Pruitt Taylor Vince (born July 5, 1960) is an American character actor. He had roles in the films Mississippi Burning (1988), Jacob's Ladder (1990), JFK (1991), Identity (2003), and Constantine (2005). He played J.J. Laroche in The Mentalist (2008–2015).

Pruitt Taylor Vince
Born (1960-07-05) July 5, 1960 (age 64)
EducationLouisiana State University
OccupationActor
Years active1986–present
Spouses
Anne Schneider
(m. 1985, divorced)
Julianne Mattelig
(m. 2003, divorced)

Vince has also appeared on many television series. In 1997, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for his guest role as Clifford Banks in the second season of the television series Murder One.

Early life

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Vince was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on July 5, 1960. He attended Louisiana State University.[1]

For most of his life, Vince has had a condition called nystagmus, the involuntary movement of the eye.[2]

Career

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Vince made his film debut in Jim Jarmusch's Down by Law, but his scenes were edited out. He had prominent supporting roles in several major films, including a turn as a dimwitted Ku Klux Klan member in Mississippi Burning (1988), Lee Bowers in JFK (1991), and the main character's best friend in Nobody's Fool (1994). His first lead role was in James Mangold's independent film Heavy (1995), playing a sweet, silent overweight cook harboring a crush on a waitress played by Liv Tyler. He starred in Giuseppe Tornatore's film The Legend of 1900 (1998).

Vince often alternates between heroic and villainous characters. Vince played a Southern policeman in the neo-noir psychological horror film Angel Heart (1987), a kidnapper's assistant in the crime thriller film Trapped (2002), and a deputy prison warden in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994). He played a lovable, small town pub owner in Beautiful Girls (1996); a mentally ill serial killer in the 2003 mystery thriller film Identity (a second collaboration with director Mangold); a pompous sheriff in Nurse Betty (2000); a gossip columnist in Simone (2002); and a dissolute Roman Catholic priest with psychic abilities in the 2005 supernatural horror film Constantine.[3] He can also be seen in the dramatic film Love from Ground Zero (1998) playing as Walter. Other film titles include the psychological horror film Jacob's Ladder (1990), the neo-noir film China Moon (1994), the action thriller film Homefront (2013), and the supernatural horror film The Devil's Candy (2015).

Guest appearances on TV shows include Deadwood, Alias, The X-Files, Miami Vice, Quantum Leap, Chicago Hope, In the Heat of the Night, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Highlander: The Series, and the American remake of Touching Evil. In 2011, he appeared as Otis in the AMC television series The Walking Dead.[4] He also had a guest role playing a 600-lb. patient in Fox's medical drama House. From 2010 to 2014, he had a multi-episode appearance in The Mentalist.[5] In 2012, he appeared in a full episode of Justified.[6] He took a comic role as "Jelly" in Flypaper. In 2018, he appeared on an episode of The Blacklist as Lawrence Devlin.[7]

Awards

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Vince received an Emmy Award, in 1997, for Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role as serial killer Clifford Banks during the second season of the television series Murder One.[8]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Film Role Notes
1986 Down by Law (scenes deleted), First role
1987 Angel Heart Det. Deimos
Shy People Paul
Barfly Joe
1988 Red Heat Night Clerk
Mississippi Burning Lester Cowens
1989 K-9 Benny the Mule
Homer and Eddie Cashier
1990 Wild at Heart Buddy
Fear Shadow Man
Come See the Paradise Augie Farrell
Jacob's Ladder Paul
1991 JFK Lee Bowers
1994 China Moon Daryl Jeeters
City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold Bud
Natural Born Killers Deputy Warden Kavanaugh
Nobody's Fool Rub Squeers
1995 Heavy Victor Modino
Under the Hula Moon Bob
1996 The Cottonwood Mark Salli
Beautiful Girls Stanley 'Stinky' Womack
1997 The End of Violence Frank Cray
A Further Gesture Scott
Cold Around the Heart Johnny 'Cokebottles' Costello
1998 Dr. Dolittle Patient at Hammersmith Uncredited
The Legend of 1900 Max Tooney
Love from Ground Zero Walter
1999 Mumford Henry Follett
2000 Nurse Betty Ballard
The Cell Dr. Reid
2001 Mental Hygiene Mr. Adams Short
2002 13 Moons Owen
Rebellion Vito
S1m0ne Max Sayer
Trapped Marvin
Trapped from Within Himself Video documentary short
2003 Identity Malcolm Rivers
Monster Gene / Stuttering "John"
2005 Constantine Father Hennessey
Drop Dead Sexy Spider
Nobody Wants Your Film Himself Documentary
2007 When a Man Falls in the Forest Travis
Captivity Ben Dexter
2008 The Echo Joseph
2009 The Smell of Success Cleveland Clod
In the Electric Mist Lou Girard
Don McKay Mel
Leaves of Grass Big Joe Sharpe
2011 Stanley DeBrock Earl Wayne
Flypaper Wyatt 'Jelly' Jenkins
Cameraman Jeremy
Drive Angry Roy
On the Inside Ben Marshal
Butter Ned Eaten
Creature Grover
2012 Bending the Rules Happy
Jules Verne's Mysterious Island Gideon Spilett
Brake Driver / Boss Terrorist (voice)
2013 Broken Blood Earl Wayne
The Making of Broken Blood Himself Video documentary short
Homefront Werks
Dark Tourist Carl Marznap
Beautiful Creatures Mr. Lee[9]
13 Sins Vogler[10]
2015 The Devil's Candy Ray Smilie
2016 59 Seconds Robert
2018 Gotti Angelo Ruggiero
ASIA A Noah Short
Bird Box Rick
2025 Superman Jonathan Kent Post-production
TBA Reckoning[citation needed] Tommy Post-production

