# Željko Ivanek
**Željko Ivanek** (born Željko Šimić-Ivanek, 1957, in [Ljubljana](https://www.edgepedia.org/ljubljana), then [Yugoslavia](https://www.edgepedia.org/yugoslavia), now Slovenia) is a Slovenian-born American film, stage, and television actor of Croatian family origin, best known for supporting roles as lawyers, politicians, and other authority figures. He won the 2008 [Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series](https://www.edgepedia.org/primetime-emmy-award-for-outstanding-supporting-actor-in-a-drama-series) for playing attorney Ray Fiske on the FX series *Damages*, and he has been nominated three times for the Tony Award on Broadway.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0411964/bio/) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/zeljko-ivanek) • [3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/eljko-ivanek-46288)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1957, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia (now Slovenia); birth name Željko Šimić-Ivanek[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0411964/bio/) |
| Education | Ellwood P. Cubberley High School, Palo Alto (1975); Yale University, theater major, class of 1978; London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (1980)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0411964/bio/) |
| Broadway debut | *The Survivor*, 1981[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/ivanek-zeljko-1957) |
| Emmy | 2008, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, as Ray Fiske, *Damages*[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/zeljko-ivanek) |
| Tony nominations | 1983 *Brighton Beach Memoirs*; 1992 *Two Shakespearean Actors*; 2006 *The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial*[3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/eljko-ivanek-46288) |
| Signature TV roles | Ed Danvers in *Homicide: Life on the Street* (1993–99); Governor James Devlin in *Oz* (1997–2003); Andre Drazen in *24* (2002); Russell Jackson in *Madam Secretary* (2014–19); the Croat in *The Walking Dead: Dead City* (2023– )[5](https://www.nndb.com/people/702/000131309/) • [6](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-17389/filmographie/) |
| Known for | Supporting parts as ruthless or morally ambiguous lawyers, politicians, and officials[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0411964/bio/) |
## Early life and family
Ivanek was born in Ljubljana in 1957, in the family of the electrical engineer Ferdo ([Ferdinand](https://www.edgepedia.org/ferdinand)) Ivanek and his wife Vojka (Vojislava) Šimić.[7](https://www.tportal.hr/showtime/clanak/vidjeli-ste-ga-u-najpopularnijim-serijama-i-filmovima-no-koliko-vas-zna-da-se-zove-zeljko-ivanek-foto-20231127)
When Željko was three years old, in 1960, the family moved to [Palo Alto, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/palo-alto-california), where his father undertook doctoral studies in electrical engineering at Stanford University.[8](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/%C5%BDeljko%2BIvanek-5021/biography) The family then returned to Slovenia for several years before settling again in the United States; the International Television Almanac places the final move to Palo Alto in 1967.[9](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/2011/International-Television-Almanac-2011-Whos-Who.pdf) Željko, who has an older brother, Ivan, grew up shuttling between the two countries.[10](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/zeljko-ivanek-48030.php)
He graduated from Ellwood P. Cubberley [High School](https://www.edgepedia.org/high-school) in Palo Alto in 1975 and earned his Yale degree in 1978, majoring in theater in three years; he also took one semester of geology there.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0411964/bio/) He then attended the [London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art](https://www.edgepedia.org/london-academy-of-music-and-dramatic-art), graduating in 1980.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0411964/bio/)
## Stage career
**Broadway.** Ivanek's first New York theater work came in community productions around the [San Francisco Bay Area](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-francisco-bay-area), and he made his Broadway debut in *The Survivor* in 1981.[9](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/2011/International-Television-Almanac-2011-Whos-Who.pdf) His Broadway roles include Stanley Jerome in [Neil Simon](https://www.edgepedia.org/neil-simon)'s *Brighton Beach Memoirs* (1983), Hal in [Joe Orton](https://www.edgepedia.org/joe-orton)'s *Loot* (1986), John Ryder in *Two Shakespearean Actors* (1992), Tom in *The Glass Menagerie* (1994), Ariel in Martin McDonagh's *The Pillowman* (2005), and Captain Queeg in *The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial* (2006).[3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/eljko-ivanek-46288)
The Tony nominations followed that record: for *Brighton Beach Memoirs* in 1983 and *Two Shakespearean Actors* in 1992 as Best Featured Actor in a Play, and for *The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial* in 2006 as Best Actor in a Play.[3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/eljko-ivanek-46288) His first major award came earlier: the 1982 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play for Caryl Churchill's *Cloud Nine*, a role he played in New York from 1981.[3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/eljko-ivanek-46288) • [11](https://www.biografija.com/zeljko-ivanek/)
