Don Swayze is an American actor and stunt performer best known for his roles in the series Matlock and Carnivale.
Biography[]
Swayze was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Patsy Yvonne Helen (née Karnes), a choreographer, dance instructor and dancer, and Jesse Wayne Swayze, an engineering drafter, who died of a heart attack at an early age. The Swayze siblings where raised Roman Catholic and, until adulthood, lived in the Oak Forest area. Tragedy would come back to the Swayze family again when his sister Vicky committed suicide in the 1990s.
Like his older brother, the late Patrick Swayze, he studied acting with Milton Katselas at The Beverly Hills Playhouse.
The list of skills he can display help to explain his vast resume: stage fighting, fight choreography, dancing (Houston Jazz/Ballet Co), singing, skydiving, cycling, horseback riding, mountaineering, rollerblading and motorcycling.
His film work includes an appearance as a dancer in the 1980 movie Urban Cowboy, as Ruben in the film, Father for Charlie, and as Mark in the critically acclaimed film Shy People. He also starred as the famous Alamo courier James Bonham in Alamo... Price of Freedom, a film shown in San Antonio, Texas.
Swayze's television work includes multiple appearances in Murder She Wrote, NYPD Blue, Days of Our Lives, Shark, My Name Is Earl, as well as dozens of other programs. Notably, Swayze had a role as a mentally handicapped man suspected of murder in two episodes of the television drama Matlock. He also made several appearances on the drama Carnivàle, as well as Criminal Minds in which he played Charles Hankel, the father and alternate personality of serial killer Tobias Hankel. On Cold Case Swayze played an adult Grant Hall, who was an aspiring Olympic wrestler as a boy and whose brother went missing.
He gained particular acclaim for his role in the show as a farmer in an episode of NCIS, and as the famous Alamo courier James Bonham in Alamo... Price of Freedom, an IMAX film shown in San Antonio, Texas.
Criminal Minds[]
Swayze portrayed Charles Hankel, the father of serial killer Tobias Hankel in the Season Two episodes "The Big Game" and "Revelations".
Filmography[]
- Heathens and Thieves (2010) - Sherman
- True Blood - 6 episodes (2010) TV episodes - Gus
- Powder Blue (2009) - Bouncer
- Quit (2009) - Ward
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - The Theory of Everything (2008) TV episode - Dave Bohr
- Prairie Fever (2008) - James
- The Colony (2007) - State Dept. Official #1
- Cold Case - Shuffle, Ball Change (2007) TV episode - Grant Hall - 2007
- Criminal Minds - "The Big Game" and "Revelations" (2007) TV episodes - Charles Hankel
- Mystery Woman: In the Shadows (2007) - Bishop
- Shark - Déjà Vu All Over Again (2006) TV episode - Beau Dawkins
- My Name Is Earl - The Bounty Hunter (2006) TV episode - Bail Bonds Man
- The Visitation (2006) - Abe
- The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold (2006) - Obnoxious Guy
- Without a Trace - Lost Time (2005) TV episode - Randy Stone
- Charmed - Little Box of Horrors (2005) TV episode - Lucius
- Waterborne (2005) - Otis
- Carnivàle - 6 episodes (2003-2005) TV episodes - Tattooed Man
- CSI: Miami - Nothing to Lose (2005) TV episode - Norm Buford
- Love, Inc. - Major Dad (2005) TV episode - Troy
- Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service - Vanished (2004) TV episode - Logan Clay
- Knuckle Sandwich (2004) - Larry
- Karen Sisco - No One's Girl (2004) TV episode - Jack
- The Division - High on the Hog (2001) - Elvin 'Tupelo' Seaforth and It's the Real Thing (2004) TV episodes - Gary Gold
- Tremors - Water Hazard (2003) TV episode - Orville James
- Betrayal (2003) - Fred
- V.I.P. - For Val's Eyes Only (2000) and Kiss the Val (2002) TV episodes - Merrick
- The X Files - Hellbound (2002) TV episode - Terry Pruit
- Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction - Anatole (2000) TV episode - William Pope
- The Prophet's Game (1999) - Joseph Highsmith
- Profiler - Do the Right Thing (1998) TV episode - Gelb
- The Magnificent Seven - Inmate 78 (1998) TV episode - Gage Lawless
- Evasive Action (1998) - Ian Kellen
- Squanderers (1996) - Scott
- Land's End - A Line in the Sand (1995) TV episode - Thomas Dwayne Boller
- Walker, Texas Ranger - The Guardians (1995) TV episode - Harry Peterson
- Digital Man (1995) - Billy
- Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman - Tempus Fugitive (1995) TV episode - Jesse James
- NYPD Blue - In the Butt, Bob and Vishy-Vashy-Vinny (1995) TV episodes - Alex
- A Father for Charlie (1995) - Reuben Cantwell
- Pontiac Moon (1994) - Local
- Forced to Kill (1994) - Dwayne
- Sexual Malice (1994) - Curran
- Beyond Suspicion (1993) - Duke
- Murder, She Wrote - Tainted Lady (1991) - Edge Potter and Bloodlines (1993) TV episodes - Gus Tardio
- Renegade - White Picket Fences (1993) TV episode - John Poe
- Body of Influence (1993) - Biker
- Broken Trust (1993) - Sgt. Barnes
- Eye of the Stranger (1993) - Rudy
- Death Ring (1992) - John Blackwell
- Columbo - No Time to Die (1992) TV episode
- Payback (1991) - Jeremy
- Edge of Honor (1991) - Ritchie
- Dragnet - The Vandals (1991) TV episode - Pete Brown
- The World According to Straw (1990) - Abalone
- Hunter - On Air (1989) TV episode - Lyle
- Driving Force (1989) - Nelson
- Matlock - The Thoroughbred (1989) TV episode - Tommy Jenks
- Paradise - A House Divided (1989) TV episode - Langston
- Trapper County War (1989) - Walt Luddigger
- The Tracker (1988) - Brewer
- Alamo: The Price of Freedom (1988) - James Bonham
- Shy People (1987) - Mark
- W.A.R.: Women Against Rape (1987) - Andy
- L.A. Law - Pilot and Those Lips, That Eye (1986) TV episodes - William Dollar
- 1st & Ten - A Second Chance (1986) TV episode - Clay Daniels
- The Fall Guy - War on Wheels (1986) TV episode - Stretch
- Prince of Bel Air (1986) - Darryl
- J.O.E. and the Colonel (1985) - Max Carney
- Street Hawk - Follow the Yellow Gold Road (1985) TV episode - Pug
- Tall Tales & Legends - My Darlin' Clementine (1985) TV episode - Groom
- I Married a Centerfold (1984) - Actor #2
- Days of Our Lives - Episode #1.4528 (1983) TV episode - Rip
STUNTS[]
- Letters from a Killer (1998) (stunts)
- Most Wanted (1997) (stunts)
LINKS[]
- For an up-to-date Filmography: imdb.com/Don Swayze