Michael Ontkean
Acting • Born 1946-01-24
Biography
Michael Leonard Ontkean (born January 24, 1946) is a Canadian retired actor. Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ontkean relocated to the United States to attend the University of New Hampshire on a hockey scholarship before pursuing a career in acting in the early 1970s. He initially came to prominence portraying Officer Willie Gillis on the crime drama series The Rookies from 1972 to 1974, followed by lead roles in the hockey sports comedy film Slap Shot (1977) and the romantic comedy Willie & Phil (1980). In 1982, he had a starring role opposite Harry Hamlin and Kate Jackson in the drama Making Love, in which he portrayed a married man who comes to terms with his homosexuality. Ontkean continued to appear in films, such as Clara's Heart (1988) and Postcards from the Edge (1990) before being cast as Sheriff Harry S. Truman on David Lynch's Twin Peaks (1990–1991), the role for which he is best known.
Filmography
56 credits
Maid to Order
Movie • 1987
Nick McGuire
The Blood of Others
Movie • 1984
Jean
Slap Shot
Movie • 1977
Ned Braden
Vendetta II: The New Mafia
Movie • 1993
Hank Parnell
Making Love
Movie • 1982
Zach
Necromancy
Movie • 1972
Frank Brandon
Mrs. Ashboro's Cat
Movie • 2003
Wes Merritt
Bear with Me
Movie • 2000
Greg Bradley
The Rookies
Movie • 1972
Willie Gillis
Clara's Heart
Movie • 1988
Bill Hart
Willie & Phil
Movie • 1980
Willie Kaufman
Just the Way You Are
Movie • 1984
Peter Nichols
The Peace Killers
Movie • 1971
Jeff
The Descendants
Movie • 2011
Cousin Milo
US Against the World
Movie • 1977
Self
Hot Summer Week
Movie • 1972
Will
Summer of the Monkeys
Movie • 1998
John Lee
Street Justice
Movie • 1987
Curt Flynn
The Witching
Movie • 1983
Frank Brandon
A Killing Spring
Movie • 2002
Tom Keaton
Cold Front
Movie • 1989
Derek McKenzie
Just a Little Harmless Sex
Movie • 1999
Jeff
The Stepford Husbands
Movie • 1996
Mick Davidson
Voices
Movie • 1979
Drew Rothman
Swann
Movie • 1997
Stephen
Postcards from the Edge
Movie • 1990
Robert Munch
The Allnighter
Movie • 1987
Mickey
Legacy of Lies
Movie • 1992
Kids Don't Tell
Movie • 1985
John Ryan
The Right of the People
Movie • 1986
Christopher Wells
Bye Bye Blues
Movie • 1989
Teddy Cooper
Twin Peaks
Movie • 1989
Sheriff Harry S. Truman
Whose Child Is This? The War for Baby Jessica
Movie • 1993
Jan DeBoer
In Defense of a Married Man
Movie • 1990
Robert
Pickup on 101
Movie • 1972
Chuck
Rapture
Movie • 1993
Jeff Lisker
Nico the Unicorn
Movie • 1998
Tom Gentry
The Man Next Door
Movie • 1996
Eli Cooley
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces
Movie • 2014
Sheriff Harry S. Truman
The Boy from Dead Man's Bayou
Movie • 1971
Green Sails
Movie • 2000
John Scott
A Chance of Snow
Movie • 1998
Matthew 'Matt' Parker
The Rookies
TV • 1972
Willie Gillis
North Shore
TV • 2004
Twin Peaks
TV • 1990
Harry S. Truman
Tales of the Unexpected
TV • 1979
Tommy
Ironside
TV • 1967
Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal
TV • 1996
The Hitchhiker
TV • 1983
Gordon Brooks
The Outer Limits
TV • 1995
Dr. Charles McCamber
Family Album
TV • 1994
Ward Thayer
The Outer Limits
TV • 1995
Dr. Field
In a Child's Name
TV • 1991
Kenneth Taylor
Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans
TV • 1957
Cochea
The Partridge Family
TV • 1970
Lester Braddock
Great Performances
TV • 1971
Lucius Harney