Jim Beaver | |
|---|---|
 Beaver in 2015 | |
| Born | James Norman Beaver Jr. (1950-08-12)August 12, 1950 (age 75) Laramie, Wyoming, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1972–present |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
James Norman Beaver Jr. (born August 12, 1950) is an American actor, writer, andfilm historian. He portrayedBobby Singer inSupernatural. He also played Whitney Ellsworth on theHBO Western drama seriesDeadwood, which brought him acclaim and aScreen Actors Guild Awards nomination for Ensemble Acting, Sheriff Shelby Parlow on the FX seriesJustified, andRobert "Dakota Bob" Singer on the Amazon Prime Video seriesThe Boys. HismemoirLife's That Way was published in April 2009.[1]
Beaver was born inLaramie, Wyoming, the son of Dorothy Adell (née Crawford) and James Norman Beaver, aminister.[2] His father was ofEnglish andFrench heritage; the family name was originally de Beauvoir, and Beaver is a distant cousin of author and philosopherSimone de Beauvoir and Pennsylvania governor GeneralJames A. Beaver.[3] Beaver's mother hasCherokee,German, andScottish ancestry, and is a descendant of three-time U.S. Attorney GeneralJohn J. Crittenden.[4]
Although his parents' families had both long been in Texas, Beaver was born in Laramie, as his father was doing graduate work in accounting at theUniversity of Wyoming.[5] Returning to Texas, Beaver Sr. worked as an accountant and as a minister for theChurch of Christ inFort Worth,Crowley,Dallas, andGrapevine. For most of Beaver's youth, his family lived inIrving, Texas, even while his father preached in surrounding communities.[6] He and his three younger sisters (Denise, Reneé, and Teddlie) all attendedIrving High School, where he was a classmate ofZZ Top drummerFrank Beard,[7] but he transferred in his senior year to Fort Worth Christian Academy, from which he graduated in 1968. He also took courses at Fort Worth Christian College. Later, he attendedOklahoma Christian College. Despite having appeared in some elementary school plays, he showed no particular interest in an acting career, but immersed himself in film history and expressed a desire for a career as a writer, publishing a few short stories in his high school anthology.[8]
Fewer than two months after his graduation from high school, Beaver followed several of his close friends into theUnited States Marine Corps.[9] Following basic training atMarine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Beaver was trained there as a microwave radio relay technician. He served atMarine Corps Base Twentynine Palms and atMarine Corps Base Camp Pendleton before being transferred to the1st Marine Division nearDa Nang,South Vietnam in 1970. He served as a radio operator at an outlying detachment of the1st Marine Regiment, then as supply chief for the division communications company. He returned to the U.S. in 1971 and was discharged as a Corporal (E-4), though he remained active in theMarine Reserve until 1976.
Upon his release from active duty in 1971, Beaver returned to Irving, and worked briefly forFrito-Lay as a corn-chip dough mixer. He entered what is nowOklahoma Christian University, where he became interested in theatre. He made his true theatrical debut in a small part inThe Miracle Worker. The following year, he transferred to Central State University (now known as theUniversity of Central Oklahoma). He performed in numerous plays in college and supported himself as a cabdriver, a movie projectionist, a tennis-club maintenance man, and an amusement-park stuntman atFrontier City. He also worked as a newscaster and hosted jazz and classical music programs on radio stationKCSC. During his college days, he also began to write, completing several plays as well as his first book, on actorJohn Garfield, while still a student. Beaver graduated with a degree in oral communications in 1975.[10] He briefly pursued graduate studies, but soon returned to Irving, Texas.
Beaver made his professional stage debut in October 1972, while still a college student, inRain, fromW. Somerset Maugham's short story, at the Oklahoma Theatre Center inOklahoma City, Oklahoma. After returning to Texas, he performed extensively in local theatre in the Dallas area, supporting himself as a film cleaner at a 16 mm film rental firm and as a stagehand for the Dallas Ballet. He joined theShakespeare Festival of Dallas in 1976, performing in numerous productions. In 1979, he was commissioned byActors Theatre of Louisville to write the first of three plays for that company (Spades,Sidekick andSemper Fi), and was twice a finalist in the theatre's national Great American Play Contest (forOnce Upon a Single Bound andVerdigris). Along with plays, he continued writing for film journals and for several years was a columnist, critic, and feature writer for theNational Board of Review of Motion Pictures magazineFilms in Review.
