# Gregg Henry
**Gregg Henry** (full name Gregg Lee Henry; born 1952) is an American character actor and musician whose screen career spans more than four decades, from the 1976 miniseries *Rich Man, Poor Man Book II* to the *Guardians of the Galaxy* films, with recurring television roles on *Scandal*, *The Killing*, *The Following*, and *Hung*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/gregg-henry/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/bio/) He is known for playing villains and smug authority figures, most notably [Mel Gibson](https://www.edgepedia.org/mel-gibson)'s double-crossing partner Val Resnick in *[Payback](https://www.edgepedia.org/payback-1999-film)* (1999) and the serial killer [Dennis Rader](https://www.edgepedia.org/dennis-rader) in *The Hunt for the BTK Killer* (2005).[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/bio/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1952, Lakewood, Colorado[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/gregg-henry/) |
| Training | Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Washington School of Drama, class of 1975[3](https://magazine.washington.edu/feature/doing-the-donald-uw-alum-gregg-henry-channels-trump-on-abcs-scandal/) |
| First screen role | Wesley Jordache, *Rich Man, Poor Man Book II* (ABC, 1976–77)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/gregg-henry/) |
| Signature film roles | Sam Bouchard in *Body Double* (1984); Val Resnick in *Payback* (1999); Col. Robert Marr in *United 93* (2006)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/bio/) • [4](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/223018-Gregg-Henry?isMiscCredit=False) |
| Television | Hollis Doyle on *Scandal* (2012–2018, 23 episodes); Carl Reddick on *The Killing*; Dr. Arthur Strauss on *The Following*[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/bio/) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344) |
| Music | Singer, songwriter, and pianist; Dwight Yoakam's recording of Henry's song "The Back of Your Hand" reached #1 on CMT[6](https://greggleehenry.hearnow.com/) |
| Stage honors | Thirteen Drama-Logue Awards, an L.A. Weekly Award, and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/bio/) |
## Training and early career
Henry grew up in Colorado and, in his last year of high school, earned a scholarship to Drury College in Missouri, where he performed in about 14 plays in two years before auditioning into the [Bachelor of Fine Arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/bachelor-of-fine-arts) program at the University of Washington in Seattle.[3](https://magazine.washington.edu/feature/doing-the-donald-uw-alum-gregg-henry-channels-trump-on-abcs-scandal/) He has credited Duncan Ross, who ran the drama school's B.F.A. program, as the teacher who influenced him most.[3](https://magazine.washington.edu/feature/doing-the-donald-uw-alum-gregg-henry-channels-trump-on-abcs-scandal/)
After graduating in 1975 he moved to Los Angeles, worked in a restaurant and briefly in a band, then won an apprentice job at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego for $65 a week.[3](https://magazine.washington.edu/feature/doing-the-donald-uw-alum-gregg-henry-channels-trump-on-abcs-scandal/) While understudying the role of Orlando in Shakespeare's *As You Like It*, he went on in the part, a casting director saw him, and within days he was cast as Wesley Jordache, Nick Nolte's character's son, in *Rich Man, Poor Man Book II*; his salary jumped to $1,500 a week.[3](https://magazine.washington.edu/feature/doing-the-donald-uw-alum-gregg-henry-channels-trump-on-abcs-scandal/) • [1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/gregg-henry/) He has called that production the place where he learned the ropes of film and television acting.[7](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/role-recall-gregg-henry-talks-the-killing-94115932410.html)
## Film work
**Early leads and the De Palma collaborations.** Henry followed the miniseries with lead roles as drifter Paul Ramsey in the prison drama *Mean Dog Blues* (1978) and as drag racer Brian Edison in the television movie *Hot Rod* (1979), then played Warren in the backwoods slasher *Just Before Dawn* (1981).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/gregg-henry/) His first De Palma appearance was an uncredited one-line cameo as one of Sosa's henchmen in *[Scarface](https://www.edgepedia.org/scarface-1983-film)* (1983); Henry has recounted that he initially declined the single-line part and accepted it only after the producer Marty Bregman cast him on the spot, with the credit waived because the role amounted to a cameo.[3](https://magazine.washington.edu/feature/doing-the-donald-uw-alum-gregg-henry-channels-trump-on-abcs-scandal/) • [8](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/henry-gregg-1952) De Palma then cast him as the sadistic actor Sam Bouchard in *Body Double* (1984), a performance widely identified as the start of his villainous specialty.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/gregg-henry/) His De Palma films also include *Casualties of War* (1989), *Raising Cain* (1992), *Femme Fatale* (2002), and *The Black Dahlia* (2006).[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/bio/)
**Later film roles.** In *Payback* (1999) he played Val Resnick, Mel Gibson's backstabbing ex-partner, a role he has said he recognized immediately from the script.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/bio/) • [9](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/gregg-henry/bio/3030013614/) The American Film Institute's catalog records him as Col. Robert Marr in *United 93* (2006) and lists further credits including *The Patriot* (1986), *Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever* (2002), and *Southlander* (2003).[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/223018-Gregg-Henry?isMiscCredit=False) For James Gunn he has appeared repeatedly: as mayor Jack MacReady in *Slither* (2006), Detective John Felkner in *[Super](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-2010-american-film)* (2010), and as Peter Quill's grandfather Jason in *Guardians of the Galaxy* (2014), *Vol. 2* (2017), and *Vol. 3* (2023).[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/bio/) • [10](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/slither-at-20-the-alien-worm-comedy-horror-that-heralded-james-gunns-arrival) He also played The Voice in *The Belko Experiment* (2016) and Richard Webb in [Paul Greengrass](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-greengrass)'s *[Jason Bourne](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-bourne-film)* (2016).[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/bio/)
## Television
Henry has described television as the medium where the best writing now sits, and his credits run from 1970s guest spots on series such as *The Love Boat* through dozens of made-for-television movies in the 1980s and 1990s.[7](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/role-recall-gregg-henry-talks-the-killing-94115932410.html) • [1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/gregg-henry/) His substantial recurring parts include Michael Holt on *Family Law* (1999–2002), Mitchum Huntzberger on *Gilmore Girls* (2000–2007), Hugh Panetta on *The Riches* (2007–2008), and Mike on HBO's *Hung* (2009–2011).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/gregg-henry/) • [11](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/gregg-henry)
