Jim Beaver
About
Biography
Biography
Actor and writer James Beaver could well be called a factotum. His long and varied career has included stints as a film historian, playwright, ghost writer, stage, television and film actor, cab driver, projectionist, amusement-park stunt man, ballet stagehand, and corn-chip dough mixer. He started acting in theater in Oklahoma while attending college. As a bourgeoning film historian, he also completed his first book at this time on actor John Garfield. His stage work continued with his move to New York City in the late 1970s and, in 1983, he ventured out to Hollywood. He joined Theater West and became both actor and playwright for the organization. Beaver soon thereafter branched into television with scripts for the famous suspense anthology "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and the war serials "Tour of Duty" and "Vietnam War Story." As a Marine Corps veteran, he was snatched up for a part as Bruce Willis's army buddy in 1989's "In Country." The role kick-started his onscreen acting career and he has worked steadily in film and TV ever since, most notably as the crusty but warm-hearted prospector Whitney Ellsworth on HBO's cunningly foul-mouthed Western "Deadwood" and in a recurring role on the horror-fraught "Supernatural." His memoir, "Life's That Way," recounts his wife's lost battle with lung cancer in 2003. He is also the author of a biography of George Reeves and was a consultant on "Hollywoodland," a film about the actor's curious death.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1977
First minor film role in "Semi-Tough," starring Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson
1981
Appeared in "Nighthawks," which starred Sylvester Stallone and Rutger Hauer
1983
Cast as the plant manager in the award winning film "Silkwood," starring Meryl Streep and directed by Mike Nichols
1985
Wrote two episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (NBC)
1987
Played a postal worker in Robert Townsend's "Hollywood Shuffle"
1988
Co-scripted the HBO anthology series "Vietnam War Story," featuring accounts of the men and women who fought in Vietnam
1989
First gained recognition as Bruce Willis's best friend in Norman Jewison's acclaimed film "In Country"
1991
Played Mark Harmon's partner, Detective Earl Gaddis, on NBC's critically acclaimed drama "Reasonable Doubts"
1994
Starred as Edward Asner's sidekick Leland on the ABC comedy "Thunder Alley"
1994
Had a small role as a detective in the western "Bad Girls"
1996
Appeared as Father Tim Jansen on NBC's popular daytime drama "Days of Our Lives"
1997
Starred in the USA movie "Divided by Hate" with Dylan Walsh and Tom Skerritt
1999
Had a small role in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Magnolia"
2001
Cast as Admiral Daniel Leonard in "Star Trek: Enterprise" (UPN)
2001
Starred in the Showtime movie "Warden of Red Rock," with James Caan and David Carradine
2002
Starred in Spike Jonze's "Adaptation," with Nicolas Cage
2003
Cast opposite Kevin Spacey and Kate Winslet in Alan Parker's "The Life of David Gale"
2004
Had breakout role as Ellsworth on the HBO drama "Deadwood"
2006
Began starring as Bobby Singer on "Supernatural"
2007
Re-teamed with David Milch for the short-lived "John from Cincinnati"
2009
Played Sheriff Charlie Mills on "Harper's Island"
2011
Had a recurring guest role on "Breaking Bad"
2011
Had a recurring role as Sheriff Shelby Parlow, alongside fellow "Deadwood" alum Timothy Olyphant, on "Justified"
2015
Played George Darling on "The New Adventures of Peter and Wendy"
2017
Had a recurring role on comedy series "The Ranch"
2018
Cast as The Boss in the thriller "Hospitality"