Moving to New York City in 1979, Beaver worked steadily onstage in stock and on tour, simultaneously writing plays and researching a biography of actorGeorge Reeves. He continues to pursue this project between acting jobs. He appeared in starring roles in such plays asThe Hasty Heart andThe Rainmaker inBirmingham, Alabama, andThe Lark inManchester, New Hampshire, and toured the country as Macduff inMacbeth and inThe Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia. During this period, he ghostwrote the bookMovie Blockbusters for criticSteven Scheuer.
In 1983, he moved toLos Angeles, California, to continue research on his biography ofGeorge Reeves. He worked for a year as the film archivist for the Variety Arts Center. Following a reading of his playVerdigris, he was asked to join the prestigiousTheatre West company in Hollywood, where he continues as an actor and playwright to this day.Verdigris was produced to positive reviews in 1985 and Beaver was signed by the Triad Artists agency. He immediately began to work writing episodes of television series includingAlfred Hitchcock Presents (he received a 1987CableACE Award nomination for his very first TV script for this show),Tour of Duty andVietnam War Story. He also worked occasionally in small roles in films and television.
The 1988Writers Guild of America strike fundamentally altered the freelance television writing market, and Beaver's television writing career came to an abrupt halt. A chance meeting led to his being cast as the best friend of starBruce Willis inNorman Jewison's drama about Vietnam veterans,In Country, and his acting career began flourishing where his writing career had faltered. Beaver was the only actual Vietnam veteran among the principal cast ofIn Country.
Subsequently, he has appeared in many popular films, includingSister Act,Sliver,Bad Girls,Adaptation.,Magnolia, andThe Life of David Gale. He starred in the television seriesThunder Alley as the comic sidekick toEd Asner, and as homicide cop Earl Gaddis onReasonable Doubts. He was alsoFrench Stewart's sullen boss Happy Doug on the sitcom3rd Rock from the Sun.
In 2002, Beaver was cast as one of the stars of the ensemble Western dramaDeadwood in the role of Whitney Ellsworth, a goldminer whom he often described as "Gabby Hayes withTourette syndrome".[11] Ellsworth went from being a filth-covered reprobate to marrying the richest woman in town and becoming a beloved and stalwart figure in the community. Originally Ellsworth did not have a first name, but when it became necessary to provide one, Beaver requested he be named Whitney Ellsworth, after the producer ofGeorge Reeves'sAdventures of Superman. He continued his long research for the Reeves biography, and in 2005 served as the historical and biographical consultant on the theatrical feature film about Reeves's death,Hollywoodland.
Beaver joined the cast of the HBO dramaJohn from Cincinnati in 2006, while simultaneously playing the recurring roles ofBobby Singer onSupernatural and Carter Reese on another HBO dramaBig Love, appearing at least once a season onSupernatural.[12] He then took on the role of Sheriff Charlie Mills in the CBS dramaHarper's Island. He recurred as the gun dealer Lawson onBreaking Bad and its prequelBetter Call Saul, and played Sheriff Shelby Parlow for three seasons onFX'sJustified.
Following his acclaimed work inJustified, Beaver had a starring role inGuillermo del Toro's gothic ghost story feature film,Crimson Peak, in a part del Toro wrote for him. He also had roles in the feature filmsThe Frontier andBilly Boy.
His memoir about the year after his wife's 2003 lung cancer diagnosis, titledLife's That Way, was purchased in a preemptive bid byPutnam/Penguin publishers in the fall of 2007.[13] Prior to publication in April, 2009, it was chosen for theBarnes & NobleDiscover Great New Writers program for 2009.[1]
His performance inThe Silence of Bees won him the Best Actor Award at the 2010 New York Film and Video Festival.[14]
Beaver was nominated for Best Guest Performance in a Drama by the Broadcast Television Journalists' Association Critics' Choice Awards in 2013, for his performance as Sheriff Shelby Parlow onJustified.
He wrote and directed the short filmNight Riders (2013), based upon his play of the same title.
