A veteran actor with a charming drawl, South Carolina native Leon Rippy began his acting career in the early '80s, making very minor appearances in very big films, like a store clerk in The Color Purple and an FBI agent in Firestarter. Rippy would continue to appear in several projects over the coming years, often taking on a number of roles every year. He notably played a prosecutor in 1988's Illegally Yours, and an Army sergeant in 1990's Moon 44, one of seven collaborations Rippy would make with director Roland Emmerich. The '90s would find the actor just as active as ever, appearing in the usual plethora of movies and TV shows, including high-profile appearances in 2000's The Patriot and on the series Walker, Texas Ranger. The new millennium would bring even more prominent work for the now silver-haired actor, with a starring role on the HBO western series Deadwood, which Rippy would appear on from 2004 to 2006. He soon took on another starring role on the police drama Saving Grace with Holly Hunter, playing Earl, a tough-talking, tobacco-spitting messenger from God. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Born:
in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
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Job Titles:
Actor, Ballet dancer, Cattle insemination
Family
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Daughter: Stacie Leah Rippy.
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Son: Amos Rippy.
Significant Others
Milestones
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1984 Feature debut, opposite Drew Barrymore in Firestarter
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1985 Played a small role in Stephen Speilberg s The Color Purple
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1986 Had a supporting role opposite Emilio Estevez in the film adaptation of Stephen King s Maximum Overdrive
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1988 Portrayal a cryogenically frozen country singer revived on board the Enterprise in the syndicated series, Star Trek: The Next Generation
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1990 Cast opposite Malcolm McDowell in Roland Emmerich s Moon 44
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1990 Re-teamed with Emilio Estevez in Young Guns II
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1992 Appeared in the Emmerich-directed, Universal Soldier
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1992 Played the main henchman to Christian Slater s hero in Kuffs
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1994 Re-teamed with Emmerich for Stargate, as the general charged with keeping Kirk Russell s character in line
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1996 Played a government agent in the science fiction film, The Arrival
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1997 Starred as a detective opposite Kevin Spacey in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
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1997 Was a series regular on the FOX series, The Visitor
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1999 Fourth collaboration with director/producer Roland Emmerich, the science fiction movie The Thirteenth Floor
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2000 Appeared opposite Mel Gibson in Roland Emmerich s The Patriot
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2002 Joined the cast of the Emmerich-produced film, Eight Legged Freaks
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2003 Cast opposite Kevin Spacey and Kate Winslet in The Life of David Gale
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2004 Played Tom Nuttall in the critically acclaimed HBO series, Deadwood
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2004 Co-starred with Dennis Quaid and Billy Bob Thornton in The Alamo
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2006 Co-starred with The Rock in Gridiron Gang
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2007 Played an unconventional angel in the TNT drama, Saving Grace
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Founded and operated two theatre companies
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Made stage debut at seven years old, as a gingerbread boy in Hansel and Gretel