Chris Ellis
Known for Acting · 107 credits
- Born
- 1956-04-14 (age 70)
- Place of birth
- Dallas, Texas, USA
Biography
Chris Ellis (born April 14, 1956) is an American film and television actor. Ellis always wanted to be an actor because of television. He grew up in the 50's in the deep south in a "world of privation and violence", but saw on television people who seemed to have lives of ease and privilege.
It took him seven years to finish college however, because "I have always been shiftless". During those years Chris became involved in community theatre in Memphis, where "I did and do still think the quality of the work has always been quite good". By the time he moved to New York, he had worked with many excellent actors in about two dozen plays, classical and contemporary. "I cannot imagine what might have supplanted that background for a newcomer in New York."
His first part in either television or film came in 1979, where he played a truck driver in the TV movie The Suicide's Wife, which starred Angie Dickinson. The role resulted in very little TV or film work. After working in regional theatre for a year or so, Chris fell off the radar screen and did not work for about ten years. During that time he lived in "bone-grinding poverty" in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen. In one nine-month period of 1987, Chris accepted 102 dinner invitations. "I don't know why they kept arriving, nor why I counted them, though I do know why I accepted them."
In 1990, a break came when he got a part in Days of Thunder, which starred Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Cary Elwes, Robert Duvall, and Randy Quaid. John C. Reilly and Fred Dalton Thompson also appear. This seemed to jump-start Ellis' career as parts in films like My Cousin Vinny with Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei, a small part in Addams Family Values, and a larger one in Apollo 13 as former NASA Mercury Seven astronaut Deke Slayton, alongside Tom Hanks, followed. He also began picking up credits on well-known television shows like Melrose Place, NYPD Blue, and The X-Files.
Since working with Hanks on Apollo 13, the two have worked together on That Thing You Do, the TV miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, and Catch Me If You Can. Ellis returned to a fictional NASA Mission Control when he played a Flight Director in 1998's Armageddon.
Known For
TV Shows (47)
NCIS
2003
as John Deluca
Criminal Minds
2005
as Sheriff Rhodes
The Mentalist
2008
as Sherrif Mullery
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
2000
as Clinton Malton
The Office
2005
as Chris O'Keefe
Young Sheldon
2017
as Marty Steinbecker
The X-Files
1993
as Sheriff Lance Hindt
The West Wing
1999
as Congressman Fields
CSI: NY
2004
as Vincent Williams
Mad Men
2007
as Del Hill
Diagnosis: Murder
1993
as Leonard Wilson
Melrose Place
1992
as Cop
Ghost Whisperer
2005
as Captain Ken Nilsen
NYPD Blue
1993
as Marshal
The Practice
1997
as Zoning Board Chairman Donald Blane
Chicago Hope
1994
as Bill Erskine
Cold Case
2003
as Jim Horn (2008)
9-1-1: Lone Star
2020
as Derek Poole
Veronica Mars
2004
as Reverend Ted Capistrano
Burn Notice
2007
as Virgil Watkins
Las Vegas
2003
as Dr. Sassen
Six Feet Under
2001
as Construction Worker #2
Arli$$
1996
as Henneman / Maynard Dupree
Justified
2010
as Douglas Cooper
Warehouse 13
2009
as Colonel Arnold Cassell
The Unit
2006
as Congressman Bruce Gelber
Millennium
1996
as Jim Penseyres
The Pretender
1996
as Daniel Crockett
Roswell
1999
as T. Greer
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
2008
as Hayes
Family Law
1999
as Mr. Reese
In Plain Sight
2008
as Reidell
K.C. Undercover
2015
as Christos Markos
Murder One
1995
as Mr. Switzer
Law & Order: LA
2010
as Walter Exley
Harry's Law
2011
From the Earth to the Moon
1998
as Bob Parker
The Finder
2012
as Warden Nick Larsen
Promised Land
1996
as Brian Pascal
The Good Guys
2010
as Beau Teague
Homecoming
2018
as Richard Lehmann
Space: Above and Beyond
1995
as Adm. Stenner
Alias
2001
as Agent Chapman
Fairly Legal
2011
as Maddox Resor
Birds of Prey
2002
as Larry Ketterly
First Monday
2002
Political Animals
2012
as Jubal Jacobs
Movies (60)
The Dark Knight Rises
2012
as Fr. Reilly
Catch Me If You Can
2002
as Special Agent Witkins
Con Air
1997
as BOP Official Grant
Armageddon
1998
as Flight Director Clark
Apollo 13
1995
as Deke Slayton
The Island
2005
as Aces & Spades Barman
Bean
1997
as Detective Butler
Godzilla
1998
as General Anderson
Live Free or Die Hard
2007
as Capt. Jack Scalvino
Addams Family Values
1993
as Moving Man
Transformers
2007
as Admiral Brigham
Days of Thunder
1990
as Harlem Hoogerhyde
The Guest
2014
as Hendricks
Crimson Tide
1995
as Additional Magician
Planet of the Apes
2001
as Commander Karl Vasich
Fun with Dick and Jane
2005
as Vice President - Grand Cayman Bank
My Cousin Vinny
1992
as J.T.
