Glenn Morshower

Like many character actors, Glenn Morshower may not be immediately familiar to film and television audiences. But his astonishingly wide body of work in both mediums served as proof positive of his durability and versatility in the industry.

The Dallas native began his screen career as a high school student in the regionally lensed comedy "Drive-In" (1976), and soon moved into steady work as a bit player in Hollywood. As he grew from juvenile to mature roles, Morshower transitioned from relative innocents to more physically imposing men of authority, playing a host of law and military officials in countless features and television shows.

By the late '90s, he was a familiar face on both the silver and small screen thanks to appearances in "Air Force One" (1997), "Pearl Harbor" (2001), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS, 2000-15) and "24" (Fox, 2001-10). Along the way, he forged significant relationships with the "Star Trek" franchise, appearing in "Star Trek: Generations" (1994) and three spin-offs of the original series, as well with the director Michael Bay, who cast him in three of the "Transformer" features.

That Morshower was still in demand after four decades in the business was an undeniable testimony to his status as one of the most popular supporting players in screen entertainment.

Morshower began acting at the age of 12 in local theaters around his hometown of Dallas and soon moved on to television commercials. While still a student at Hillcrest High School, he was cast as the lead in "Drive-In" (1976), a broad comedy about the patrons of a Texas drive-in theater.

The picture later became a cult favorite among younger viewers thanks to repeat screenings on television, but more importantly, convinced Morshower to pursue acting as a career. He moved to Los Angeles after his graduation from high school in 1977 and began working steadily as a bit and guest player on various network shows.

Appearances in independent features such as "Dead & Buried" (1981) and various made-for-TV movies eventually led to small roles in major efforts, notably the miniseries "Dream West" (CBS, 1986) and the Emmy Award-nominated "The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson" (TNT, 1990). The exposure afforded by such projects kept television as Morshower's main showcase throughout the 1990s, as he played a dizzying array of military men, law enforcement officials, lawyers and the occasional crew member on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (syndicated, 1987-1994), thus marking the beginning of his long association with the widely popular science-fiction franchise.

By the mid-1990s, Morshower added more feature work to his growing credit list, including bit parts in "The River Wild" (1994) and "Star Trek: Generations" (1994), which led to larger roles in "Air Force One" (1997) and "Godzilla" (1998). His persistence finally paid off at the turn of the new millennium with a slew of substantial work, including a turn as Navy legend Admiral William "Bull" Halsey in "Pearl Harbor" (2001).

His role in that film launched a series of later collaborations with director Michael Bay, as well as recurring roles on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "The West Wing" (NBC, 1999-2006). These in turn led to his most widely seen role as stalwart FBI Agent Aaron Pierce on "24," who, along with series lead Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer, was the sole character to appear in seven of the show's eight seasons on television.

In 2007, he and the show's other main cast members were nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series by the Screen Actors Guild. Morshower was soon a ubiquitous figure in A-list projects, from "ER" (NBC, 1994-2009), "Alias" (ABC, 2001-2006) and "Deadwood" (HBO, 2004-2006), to "Good Night, and Good Luck." (2005) and "Transformers" (2007).

Though his character in the latter film was killed in its opening moments, he was later brought back for "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (2009) and "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" (2011) as "General Morshower," which underscored his solid working relationship with Bay.

The subsequent years found him busier than ever, with supporting turns in major features such as "Moneyball" (2011) and "After Earth" (2013), as well as a recurring role on TNT's reboot of "Dallas" (2012-14). In addition to his prolific acting career, Morshower also enjoys a popular second career as a motivational speaker with a series of seminars called "The Extra Mile."