## Television
Ivanek built his screen reputation in recurring and regular television parts. From 1981 to 1982 he played Sammy Wheaton on the soap opera *The Edge of Night*, an experience he later described as his introduction to television while he was still working in theater.[5](https://www.nndb.com/people/702/000131309/) • [12](https://www.avclub.com/zeljko-ivanek-on-damages-lost-and-playing-the-good-gu-1798233422) The major roles were Ed Danvers, assistant state's attorney, in *Homicide: Life on the Street* (1993–99), Governor James Devlin in HBO's *Oz* (1997–2003), and the recurring Andre Drazen, son of [Dennis Haysbert](https://www.edgepedia.org/dennis-haysbert)-era antagonist Victor Drazen, on *24* in 2002.[5](https://www.nndb.com/people/702/000131309/) • [11](https://www.biografija.com/zeljko-ivanek/)
The Emmy came with *Damages* (FX, 2007–12), in which he played the smooth-talking Southern lawyer Ray Fiske; he won the 2008 award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, competing in the same category against his co-star [Ted Danson](https://www.edgepedia.org/ted-danson).[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/zeljko-ivanek) • [13](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/zeljko-ivanek/) Later work includes lead or recurring roles in *John Adams*, *The Event*, *True Blood*, *Big Love*, and *Heroes*, and six seasons as chief of staff Russell Jackson on *Madam Secretary* (2014–19).[5](https://www.nndb.com/people/702/000131309/) • [6](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-17389/filmographie/) Since 2023 he has played a character known as the Croat on the AMC series *The Walking Dead: Dead City*.[7](https://www.tportal.hr/showtime/clanak/vidjeli-ste-ga-u-najpopularnijim-serijama-i-filmovima-no-koliko-vas-zna-da-se-zove-zeljko-ivanek-foto-20231127) • [6](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-17389/filmographie/)
## Film
In film Ivanek has worked steadily in supporting roles since the early 1980s, starting with *Tex* (1982).[14](https://www.fdb.cz/osobnost/24646-zeljko-ivanek) Later credits include *Donnie Brasco* (1997), *Courage Under Fire* (1996), *Hannibal* (2001), *Black Hawk Down* (2001), *Dogville* (2003), *Argo* (2012), *Seven Psychopaths* (2012), *Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri* (2017), and *X-Men: Apocalypse* (2016).[11](https://www.biografija.com/zeljko-ivanek/) • [15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/zeljko_ivanek) As part of the *Seven Psychopaths* cast he shared the 2012 Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Ensemble Cast, and the *Argo* ensemble won the 2012 Hollywood Film Award for Ensemble of the Year.[16](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0411964/awards/)
## Typecasting and professional identity
Ivanek's screen image is consistent: he is cast frequently as lawyers, politicians, and business or political middlemen, often ruthless, corrupt, or morally ambiguous figures.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0411964/bio/) In a 2012 interview he noted the pull of steadier series work over one-off guest spots, saying that recurring and regular roles give a sense of belonging that guest appearances cannot.[12](https://www.avclub.com/zeljko-ivanek-on-damages-lost-and-playing-the-good-gu-1798233422)
He has kept his Slovenian name throughout his American career, declining repeated requests from agents to change it out of respect for his parents; in interviews he pronounces his first name Zhel-ko.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0411964/bio/)
## References
1. [Zeljko Ivanek – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0411964/bio/)
2. [Zeljko Ivanek – Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/zeljko-ivanek)
3. [Željko Ivanek – Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/eljko-ivanek-46288)
4. [Ivanek, Zeljko 1957–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/ivanek-zeljko-1957)
5. [Zeljko Ivanek, NNDB](https://www.nndb.com/people/702/000131309/)
6. [Zeljko Ivanek : Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-17389/filmographie/)
7. [Vidjeli ste ga u najpopularnijim serijama i filmovima, tportal.hr (2023)](https://www.tportal.hr/showtime/clanak/vidjeli-ste-ga-u-najpopularnijim-serijama-i-filmovima-no-koliko-vas-zna-da-se-zove-zeljko-ivanek-foto-20231127)
8. [Željko Ivanek Biografia, Filmweb](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/%C5%BDeljko%2BIvanek-5021/biography)
9. [International Television Almanac 2011 – Who's Who](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/2011/International-Television-Almanac-2011-Whos-Who.pdf)
10. [Zeljko Ivanek Biography, The Famous People](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/zeljko-ivanek-48030.php)
11. [Željko Ivanek biografija, Biografija.com](https://www.biografija.com/zeljko-ivanek/)
12. [Zeljko Ivanek on Damages, Lost, and playing the good guy for a change, The A.V. Club (2012)](https://www.avclub.com/zeljko-ivanek-on-damages-lost-and-playing-the-good-gu-1798233422)
13. [Zeljko Ivanek – Actor, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/zeljko-ivanek/)
14. [Željko Ivanek, FDb.cz](https://www.fdb.cz/osobnost/24646-zeljko-ivanek)
15. [Željko Ivanek Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/zeljko_ivanek)
16. [Zeljko Ivanek – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0411964/awards/)
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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 I to Kh*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license