Željko Ivanek | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ivanek in 2017 | |
| Born | (1957-08-15)August 15, 1957 (age 68) |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Partner | Greg Pierce |
| Father | Ferdo Ivanek |
Željko Ivanek (/ˈʒɛlkoʊɪˈvɑːnɪk/;[1]Slovene:[ˈʒɛːlkɔiˈʋaːnək]; born August 15, 1957) is aSlovenian-American actor.[2] He is aDrama Desk Award,Primetime Emmy Award andScreen Actors Guild Award recipient; and a three-timeTony Award nominee.
Ivanek's film credits includeCourage Under Fire (1996),Donnie Brasco (1997),Hannibal,Black Hawk Down (both 2001),Unfaithful (2002),The Manchurian Candidate (2004),Live Free or Die Hard (2007),The Bourne Legacy,Argo,Seven Psychopaths (all 2012). He has appeared in several films byLars von Trier, includingDancer in the Dark (2000),Dogville (2003), andManderlay (2005). In 2017, he appeared inThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, receiving a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance.
Ivanek portrayed Ray Fiske on theFX television seriesDamages (2007–2010), for which he won the 2008Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor. He also appeared asEd Danvers onHomicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) andRussell Jackson on theCBS dramaMadam Secretary (2014–2019), and has had recurring roles on series such asOz (1997–2003),24 (2002),True Blood (2008),Heroes (2009),Big Love (2009–2010),Banshee (2014), and12 Monkeys (2015–2017). Since 2023, he has starred as "The Croat" onAMC'sThe Walking Dead: Dead City.
Ivanek was born inLjubljana,PR Slovenia,FPR Yugoslavia.[3] His father wasFerdo Ivanek, who grew up inZajezda, in theCroatian region ofHrvatsko Zagorje, and spent his later childhood inVaraždin.[4] In 1960, Željko, his younger brother Ivan, and his mother immigrated toPalo Alto, California, where his father was working as a research assistant at the Department of Electrical Engineering atStanford University.[5][6] His mother also worked at Stanford University as a project manager.[7]
In 1962, Ivanek and his family moved back to Slovenia for five years; they returned to Palo Alto in 1967. Having performed in numerous community theater plays in theSan Francisco Bay Area, Ivanek graduated fromEllwood P. Cubberley High School in Palo Alto in 1975.[8] In 1978, Ivanek graduated fromYale University, majoring in theater. He later attended theLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.[9]
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Ivanek has worked extensively on the stage. In 1982, he originated the role of Hally inAthol Fugard's play"Master Harold"...and the Boys. He appeared in the U.S. premieres ofCloud Nine (for which he earned the 1981Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play), andThe Pillowman. He performs frequently on Broadway and has been nominated for threeTony Awards for his performances in the original production ofBrighton Beach Memoirs, inTwo Shakespearean Actors, and in a revival ofThe Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, alongsideDavid Schwimmer andTim Daly.
However, Ivanek is perhaps best known for his supporting roles in a number of well-known television series. His first television role was as Sammie Wheaton on the soap operaThe Edge of Night. Other roles include Emile Danko inHeroes;Roland inThe X-Files; prosecuting attorneyEd Danvers inHomicide: Life on the Street; Ray Fiske inDamages; J.J. inBig Love; the Magister inTrue Blood;Governor James Devlin inOz; Serbian terroristAndre Drazen in24; and Blake Sterling, theDirector of National Intelligence in theNBC drama seriesThe Event.[10][11]
Most recently, Ivanek playedRussell Jackson in the TV seriesMadam Secretary. He portrayedJohn Dickinson, thePennsylvania representative to theSecond Continental Congress, in the miniseriesJohn Adams. He has guest-starred on such shows asLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit andHouse. He has appeared several times onLaw & Order, both as one-off characters and asEd Danvers in crossover episodes withHomicide: Life on the Street.
In addition to his stage and television work, Ivanek has appeared in more than 20 feature films, includingThe Sender, in which he made his feature film debut as the unnamed title character;School Ties;Black Hawk Down;In Bruges;Dogville;The Bourne Legacy;Donnie Brasco;Argo;Seven Psychopaths; andThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
In 2012, he portrayed Dr. Stafford White in the dramaThe Mob Doctor. As of 2014, he had supporting roles in several shows on broadcast and cable television, including the seriesRevolution, where he plays the recurring roles of Dr. Calvin Horn and an illusory nanotech avatar of Horn;Suits;Banshee; andThe Americans.
In the documentaryThat Guy... Who Was in That Thing, Ivanek states that his contract includes arider to ensure that the first letter in his name,Ž, has itscaron properly rendered in any credits sequence where his name appears.
