Holt Mccallany
About
Biography
Biography
Throughout his career, character actor Holt McCallany was a go-to for strong, silent and decidedly dangerous men on either side of the moral fence, as evidenced by his small but memorable turns in films like "Alien 3" (1989), "Tyson" (HBO, 1995), "Fight Club" (1999) and "Three Kings" (1999). The scion of an acting family, McCallany paid his dues in a wide variety of projects, rarely vaulting past supporting roles, but always delivering a committed and often unsettling performance. In 2011, he advanced to leading man status with "Lights Out" (FX), a gritty drama about a former heavyweight boxer who forges a comeback to save his family from criminal pressures. Though the series lasted only one season, it propelled the actor to a new level of visibility through key roles in films including hacking drama "Blackhat" (2015), crime thriller "Shot Caller" (2016), action sequel "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back" (2016) and Clint Eastwood's aviation biopic "Sully" (2016).
Born Holt Quinn McAloney on Sept. 3, 1964, Holt McCallany was the oldest of two sons by Irish actor Michael McAloney, who won a Tony Award for his production of Brendan Behan's "Borstal Boy," and actress-singer Julie Wilson. A childhood spent in Dublin was cut short by his parents' divorce, with McCallany returning with his parents to the United States. There, he was sent to live with his maternal grandparents in Omaha, NE, but this period was a troubled one for him. After being expelled from school, he ran away to Los Angeles, where he decided to become an actor. McCallany's parents eventually tracked him down and sent him back to Ireland to finish high school. After graduation, he studied French at the Sorbonne and theater at the Ecole Marcel Marceau.
Upon returning to the States, McCallany apprenticed at the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Cleveland, OH, then relocated to New York City, where he landed a job as an understudy in Neil Simon's "Biloxi Blues" on Broadway. His feature film debut came in 1987's "Creepshow 2" as a murderous Native American who receives his comeuppance at the hands of a cigar store Indian come to life. Soon after, he found steady work in films and on television. His intense presence and formidable build made him a natural for men of action on either side of the law, whom he portrayed in minor and supporting roles for such noted directors as Brian De Palma with "Casualties of War" (1989), David Fincher, who cast him as a self-sacrificing convict in "Alien 3" (1989) and as the Mechanic who explains the rules of "Fight Club" (1999), and for William Friedkin in the box office bomb, "Jade" (1995). McCallany found more substantial roles in independent fare or television; the former provided him with his first starring role in "The Search for One-Eye Jimmy" (1994), as a film student who encounters a parade of odd characters upon his return to his hometown of Brooklyn. The latter brought him to the HBO biopic "Tyson" (1995), in which he starred as legendary fight trainer Teddy Atlas, who helped develop Tyson from street tough to boxing legend. The project inspired McCallany to develop his own television program about a trainer, which would eventually bring him to the FX Network and "Lights Out."
McCallany continued to work steadily throughout the late 1990s and early 21st century in steely character roles for films and television shows both major and minor. He was the by-the-books lieutenant who made life difficult for George Clooney in "Three Kings" (1999), enjoyed a recurring role for three seasons of "CSI: Miami" (CBS, 2002-12) as a tormented cop who ends his own life after being implicated with tampered evidence, and played an Irish mobster who pressed Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) into committing crimes for him on "Heroes" (NBC, 2006-2010). While pitching his boxing trainer series to HBO, he was informed that FX was developing a show about an aging fighter who was forced to return to the ring. McCallany was eventually cast in "Lights Out" as Patrick "Lights" Leary, a forty-something brawler who re-enters the sport after landing in trouble with a local mobster. After the show's cancelation, McCallany returned to the big screen with supporting roles in action thriller "Gangster Squad" (2012) and Sylvester Stallone vehicle "Bullet to the Head" (2012). Another TV series, crime drama "Golden Boy" (CBS 2013) was again canceled after a single season, but led to a recurring role as a district attorney on later seasons of procedural drama "Blue Bloods" (CBS 2010- ). Supporting roles in Liam Neeson thriller "Run All Night" (2015), hacking adventure "Blackhat" (2015), romantic comedy "The Perfect Guy" (2015) and crime drama "Shot Caller" (2016) were followed by a pair of high profile character roles opposite Tom Hanks in Clint Eastwood's "Sully" (2016) and Tom Cruise" in action-adventure sequel "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back" (2016).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1984
Broadway debut, "Biloxi Blues"
1987
Co-starred in first segment ("Old Chief Wood'nhead") in horror anthology "Creepshow 2"
1989
Cast in war drama "Casualties of War"
1992
Appeared in David Fincher's directing debut "Alien 3" with Sigourney Weaver and Charles S. Dutton
1993
Portrayed Ernest Hemingway in TNT movie "Zelda"
1994
Starred as a film student who returns to his hometown to shoot a documentary in "The Search for One-eye Jimmy"
1995
Co-starred in HBO movie "Tyson," about the tumultuous life of the heavyweight boxing champ
1997
Cast in TNT miniseries "Rough Riders" with Tom Berenger and Sam Elliott
1999
Appeared on pilot of ABC's short-lived "Wasteland"
1999
Appeared as a brutal extremist in "Fight Club," reuniting him with director Fincher
2000
Played a rigid Army captain in "Three Kings"
2001
Co-starred in drama "Men of Honor" opposite Cuba Gooding Jr.
2002
Co-starred in WWII-set horror film "Below"
2003
Landed recurring role on "CSI: Miami" as Detective John Hagen
2004
Co-starred with Meg Ryan in Charles Dutton directed "Against the Ropes"
2007
Played a detective in crime drama "Alpha Dog," directed by Nick Cassavetes and based on the true story of drug dealer Jesse James Hollywood
2007
Joined second season of "Heroes" (NBC) as the ringleader of a group of Irish thugs
2010
Cast alongside Idris Elba and Zoe Saldana in adaptation of comic book series "The Losers"
2013
Acted opposite Sean Penn and Ryan Gosling in crime drama "Gangster Squad"
2014
Played a recurring role on the cop drama "Blue Bloods"
2015
Nabbed a supporting role in the thriller "The Perfect Guy"
2016
Appeared alongside Tom Hanks in the Clint Eastwood-directed biographical drama "Sully"