G-Force
2009
as NSA Director
The Devil's Rejects
2005
as Coggs
That Thing You Do!
1996
as Phil Horace
October Sky
1999
as Principal Turner
A Little Princess
1995
as Policeman
Jessabelle
2014
as Sheriff Pruitt
Domestic Disturbance
2001
as Detective Warren
Undercover Blues
1993
as Burt
Wonderland
2003
as Captain Nimziki
Wag the Dog
1997
as Officer
McFarland, USA
2015
as Coach Jenks (as Chris Ellis Jr.)
The Show
2017
as Keller
The Watcher
2000
as Hollis
Love Liza
2002
as Patriot Model Aeronautics Clerk
In Enemy Hands
2004
as Samuel Littleton
If These Walls Could Talk
1996
as Crowd Leader
Sparkler
1997
as Buddy #1
Helter Skelter
2004
as Sgt. Whiteley
The Oath
2018
as Hank
Daddy and Them
2001
as Dewey
Tiger Cruise
2004
as Captain Anderson
Amelia 2.0
2017
as Senator Thaddeus Williams
Home Fries
1998
as Henry Lever
Crazy
2008
as Glen the Carousel Manager
Silo
2021
as Mr. Adler
Believe in Me
2006
as Jim Stovall
Faults
2014
as Dad
The Tie That Binds
1995
as Security Guard #1
Gospel Hill
2008
as L Donn Murray
The Darkroom
2006
as Jackson
On the Line
1998
as Officer Roux
Beyond the City Limits
2001
as Det. Hanson
What Still Remains
2018
as Harvey
Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn
1982
as Clown
Pitching Tents
2017
as Principal Don Bishop
In the Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance
1994
as News Vendor
Kenny
2018
as Al
Her Costly Affair
1996
as Wes
Sissy Frenchfry
2006
as Willinger McDodey
Teenage Dirtbag
2009
as Pops
Death and Texas
2004
as Phillip Brodeur
The Ghost Trap
2024
as Doug Kane
My Dinner with Jimi
2003
as Sergeant
About Chris Ellis
Chris Ellis (born April 14, 1956) is an American film and television actor. Ellis always wanted to be an actor because of television. He grew up in the 50's in the deep south in a "world of privation and violence", but saw on television people who seemed to have lives of ease and privilege. It took him seven years to finish college however, because "I have always been shiftless". During those years Chris became involved in community theatre in Memphis, where "I did and do still think the quality of the work has always been quite good". By the… With 107 credits spanning from 1982 to 2024, Chris Ellis has appeared in 60 films and 47 TV shows.
Fans searching for Chris Ellis movies, Chris Ellis filmography, or the latest projects starring Chris Ellis can stream many of these titles on HinFlix, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Chris Ellis Movies
- The Dark Knight Rises (2012) — as Fr. Reilly
- Catch Me If You Can (2002) — as Special Agent Witkins
- Con Air (1997) — as BOP Official Grant
- Armageddon (1998) — as Flight Director Clark
- Apollo 13 (1995) — as Deke Slayton
Where to Watch Chris Ellis Films
Most Chris Ellis movies and series are available to stream on HinFlix in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Chris Ellis, check our movies catalogue and browse page.