Ivanek has received recognition for his on-screen work. In 2008, he was awarded thePrimetime Emmy Award forOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance in the role of Ray Fiske onDamages.[12]
As of 2018, Ivanek resided in New York City with his partner, Greg Pierce. Pierce is the nephew of actorDavid Hyde Pierce.[13]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Great Performances | March Hare | Episode: "Alice in Wonderland" |
| 1986 | American Playhouse | George Deever | Episode: "All My Sons" |
| 1987 | St. Elsewhere | Mark Dolson | Episode: "You Again?" |
| Echoes in the Darkness | Vince Valaitis | Television movie | |
| 1990 | L.A. Law | Joel Lassen | Episode: "Bound for Glory" |
| 1993 | Law & Order | Phillip Swann | Episode: "American Dreams" |
| 1993–1999 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Ed Danvers | 37 episodes |
| 1994 | The X-Files | Roland Fuller / Dr. Arthur Grable | Episode: "Roland" |
| 1995 | Murder, She Wrote | Eddie Saunders | Episode: "Home Care" |
| Truman | Eddie Jacobsen | Television movie | |
| 1997–1999 | Law & Order | AUSA Ed Danvers | 2 episodes |
| 1997 | Frasier | Dr. Arnold Shaw | Episode: "Death and the Dog" |
| The Practice | DA Mark McGovern | Episode: "The Civil Right" | |
| Millennium | Dr. Daniel "Danny" Miller | Episode: "Walkabout" | |
| Ally McBeal | Judge Marshal Pink | Episode: "One Hundred Tears Away" | |
| 1997–2003 | Oz | Governor James Devlin | 27 episodes |
| 1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | Ken Mattingly | Episode: "The Original Wives Club" |
| The Rat Pack | Robert F. Kennedy | Television movie | |
| 2000 | ER | Bruce Resnick | Episode: "The Dance We Do" |
| Homicide: The Movie | Ed Danvers | TV film | |
| 2001 | The Practice | AUSA Steven Sanders | Episode: "The Confession" |
| 2002 | The Practice | Matthew Davies | Episode: "Neighboring Species" |
| 24 | Andre Drazen | 15 episodes | |
| The Twilight Zone | ER chief | Episode: "The Lineman" | |
| 2003 | The West Wing | Steve Atwood | 2 episodes |
| The Reagans | Michael Deaver | TV movie | |
| 2004 | Law & Order | Richard Kaplin | Episode: "Gov Love" |
| Touching Evil | Ronald Hinks | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| 2005 | NYPD Blue | Justin Deroos | Episode: "Stoli With a Twist" |
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Andrew Melton | Episode: "Nesting Dolls" | |
| 2006 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Everett Drake | Episode: "Taboo" |
| Bones | Carl Decker | Episode: "The Woman in the Car" | |
| Shark | Eliot Dasher | 2 episodes | |
| Cold Case | John Doe (John Harding) | Episode: "One Night" | |
| 2007–2010 | Damages | Raymond "Ray" Fiske | 16 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries, or Television Film |
| 2007 | Lost | Edmund Burke | Episode: "Not in Portland" |
| 2008 | Numbers | William Fraley | Episode: "When Worlds Collide" |
| John Adams | John Dickinson | 2 episodes | |
| House | Jason | Episode: "Last Resort" | |
| 2008–2014 | The Mentalist | Dr. Linus Wagner | 2 episodes |
| True Blood | Magister | 5 episodes | |
| 2009 | Heroes | Emile "The Hunter" Danko | 13 episodes |
| 2009–2010 | Big Love | J.J. | 12 episodes |
| 2010–2011 | The Event | Blake Sterling | 22 episodes |
| 2013 | White Collar | Brett Forsythe | Episode: "Digging Deeper" |
| 2012–2013 | The Mob Doctor | Dr. Stafford White | 13 episodes |
| 2013–2014 | Revolution | Dr. Calvin Horn | 5 episodes |
| 2014 | Banshee | FBI Special Agent Jim Racine | 3 episodes |
| The Americans | John Skeevers | Episode: "Stealth" | |
| 2014–2015 | Suits | Eric Woodall | 4 episodes |
| 2014–2019 | Madam Secretary | Russell Jackson | 102 episodes |
| 2015–2017 | 12 Monkeys | Leland Goines | 3 episodes |
| 2022 | Now and Then | Detective Sullivan | 8 episodes |
| Let the Right One In | Arthur | Recurring | |
| 2023–present | The Walking Dead: Dead City | Mile Jurkovic / "The Croat" | Main cast |
| 2024–2025 | Law & Order | Defense Attorney Charles Banks | 2 episodes |
| 2025 | Death by Lightning | Doctor Willard Bliss | 4 episodes |
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