In 2014, he was given the Lifetime Merit Award of theIdyllwild International Festival of Cinema.[15]
Beaver studied acting with Clyde Ventura and Academy Award-winning actorMaximilian Schell.[16]
In March 2015,Theatre West presented a 30th anniversary revival of Beaver's playVerdigris, with Beaver in a starring role.
ActressMaureen Stapleton played the leading role in a workshop of Beaver's playVerdigris in 1985 at theBerkshire Theatre Festival. In June, 2016, Beaver returned to the Festival to play Big Daddy inTennessee Williams'sCat on a Hot Tin Roof.[17]
Since 2018, Beaver has portrayed Secretary of Defense/U.S. presidential candidate/U.S. PresidentRobert "Dakota Bob" Singer on the Amazon seriesThe Boys, produced byEric Kripke, creator ofSupernatural. Beaver's characters onThe Boys andSupernatural share the same name.[18]
In March 2023, he reprised his role as Bobby Singer inThe Winchesters spinoff series.
Beaver was awarded the 2023 Soaring Talent Award for Career Achievement by theTallgrass Film Festival.[19]
In addition to his film and television work, Beaver has, as of mid-2025, appeared in over 110 stage productions.[20]
For several years after his 1983 move to California, Beaver shared a house with character actorHank Worden, whom he considered a close friend and surrogate grandfather. He became friends with Worden as a child, after writing him a fan letter that sparked a lengthy correspondence between them.[21]
During college, Beaver married a fellow student, Debbie Young, in August 1973. They separated four months later but did not divorce until 1976.
In 1989, after four years of dating, Beaver married actress and casting directorCecily Adams, daughter of comic actor and voiceover artistDon Adams. Their daughter Madeline was born in 2001. (She now portrays the lead character in the video gameAva.) Adams, though a non-smoker, died oflung cancer on March 3, 2004.[16]
Beaver began a relationship in 2016 with actress and singerSarah Spiegel. They were married on June 20, 2019.[22] Beaver filed for divorce from Spiegel on August 24, 2022, citing irreconcilable differences. Their divorce was final on January 23, 2024.[23]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Semi-Tough | B.E.A.T. Member | Uncredited |
| 1978 | The Seniors | Client | Uncredited |
| 1979 | Warnings | The Artist | Short film |
| 1981 | Nighthawks | Subway Passenger | Uncredited |
| 1983 | Girls of the White Orchid | Pedestrian | Uncredited; alternative titleDeath Ride to Osaka |
| Silkwood | Plant Manager | Uncredited | |
| 1985 | File 8022 | Ben Crysler | |
| 1987 | Sweet Revenge | Smuggler | Uncredited |
| Hollywood Shuffle | Postal Worker | ||
| 1988 | Two Idiots in Hollywood | Crying Man | |
| Defense Play | FBI Agent | ||
| 1989 | Mergers & Acquisitions | Gabby Hayes | Short film |
| Turner & Hooch | Plant Manager | ||
| The Cherry | The Captain | Short film | |
| In Country | Earl Smith | ||
| 1990 | El Diablo | Spivey Irick | |
| The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson | Major Trimble | ||
| 1991 | Little Secrets | Liquor Store Cashier | Credited as Richard Muldoon |
| 1992 | Sister Act | Detective Clarkson | |
| 1993 | Sliver | Detective Ira | |
| Geronimo: An American Legend | Proclamation Officer | ||
| 1994 | Twogether | Oscar | |
| Blue Chips | Ricky's Father | ||
| Children of the Dark | Roddy Gibbons | Deliberately uncredited[citation needed] | |
| Bad Girls | Pinkerton Detective Graves | ||
| 1997 | Wounded | Agent Eric Ashton | |
| 1998 | At Sachem Farm | Foreman | |
| 1999 | Impala | Sheriff Bert Davis | Short film |
| Ah! Silenciosa | Ambrose Bierce | Short film | |