Television

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Year Film Role Notes
1988 Miami Vice Cruz Episode: "Bad Timing"
1989 I Know My First Name is Steven Irving Murphy TV movie
1990 In the Heat of the Night Leonard Grissom Episode: "Perversions of Justice"
1991 Sweet Poison Coyle TV movie
Dead in the Water Lou Rescetti TV movie
1992 Till Death Us Do Part Michael Brockington TV movie
Quantum Leap Hank Pilcher Episode: "Moments to Live - May 4, 1985"
1993 Sisters Joe Abruzzia Episode: "Things Are Tough All Over"
1995 Chicago Hope Walter Platt Episode: "Small Sacrifices"
The Marshal Two-Cats Episode: "Buy Hard"
Highlander Mikey Episode: "The Innocent"
1996 The X-Files Gerry Schnauz Episode: "Unruhe"
1997 Night Sins Olie Swain TV movie
Murder One: Diary of a Serial Killer Clifford Banks TV mini-series
Murder One Clifford Banks 6 episodes
2001 Gideon's Crossing James Tooley Episode: "The Lottery"
Thieves Roy Lichter Episode: "Dey Got De Degas"
2003 L.A. Confidential Sid Hudgens TV movie
The Handler Ray / Sergei Episode: "Street Boss"
Alias Campbell / Schapker Episode: "Breaking Point"
2004 Touching Evil Cyril Kemp 5 episodes
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Marty Gleason Episode: "Swap Meet"
2005–2006 Deadwood Mose Manuel 10 episodes
2006 House George Episode: "Que Sera Sera"
2008 Canterbury's Law Louis Minot Episode: "Baggage"
2010 Medium Peter Winant Episode: "Deja Vu All Over Again"
Infamous The Patriarch 3 episodes, also director
Memphis Beat Martin Matthews Episode: "I Want to Be Free"
2010–2013 The Mentalist J.J. LaRoche 12 episodes
2011 The Cape Goggles Episode: "Goggles and Hicks"
The Walking Dead Otis 3 episodes
2012 Justified Glen Fogle Episode: "Harlan Roulette"
Bones Haze Jackson Episode: "The Prisoner in the Pipe"
Hawaii Five-0 Richard Branche Episode: "Ha'alele"
2014 True Blood Finn 5 episodes
2015 Heroes Reborn Casper Abraham[11] 7 episodes
2017 Stranger Things Ray Carroll 2 episodes
2017–2018 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Grill[12] Recurring; 4 episodes
2018 The Blacklist Lawrence Devlin 2 episodes
2024 Lady in the Lake TBA Miniseries

References

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  1. ^ "Pruitt Taylor-Vince Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007.
  2. ^ "Famous People with Nystagmus". Nystagmus Network UK. Archived from the original on 2015-10-28.
  3. ^ Hansen, Regina (2011). "Mad Drunken Exorcists: The Decline of the Hero Priest". In Hansen, Regina (ed.). Roman Catholicism in Fantastic Film: Essays on Belief, Spectacle, Ritual and Imagery. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 270. ISBN 978-0-7864-8724-0. LCCN 2011007859.
  4. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (22 June 2011). "Walking Dead Exclusive: Mentalist's Pruitt Taylor Vince Cops First Season 2 Role". TVLine. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  5. ^ Keck, William (26 October 2010). "Keck's Exclusives: New Mentalist Character To Butt Heads with Jane". TVGuide.com.
  6. ^ "'Justified' Season 3, Episode 3: 'Harlan Roulette' Recap". ScreenRant.com. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Will The Blacklist Kill Off Another Major Character In Season 5?". CINEMABLEND. 2018-05-03. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
  8. ^ "Pruitt Taylor Vince". emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Beautiful Creatures Interview - Pruitt Taylor Vince (2013)". Trailer Addict. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  10. ^ "Ron Perlman, Pruitt Taylor Vince And More Sign On For Angry Little God - CINEMABLEND". CINEMABLEND. 8 October 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  11. ^ "Heroes Reborn adds Walking Dead actor". Digital Spy. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  12. ^ "Agents of SHIELD announces new character in season 5". TheGlobalDispatch.com. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
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