Miguel José Ferrer (born February 7, 1955) is an American actor and voice actor mostly known for villainous roles, notably Bob Morton, the designer of the titular character in RoboCop. He also voiced the antagonistic Hun leader Shan Yu in Mulan (1998) and Big Boss in Rio 2. Ferrer's other notable roles include Dr. Garret Macy on Crossing Jordan, NCIS Assistant Director Owen Granger on NCIS: Los Angeles, Vice President Rodriguez in Iron Man 3, and FBI forensic pathologist Albert Rosenfield in Twin Peaks.
Early life
Ferrer was born in Santa Monica, California, the oldest of five children of Academy Awardâ€"winner José Ferrer and singer Rosemary Clooney. His father was Puerto Rican and his mother had Irish and German ancestry. Ferrer's siblings are sisters Maria and Monsita and brothers Gabriel (nicknamed "Gabri" and the husband of singer Debby Boone, who is thus his sister-in-law) and Rafael, also an actor. His first cousin is actor George Clooney. Ferrer was reared in Hollywood, and as a teenager his interests shifted toward music. He played the drums on Keith Moon's Two Sides of the Moon. Ferrer's friend, Bill Mumy, who had acted out Will Robinson on the television classic Lost In Space, cast him as a drummer in the series Sunshine, his first television role.
Career
Ferrer began his career in the early 1980s making guest appearances on episodic television. In 1983, he was given a small part as a waiter in The Man Who Wasn't There. He also had a small part in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) as the Excelsior helm officer. He had a major role in the 1987 action movie RoboCop as aspiring, cocaine-snorting corporate executive Bob Morton. Since appearing as Morton, Ferrer has usually acted out flamboyant villains with senses of humor. Ferrer's notable roles include a sinister biker in Valentino Returns, an overzealous engineer in DeepStar Six, a resourceful vigilante in Revenge, Commander Arvid Harbinger in the comedy Hot Shots! Part Deux, Lloyd Henreid in the Stephen King mini series The Stand, and a drug informant in Traffic. He has occasionally taken on lead parts as well, such as The Harvest and The Night Flier.
In the early 1990s, Ferrer appeared on three primetime TV series simultaneously: as D.A. Todd Spurrier in Shannon's Deal (1989â€"1991), as Cajun cop Beau Jack Bowman in Broken Badges (1990â€"1991), and as cynical, wittily abrasive FBI forensics specialist Albert Rosenfield in Twin Peaks (1990â€"91). Ferrer reprised the role of Albert in the movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). He played another medical examiner on the small screen, Dr. Garret Macy, in the television crime/drama series Crossing Jordan (2001â€"07).
Ferrer performed as the voice of the Heretic leader in the video game Halo 2. In 1999, at the 41st Grammy Awards, he was nominated for "Best Spoken Word Album for Children" in Disney's The Lion King II, "Simba's Pride Read-Along". In 2003, Ferrer made his New York stage debut in the off-Broadway production of The Exonerated.
Ferrer played a super-villain called "The Weatherman," in the failed 1997 TV pilot, Justice League of America. Later in the year, Ferrer provided the voice for a similar character, the Weather Wizard, in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "Speed Demons." Ferrer also voiced Aquaman in another Superman: Animated episode, "A Fish Story." Ferrer has also provided voice-over roles in the TV series Robot Chicken (2006) and American Dad! (2007).
Ferrer played Jonas Bledsoe on NBC's short-lived update of the Bionic Woman series. Ferrer also starred in another short-lived NBC series, Kings, in 2009 as a military commander of Gath. He played Los Angeles Police Lieutenant Felix Valdez in the 2011 Lifetime police procedural drama, The Protector. Also in 2011 he started a multiple episode guest role on the final season of Desperate Housewives.
Signed to a recurring role in NCIS: Los Angeles as Naval Criminal Investigative Service Assistant Director Owen Granger, Ferrer was promoted to a series regular for the fifth season on February 6, 2013. He also appeared in the 2013 film Iron Man 3 as the Vice-President.
Filmography
Television
- Magnum, P.I. (1981)
- CHiPs (1983)
- T. J. Hooker (1985)
- Miami Vice (1987â€"1989)
- Twin Peaks (1990â€"1991) â€" as Albert Rosenfield; recurring
- Drug Wars: The Camarena Story (1990) â€" as Tony Riva; recurring
- Tales from the Crypt (1990â€"1994; appeared in 3 episodes)
- On the Air (1992) as Bud Buddwaller, TV station executive. David Lynch, Mark Frost (creators)
- ER (1994) â€" "24 Hours", the first episode
- "I Will Remember" by Toto (1995) â€" Main character
- Superman: The Animated Series (1997â€"1999) â€" Weather Wizard, De'Cine, Aquaman
- LateLine (1998â€"1999) â€" comedy series, as executive producer Vic Karp
- Will & Grace (1999)
- 3rd Rock from the Sun (2000) â€" Jack, State Department in "Youth Is Wasted on Dick" (season 5, episode 15)
- Crossing Jordan (2001â€"2007) â€" Dr. Garret Macy (Regular role)
- Jackie Chan Adventures (2003â€"2004) â€" voice of Tarakudo
- Robot Chicken (2006) â€" Danny Ocean
- Contestant on Celebrity Jeopardy! (2006) â€" winner
- El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera (2007) â€" Original El Tigre
- The Batman (2007) â€" Sinestro
- Medium (2008) â€" "Being Joey Carmichael" (Played dual role of twin brothers), original air date: May 5, 2008
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2008) â€" episode: Ten Count (season 7, episode 18)
- The Spectacular Spider-Man (2009) â€" Silvio "Silvermane" Manfredi
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2009)
- Lie to Me (2009)
- Psych (2010)
- Young Justice (2010â€"2013) â€" Vandal Savage/L-1
- ThunderCats (2011) â€" The Duelist in "The Duelist and the Drifter"
- Desperate Housewives (2011) â€" Andre Zeller (appeared in 5 episodes)
- NCIS: Los Angeles (2012â€"present) â€" NCIS Assistant Director Owen Granger (Recurring role, seasons 3â€"4, regular role season 5â€"present)
- Adventure Time (2012-present) as Death (voice actor, recurring)
Video Games
- Halo 2 (2004) - Sesa 'Refumee
See also
- List of Puerto Ricans
- Irish immigration to Puerto Rico
References
External links
- Miguel Ferrer at the Internet Movie Database
- Voice chasers
- The Onion A.V. Club interview