| Magnolia | Smiling Peanut Patron #1 | ||
| 2000 | Fraud | Detective Mason | Short film |
| Where the Heart Is | 'Clawhammer' | Scenes deleted | |
| 2001 | Joy Ride | Sheriff Ritter | |
| 2002 | Wheelmen | Agent Hammond | |
| Adaptation. | Ranger Tony | ||
| 2003 | The Life of David Gale | Duke Grover | |
| Wave Babes | Amos Nandy | ||
| The Commission | Howard L. Brennan | ||
| 2007 | Next | FBI Director Wisdom | |
| Cooties | The Man | Short film | |
| 2008 | Reflections | Frank | Short film |
| The Silence of Bees | Parker Lam | Short film | |
| 2009 | Dark and Stormy Night | Jack Tugdon | |
| 2011 | The Legend of Hell's Gate: An American Conspiracy | J. Wright Mooar | |
| 2013 | Night Riders | Short film; writer, director, executive producer | |
| 2015 | The Frontier | Lee | |
| Crimson Peak | Carter Cushing | ||
| 2017 | Billy Boy | Crabtree | |
| Remember The Sultana | Joseph Taylor Elliott / First Engineering Officer Nathaniel Wintringer | ||
| 2021 | Nightmare Alley | Sheriff Jedediah Judd |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Desperado | Nathan | TV film |
| 1978–1979 | Dallas | Diner / Julie's Gardener | 2 episodes |
| 1979 | Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders | Cowboy Player | TV film |
| 1986 | Divorce Court | Wrench McCoy | |
| 1987 | Jake and the Fatman | Defense Attorney | Episode: "Fatal Attraction" |
| 1988 | Matlock | Barney Sutler | Episode: "The Umpire" |
| Paradise | Frank Foster | Episode: "The Holstered Gun" | |
| Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake | Motel Manager | TV film | |
| 1989 | CBS Summer Playhouse | Wrong House Neighbor | Episode: "Elysian Fields" |
| The Young Riders | Johnson | Episode: "The Kid" | |
| Mothers, Daughters and Lovers | Sheriff Jack Edzard | TV film | |
| 1990 | Follow Your Heart | Craig Hraboy | TV film |
| Midnight Caller | Tom Barlow | Episode: "Ryder on the Storm" | |
| Nasty Boys | Wetstone | Episode: "Desert Run" | |
| Father Dowling Mysteries | Drake | Episode: "The Murder Weekend Mystery" | |
| 1991–1993 | Santa Barbara | Andy, The Rapist / Motel Man | 5 episodes |
| Reasonable Doubts | Detective Earl Gaddis | 13 episodes | |
| 1992 | Gunsmoke: To the Last Man | Deputy Willie Rudd | TV film |
| 1993 | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Henry Barnes | Episode: "I'm Looking Through You" |
| Gunsmoke: The Long Ride | Traveling blacksmith | TV film | |
| 1994-1995 | Thunder Alley | Leland DuParte | 28 episodes |
| 1995 | Home Improvement | Duke Miller | Episode: "Doctor in the House" |
| Unsolved Mysteries | Himself | Episode: "Who Killed Superman?" | |
| 1996 | High Incident | Father In Wreck | Episode: "Women & Children First" |
| 1996–1997 | Murder One | Donald Cleary | 2 episodes |
| 1996 | Bone Chillers | Edgar Allan Poe | Episode: "Edgar Allan Poe-Session" |
| 1996–2004 | Days of Our Lives | Father Timothy Jansen | 26 episodes |
| 1997 | NYPD Blue | Truck Driver / Jesus Christ | Episode: "Taillight's Last Gleaming" |
| Moloney | Detective Ashton | Episode: "The Ripple Effect" | |
| Spy Game | Thornbush | Episode: "Lorne and Max Drop the Ball" | |
| Total Security | Detective McKissick | Episode: "Das Bootie" | |
| Divided by Hate | Danny Leland | TV film | |
| 1998 | Melrose Place | Ranger Virgil | Episode: "Amanda's Back" |
| Pensacola: Wings of Gold | Actor | Episode: "Power Play" | |
| Mr. Murder | Agent Jason Reiling | TV film | |
| 1998–1999 | E! Mysteries & Scandals | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 3rd Rock from the Sun | Doug 'Happy Doug' | 7 episodes | |
| 1999 | The X-Files | Coroner | Episode: "Field Trip" |
