Brent Sexton

A character actor usually cast as a cop or similarly tough guy, Brent Sexton amassed an impressive string of credits, including small roles in films such as "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" (2001), "Radio" (2003), "In the Valley of Elah" (2007) and "W." (2008). He appeared more frequently on television, where, in addition to guest spots on a lengthy string of shows, he recurred as a murderer married to a law clerk on "Judging Amy" (CBS, 1999-2005), the Italian-American family dramedy "That's Life" (CBS, 2000-02), a detective on "Birds of Prey" (The WB, 2002-03), and most memorably as Harry Manning on the Western "Deadwood" (HBO, 2004-06) and Officer Bobby Stark on the crime drama "Life" (NBC, 2007-09). His profile enjoyed a large boost when he landed the role of Stan Larsen, the father of the murder victim at the center of "The Killing" (AMC 2011-13; Netflix, 2014), the critically acclaimed American adaptation of the Danish murder mystery series. Although he may not have become a household name, Brent Sexton built a lengthy, impressive career as a well-respected journeyman character actor.

Born in St. Louis, MO, Brent Sexton spent almost five years after college touring theatrically throughout Europe and the United States. He broke into television with a pair of guest spots on "B.L. Stryker" (ABC, 1989-1990) and appeared in the Sharon Stone/Sylvester Stallone thriller "The Specialist" (1994). After a hiatus of a few years, Sexton's professional momentum increased as he amassed a number of small credits on everything from "Profiler" (NBC, 1996-2000) to "Walker, Texas Ranger" (CBS, 1993-2001), "Chicago Hope" (CBS, 1994-2000) and "3rd Rock from the Sun" (NBC, 1996-2001). After memorable appearances on the Pamela Anderson action camp-fest "V.I.P." (syndicated, 1998-2002) and "The X-Files" (Fox, 1993-2002), he recurred on "Judging Amy" (CBS, 1999-2005) as a convicted murderer married to the titular lawmaker's clerk.

Sexton continued to find success as a character actor, booking film roles in the Haley Joel Osment futuristic fairy tale "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" (2001), the Leelee Sobieski thriller "The Glass House" (2001), and the Tom Cruise mindbender "Vanilla Sky" (2001). On television, he made appearances on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS, 2000-15), "NYPD Blue" (ABC, 1993-2005) and recurred on the Ellen Burstyn/Paul Sorvino-led Italian-American family dramedy "That's Life" (CBS, 2000-02). Usually cast as police officers or similarly tough guys, Sexton played a prison guard on "Will & Grace" (NBC, 1998-2006) and an FBI agent in the Jennifer Lopez domestic abuse thriller "Enough" (2002) before recurring as Detective McNally on the female crime-fighters series "Birds of Prey" (The WB, 2002-03).

He appeared in the uplifting Cuba Gooding, Jr. drama "Radio" (2003) and played the titular soldier's father in the made-for-TV movie "Saving Jessica Lynch" (NBC, 2003) while still finding time to guest on episodes of "Six Feet Under" (HBO, 2001-05), "Cold Case" (CBS, 2003-2010) and "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC, 2005- ). After a small role in the Jodie Foster thriller "Flightplan" (2005), he recurred on the sci-fi mystery series "Surface" (NBC, 2005-06) before winning critical acclaim for his turn on the gritty Western "Deadwood" (HBO, 2004-06) as Harry Manning, a bartender running for sheriff. Still an under-the-radar name but gradually increasing in visibility, the actor played a police officer in Paul Haggis's wrenching murder mystery "In the Valley of Elah" (2007) and a lifelong friend of the titular president in Oliver Stone's biopic "W." (2008).

On television, he earned another high-profile role, as Officer Bobby Stark, the former partner of series star Charlie Crews (Damian Lewis) on the crime drama "Life" (NBC, 2007-09). Although the acclaimed show proved short-lived, Sexton continued to notch guest spots, including roles on "Psych" (USA Network, 2006-14), "The Mentalist" (CBS, 2008-15) and "Lie to Me" (Fox, 2009-2011) as well as memorably recurring on "Justified" (FX, 2010-15) as the crooked sheriff Hunter Mosley. After a lengthy career paying his dues and honing his craft, Sexton landed a juicy role as Stan Larsen, the father of the murder victim at the heart of "The Killing" (AMC, 2011-13; Netflix, 2014), the American adaptation of the Danish murder mystery. The dark, atmospheric series was an immediate sensation across the board, and for his high-profile role as the grieving father hiding a dark past of his own, Sexton earned widespread acclaim.