Two roles stand out. In the CBS television film *The Hunt for the BTK Killer* (2005) he portrayed Dennis Rader, the real-life "Bind, Torture, Kill" serial murderer, in a performance that drew critical praise.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/bio/) • [1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/gregg-henry/) On ABC's *Scandal* he played Hollis Doyle, a bawdy oil-tycoon presidential candidate who became widely read as a stand-in for Donald Trump during the 2016 election; one episode was titled "The Trump Card."[3](https://magazine.washington.edu/feature/doing-the-donald-uw-alum-gregg-henry-channels-trump-on-abcs-scandal/) Later television work includes Carl Reddick on *The Killing*, Dr. Arthur Strauss on *The Following*, Brigham Young on *Hell on Wheels*, roles in *Chicago Med*, *[Law & Order](https://www.edgepedia.org/law-and-order-franchise): Organized Crime*, and Netflix's *[Hit & Run](https://www.edgepedia.org/hit-and-run-tv-series)* (2021), and the voice of Senator Bannister in the animated *[Blade Runner](https://www.edgepedia.org/blade-runner-franchise): Black Lotus*.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/bio/) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344)
## Stage
Henry has performed at Seattle Rep, ACT Seattle, South Coast Repertory, the Old Globe in San Diego, and the Denver Center Theatre, and has won thirteen Drama-Logue Awards, an L.A. Weekly Award, and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his work as actor and producer.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/bio/) He received a Drama-Logue Award for Outstanding Performance for Truman Capote's *A Christmas Memory* in 1983.[12](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/otherworks/) In 2017 he played the title role in the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park production of *Julius Caesar* in [Central Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/central-park), a deliberately controversial staging in which his Caesar was made to resemble President Donald Trump; the depiction prompted protests and the withdrawal of some sponsors.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/bio/) • [12](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/otherworks/) He has also written for the stage, co-writing the musical *Little Egypt* with Lynn Siefert, which had a Los Angeles run and was accepted into the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and his play *Can't Run, Can't Dance* debuted at New Jersey Repertory Company in 2025.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/bio/) • [13](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Gregg-Henry/)
## Music
Henry plays piano and has recorded several albums as a singer and songwriter, working in country, blues, and jazz styles; his releases include *Gregg Lee Henry*, *Gregg Lee Henry #2* (2003), and *You the One*, with actor [Bruce Greenwood](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruce-greenwood) and John Lathan contributing on recordings.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/bio/) • [6](https://greggleehenry.hearnow.com/) [Dwight Yoakam](https://www.edgepedia.org/dwight-yoakam) recorded Henry's song "The Back of Your Hand" for the album *Population Me*, released it as the album's first single, and took it to #1 on CMT.[6](https://greggleehenry.hearnow.com/) • [14](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-i-am-all-in-with-scott-pa-81509112/episode/one-on-one-gregg-henry-133587583/)
## Personal life
Henry lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Lisa James, a theater director.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/bio/) His trademarks, as cataloged by IMDb, include a deep gravelly voice and frequent casting by [Brian De Palma](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-de-palma).[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/bio/)
## References
1. [Gregg Henry – Actor, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/gregg-henry/)
2. [Gregg Henry – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/bio/)
3. [Doing the Donald: UW alum Gregg Henry channels Trump on ABC's 'Scandal', University of Washington Magazine](https://magazine.washington.edu/feature/doing-the-donald-uw-alum-gregg-henry-channels-trump-on-abcs-scandal/)
4. [Gregg Henry filmography, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/223018-Gregg-Henry?isMiscCredit=False)
5. [Gregg Henry, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344)
6. [Gregg Lee Henry #2, HearNow/CD Baby](https://greggleehenry.hearnow.com/)
7. [Role Recall: Gregg Henry Talks 'The Killing,' 'Scandal,' 'Gilmore Girls', Yahoo TV](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/role-recall-gregg-henry-talks-the-killing-94115932410.html)
8. [Henry, Gregg 1952–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/henry-gregg-1952)
9. [Gregg Henry Biography, Celebrity Facts and Awards, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/gregg-henry/bio/3030013614/)
10. ['Slither' at 20, Space.com](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/slither-at-20-the-alien-worm-comedy-horror-that-heralded-james-gunns-arrival)
11. [Gregg Henry, VALÉORINE Encyclopedia](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/gregg-henry)
12. [Gregg Henry – Other works, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001344/otherworks/)
13. [Gregg Henry, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Gregg-Henry/)
14. [One on One: Gregg Henry, I Am All In with Scott Patterson, iHeart](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-i-am-all-in-with-scott-pa-81509112/episode/one-on-one-gregg-henry-133587583/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames He to H*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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