touched by an Angel | Blake Chapman | Episode: "Lady of the Lake" |
| 1999 | Saturday Night Live | Tobias Beecher | Episode: "Jerry Seinfeld/David Bowie" |
| 2000 | ' | Steve Dorigan | Recurring role |
| 2001 | Wild Iris | Lud van Eppy | TV film |
| 2001 | Shot in the Heart | Frank Gilmore Jr. | TV film |
| 2002 | Third Watch | Jared McKinley | Episode: "Sex, Lies & Videotape" |
| 2002 | Hack | Carl Ginley | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2003 | Queens Supreme | Tommy Ryan | Episode: "One Angry Man" |
| 2003 | ' | Keith Ramsey | Episode: "Baggage" |
| 2004 | ' | Randall Elliot | TV film |
| 2004 | ' | Oliver Knox | Episode: "Becoming" |
| 2005 | ' | Walter Rhodes | TV film |
| 2005 | ' | Martin Hawkins | Episode: "Compulsion" |
| 2005 | Rescue Me | Sully | Episodes: "Voicemail", "Harmony", "Balls" |
| 2005 | Law & Order | Attorney Heller | Episode: "Ghosts" |
| 2005 | Wanted | Eddie Drake | Main role |
| 2006 | Desperate Housewives | Peter McMillan | Guest role |
| 2006 | ' | Alex Deckard | Episode: "Extreme Rendition" |
| 2006 | Southern Comfort | Blue | TV film |
| 2007 | Masters of Horror | Layne | Episode: "We All Scream for Ice Cream" |
| 2007 | ' | Josh Lemle | Episode: "30" |
| 2007 | Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee | Daniel Royer | TV film |
| 2007 | Cane | Lamont Samuels | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2007 | A.M.P.E.D. | Brian Spicer | TV film |
| 2008 | Generation Kill | Evan 'Scribe' Wright | TV miniseries |
| 2008 | Life on Mars | Lee Crocker | Episodes: "The Real Adventures of the Unreal Sam Tyler", "The Man Who Sold the World" |
| 2009 | Cupid | Clint | Episode: "The Great Right Hope" |
| 2009 | ' | Todd Watski | Episodes: "Notes on a 7th Grade Scandal", "The Old Maid of Honor" |
| 2009 | ' | Det. Nick Carey | Episode: "Products of Dicovery" |
| 2009 | Royal Pains | Zack Kingsley | Episode: "The Honeymoon's Over" |
| 2009 | House | Roy | Episode: "Instant Karma" |
| 2009 | Criminal Minds | Dale Shrader | Episode: "Retaliation" |
| 2010 | ' | Billy Skags | Episode: "Savior" |
| 2010 | Lie to Me | Gordon Cook | Episode: "Black and White" |
| 2010, 2015 | Castle | Marcus Gates | Episodes: "3XK", "Reckoning" |
| 2010–2011 | Army Wives | Off. Clayton Boone | Recurring role |
| 2011 | ' | Patrick Denton | Episode: "Big Rock Mesa" |
| 2012 | ' | Paul Curtis | Episode: "In Case of Letting Go" |
| 2012 | ' | Russ Landry | Episodes: "Peaches", "Dr. Emmet Cole" |
| 2012 | ' | Kirby | Recurring role |
| 2013 | Red Widow | Mike Tomlin | Main role |
| 2013 | Drop Dead Diva | Sid Penar | Episode: "The Real Jane" |
| 2013 | Copper | Philomen Keating | Episodes: "I Defy Thee to Forget", "A Morning Song" |
| 2013 | Person of Interest | Det. Peterson | Episode: "The Crossing" |
| 2013–2014 | Longmire | Ed Gorksi | Recurring role |
| 2014 | ' | Kurt | Episode: "Sacrifice" |
| 2014 | ' | Andrew Larrick | Recurring role |
| 2014 | Forever | Hans Koehler | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2014 | ' | Frank Hyland | Episodes: "Lord Baltimore", "Dr. Linus Creel" |
| 2014 | Hawaii Five-0 | Gordon Bristol | Episode: "Ka No'eau" |
| 2014 | Alpha House | Col. Eugene Drake | Episodes: "The Contest", "Shelter in Place", "The Nuptials" |
| 2014 | ' | Vince | Episodes: "Bullseye", "Test of Strength", "Blood Bath" |
| 2015 | Defiance | Gen. Rahm Tak | Recurring role |
| 2016 | ' | Mike Spar | Episode: "Father's Day" |
| 2016 | High Maintenance | Leo | Episode: "Museebat" |
| 2016 | ' | Tardi | Episodes: "First Born", "Gone But Not Forgotten", "The Battle of Central Park" |
| 2016 | Blindspot | Patrick O'Malley | Episode: "Condone Untidiest Thefts" |
| 2016–2017 | ' | Inspector Moach | Episodes: "Seek Those Who Fan Your Flames", "Only from Exile Can We Come Home" |
| 2016–2017 | Outcast | Blake Morrow | Guest role |
| 2016–2017 | Power | Bailey Markham | Episodes: "In My Best Interest", "The Kind of Man You Are", "We're in This Together" |
| 2017 | Doubt | Michael Slater | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2017–2018 | Gone | Mel Foster | Recurring role |
| 2018 | Jack Ryan | Stanley | Episode: "Black 22" |
| 2018 | ' | Joe Owens | Main role |
| 2018 | Daredevil | Paxton Page | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Bull | Prosecutor | Episode: "Into the Mystic" |
| 2019 | Watchmen | Mr. Shadow | Episode: "She Was Killed by Space Junk" |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1997 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Drama Series | Homicide: Life on the Streets | |
| 1998 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Ensemble in a Cable Series | Oz | |
| 2002 | Bordeaux International Festival of Women in Cinema | Golden Wave for Best Actor | Bark! | |
| 2007 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Ensemble of a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee | |
| 2008 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Ensemble of a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Generation Kill | |
| 2017 | Best Shorts Competition | Award of Excellence for Actor Supporting | Norman Pinksi Come Home | |
| 2017 | IndieFEST Film Awards | Award of Merit for Supporting Actor | Norman Pinski Come Home |