“Lioness” viewers have repeatedly seen national security advisor Monty Hollar in all three seasons of the Paramount+ show, and it’s probably not anyone’s first time seeing actor Bruce McGill, who has a wealth of TV and movie experience dating back to the 1970s.
McGill can be recognized in the 1992 legal comedy “My Cousin Vinny,” in which he played Sheriff Farley. He also had the recurring part of Jack Dalton in the original 1980s “MacGyver” series and even returned to guest-star as Detective Greer in one Season 2 episode of the reboot series in 2017. McGill’s work on “Lioness” isn’t his first character involved in the United States government, as the actor portrayed the real-life former director of the CIA George Tenet in the 2008 George W. Bush biopic “W.” Additionally, McGill was secretary of war Edwin Stanton in the 2012 biographical drama “Lincoln.” Movie buffs might also remember McGill as Philadelphia district attorney Jonas Cantrell in 2009’s “Law Abiding Citizen.”
Returning to McGill’s TV ventures, “Rizzoli & Isles” remains his biggest role on the small screen. In all seven seasons of the popular police procedural, he starred as homicide detective Vince Korsak. Fans of “Lioness” have likely turned to Prime Video’s “Reacher” for similar action, and some will remember that McGill played Mayor Grover Teale in Season 1. More recently, he took on the role of Judge Tom Ryan in HBO’s Elizabeth Olsen-led miniseries “Love & Death,” based on a real murder trial.
Bruce McGill appeared in a trio of Michael Mann movies
Commonly lauded for his exhilarating action and crime movies, director Michael Mann worked with Bruce McGill three times in the span of six years. First, the actor was cast to play attorney Ron Motley in 1999’s “The Insider” — which fictionalizes true events surrounding the exposure of the tobacco industry. Those who have watched the movie certainly recall McGill’s standout moment when his character scolds a lawyer and tells him to “wipe that smirk off your face!”
McGill reunited with Mann in 2001 on “Ali,” the filmmaker’s biopic about legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, starring Will Smith. McGill appears as Bradley, a U.S. government agent surveilling Ali’s every move. McGill’s final collaboration with Mann to date is the 2004 action thriller “Collateral.” Alongside the imposing duo of Tom Cruise as a ruthless assassin and Jamie Foxx as a taxi driver embroiled in his killing spree against his will, McGill plays FBI agent Frank Pedrosa. The character works to solve Vincent’s (Cruise) murders as the plot escalates over the course of one night.
As “Lioness” continues, fans of the Taylor Sheridan show should be sure to familiarize themselves with McGill’s extensive filmography.
