Gary Cole

Gary Michael Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in the television series Entourage, Fatal Vision, The West Wing, Desperate Housewives, Midnight Caller, American Gothic, I'll Be Home for Christmas, Kim Possible, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, Wanted and Crusade, and the films The Brady Bunch Movie, Office Space, From the Earth to the Moon, Kiss the Sky, I Spy, Dodgeball, Talladega Nights, and Pineapple Express. He has also appeared in television movies such as Those She Left Behind. He also had a small cameo appearance in To Live and Die in L.A., has appeared as George Armstrong Custer in the TV movie Son of the Morning Star, and has guest starred on the TV shows Family Guy, Chuck, and Monk.

Early life
Cole was born and raised in Park Ridge, Illinois. His father is a school-administrator and his mother was a director-of-finance. He attended Rolling Meadows High School, where his first dramatic appearance was as Snoopy in a high school production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. He later attended Illinois State University, where he majored in theater alongside actors Laurie Metcalf and John Malkovich.

Career
Cole began his professional career as a stage actor in Chicago, where he joined the ensemble of the famed Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. He also appeared in several off-Broadway productions in New York City. In addition to his film and television credits listed above, he has done voice work on several animated series (Family Guy; Kim Possible; Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law) and had a recurring role on the drama The West Wing as Vice President Bob Russell. He also starred as Captain Matthew Gideon on the short-lived Babylon 5 spin-off Crusade, and had notable guest appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Arrested Development. He also played Joe Maxwell on DCOM Cadet Kelly and appeared as real-life astronaut Edgar Mitchell in HBO's recreation of Project Apollo, From the Earth to the Moon. One of his most notable roles in 1991 was as General Custer in the much acclaimed tv movie of the Morning Star".

Between 1988 and 1991, Cole became popular on TV for playing the part of Jack "Nighthawk" Killian in the series Midnight Caller. In 1999, Cole starred in the comedy film Office Space where he portrayed the obnoxious, demanding supervisor Bill Lumbergh. When asked about the oft-quoted character, he stated that: Everyone in [Office Space] thought that this movie had died. So that's how I knew the movie was actually some kind of success because people were coming up doing some lines from the movie ... It never gets old because it reminds you that something you did had some impact. You could work your whole career and have nothing like that last that long.

He played The Brady Bunch patriarch Mike Brady in the 1995 film The Brady Bunch Movie, the 1996 sequel A Very Brady Sequel, and the 2002 TV movie The Brady Bunch in the White House.

Cole starred as Lt. Conrad Rose on the TNT series Wanted, is the voice of the title character on the Adult Swim series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, and starred as Sheriff Lucas Buck on the one season 1995 show, American Gothic. Cole also appeared in the films Talladega Nights, Forever Strong, and American Pastime.

Cole played Katherine Mayfair's ex-husband Wayne on Desperate Housewives and has more recently played the dangerous drug lord Ted Jones in Pineapple Express with Seth Rogen and James Franco. He also appeared in an episode from the third season of the USA Network series Psych as S.W.A.T. commander Cameron Luntz.

In 2008, Cole appeared on Chuck as Sarah's dad during November sweeps. He also appeared in the fifth season of HBO's Entourage playing Ari Gold's old pal Andrew Klein for a 3-episode story arc prior to joining the regular cast in the sixth season.

Personal life
Cole married actress Teddi Siddall on March 8, 1992. His only child, a daughter named Mary, has autism; Cole is active in autism-related charities.