| 2000 | Biography | Himself | Episode: "George Reeves: The Perils of a Superhero" |
| The Trouble with Normal | Gary | 8 episodes | |
| 2001 | That '70s Show | Tony | Episode: "Who Wants It More?" |
| The Division | Fred Zito | Episode: "High on the Hog" | |
| Star Trek: Enterprise | Admiral Daniel Leonard | Episode: "Broken Bow: Part 1" | |
| The West Wing | Carl | Episode: "Manchester: Part 1" | |
| Philly | Nelson Vanderhoff | Episode: "Loving Sons" | |
| Warden of Red Rock | Jefferson Bent | TV film | |
| 2003 | Andy Richter Controls the Universe | Craig | Episode: "Charity Begins in Cellblock D" |
| Six Feet Under | Prison Officer | Episode: "Twilight" | |
| Tremors | Sheriff Sam Boggs | Episode: "Water Hazard" | |
| The Lyon's Den | Hank Ferris | Episode: "The Other Side of Caution" | |
| 2004 | Monk | Sheriff Mathis | Episode: "Mr. Monk Gets Married" |
| Crossing Jordan | Ranger Diggory | Episode: "Revealed" | |
| 2004–2006 | Deadwood | Whitney Ellsworth | 28 episodes |
| 2006 | The Unit | Lloyd Cole | Episode: "Manhunt" |
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Stanley Tanner | 2 episodes | |
| 2006–2020 | Supernatural | Bobby Singer | 69 episodes |
| 2007 | Day Break | Nick 'Uncle Nick' Vukovic | 5 episodes |
| John from Cincinnati | Joe 'Vietnam Joe' | 8 episodes | |
| Big Love | Carter Reese | 3 episodes | |
| Criminal Minds | Sheriff Williams | Episode: "Identify" | |
| 2009 | Harper's Island | Sheriff Charlie Mills | 11 episodes |
| Psych | Pete 'Stinky Pete' Dillingham | Episode: "High Noon-ish" | |
| 2010 | Law & Order: LA | Frank Loomis | Episode: "Hollywood" |
| The Mentalist | Cobb Holwell | Episode: "The Red Ponies" | |
| Lie to Me | Gus | Episode: "Veronica" | |
| Love Bites | Trucker | Episode: "Keep On Truckin'" | |
| 2011–2012 | Breaking Bad | Lawson | 2 episodes |
| 2011–2013 | Justified | Sheriff Shelby Parlow | 14 episodes |
| 2012 | Dexter[24] | Clint McKay | Episode: "The Dark...Whatever" |
| 2013 | The Middle | Mr. Stokes | Episode: "Dollar Days" |
| Mike & Molly | Dwight | 2 episodes | |
| Longmire | Lee Roskey | Episode: "Natural Order" | |
| Revolution | John Franklin Fry | 2 episodes | |
| 2014 | Major Crimes | Donald Beckwith | Episode: "Return to Sender Part 2" |
| NCIS | Captain Tom O'Rourke | Episode: "The San Dominick" | |
| 2015–2017 | The New Adventures of Peter and Wendy | George Darling | Web series |
| 2016 | Better Call Saul | Lawson | 2 episodes; Same character fromBreaking Bad |
| Bones | George Gibbons | Episode: "The Monster in the Closet" | |
| 2017 | NCIS: New Orleans | Jackson Hauser, Rig Manager | Episode: "Hell on the High Water" |
| Timeless | Jake Neville | 3 episodes | |
| Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders | Donald Atwood | Episode: "Blowback" | |
| Shut Eye | Bob Caygeon | 2 episodes | |
| 2017–2019 | The Ranch | Chuck Phillips | 12 episodes |
| 2019–present | The Boys | Robert A. "Dakota Bob" Singer | 6 episodes |
| 2019 | Watchmen | Andy | Episode: "Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship" |
| 2020 | Young Sheldon | Kenneth | Episode: "Contracts, Rules and a Little Bit of Pig Brains" |
| 2021 | B Positive | Spencer Williams | Recurring role; 14 episodes |
| 2023 | The Winchesters | Bobby Singer | Episode: "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye" Same character fromSupernatural |
| 2024 | Outer Range | Harrison Farber | Episode: "Ode to Joy" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Vought News Network: Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman | Robert "Dakota Bob" Singer (voice) | Guest role;web series promotingThe Boys |
