John Ashton

A burly, mustachioed character actor frequently cast as law enforcement agents or villainous heavies, John Ashton began his acting career on the L.A. stage in the early 1970s after graduating from USC. The New Englander entered films as a police sergeant in "Psychopath" (1973) and went on to be cast as law enforcement agents in such efforts as "Breaking Away" (1979, as Dennis Quaid's older brother), "Borderline" (1980) and the cult favorite "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the 8th Dimension" (1984). But it was his role as L.A. Police Sergeant John Taggart, opposite Eddie Murphy, in the action comedy "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984) and its 1987 sequel that made Ashton a recognizable face. He began landing better roles, like the bounty hunter chasing Charles Grodin and Robert De Niro in "Midnight Run" (1988) and as Eric Stoltz's college-obsessed father in "Some Kind of Wonderful" (1987). Among his more recent roles were the pitching coach in the children's baseball sleeper "Little Big League" and as part of the ensemble of fine actors peopling "the friendliest town in the world" in the uneven seasonal comedy "Trapped in Paradise" (both 1994).

Ashton has also worked steadily on the small screen, playing a state trooper in the TV-movie "This Man Stands Alone" (NBC, 1979), and one of the singer's entourage in "Elvis and the Beauty Queen" (NBC, 1981). He has appeared in several miniseries, most notably as detectives in both "A Death in California" (ABC, 1985) and "The Deliberate Stranger" (NBC, 1986) and the sheriff in "Stephen King's 'The Tommyknockers'" (ABC, 1993). The actor has reprised his film role in the short-lived series "Breaking Away" (ABC, 1980-81) and had a leading role in the NBC police drama "Hardball" (NBC, 1989-90), playing a veteran detective paired with a cocky, inexperienced partner. Other notable roles include the change of pace turns as a worried father of a kidnapped child in "I Know My First Name Is Steven" (NBC, 1989) and as the parent of a gymnast in "Little Girls in Pretty Boxes" (Lifetime, 1997).

• Born:
  February 22, 1948 in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA
• Job Titles:
  Actor

Significant Others

• Companion: . married

Education

• University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, theater
• Enfield High School, Enfield, Connecticut

Milestones

• 1960 Began acting lessons at age 12
• 1962 Professional stage debut at age 14 in small role in production of Othello at the Hartford Stage Company
• 1970 While appearing with a touring theater troupe from USC, won scholarship to travel abroad; appeared in 15 productions throughout Europe
• 1973 Feature film debut, Psychopath
• 1977 TV debut in a miniseries, The Rhinemann Exchange
• 1979 Played Dennis Quaid s older brother in Breaking Away
• 1979 TV-movie debut, This Man Stands Alone
• 1980 Debut as regular on a TV series, reprising film role in Breaking Away (ABC)
• 1984 Breakthrough feature role, the police captain in Beverly Hills Cop
• 1987 Reprised role in Beverly Hills Cop II
• 1988 Delivered a memorable turn as Robert De Niro s nemesis in Midnight Run
• 1989 Played leading role in the NBC police drama TV series, Hardball
• 1993 Starred in ABC miniseries Stephen King s The Tommyknockers
• 1994 Co-starred in Little Big League
• 1997 Played the father of a gymnast in the Lifetime TV-movie Little Girls in Pretty Boxes
• 2001 Appeared in the indie film Bill s Gun Shop
• 2007 Played a Boston detective in Ben Affleck s feature directing debut Gone, Baby, Gone
• Born in Springfield, MA and raised in Connecticut
• Joined the Company of Angels Theatre Group
• Played recurring roles on Dallas and M*A*S*H* (both CBS)