| Željko Ivanek | |
| Birth Date: | August 15, 1957 |
| Birth Place: | Ljubljana, PR Slovenia, FPR Yugoslavia |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Yearsactive: | 1981–present |
| Parents: | Ferdo Ivanek |
Željko Ivanek (; in Slovenian ˈʒɛːlkɔ iˈʋaːnək/; born August 15, 1957) is a Slovenian-American actor. Known for his work in film, television, and theatre, he is the recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Drama Desk Award, as well as three Tony Award nominations.
Ivanek's film credits include Courage Under Fire (1996), Donnie Brasco (1997), Hannibal, Black Hawk Down (both 2001), Unfaithful (2002), The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Live Free or Die Hard (2007), The Bourne Legacy, Argo, Seven Psychopaths (all 2012), and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017). He has appeared in several films by Lars von Trier: Dancer in the Dark (2000), Dogville (2003), and Manderlay (2005).
On television, Ivanek is known for playing Ray Fiske on the FX series Damages (2007–2010), for which he won the 2008 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor. He also appeared as Ed Danvers on (1993–1999) and Russell Jackson on the CBS drama Madam Secretary (2014–2019), and has had recurring roles on series such as Oz (1997–2003), 24 (2002), True Blood (2008), Heroes (2009), Big Love (2009–2010), Banshee (2014), and 12 Monkeys (2015–2017). Since 2023, he has starred as "The Croat" on AMC's .
Ivanek was born in Ljubljana, PR Slovenia, FPR Yugoslavia,[1] to the family of Ferdo Ivanek, originally from Varaždin, Croatia,[2] and Vojka, née Šimić. In 1960, Željko, his younger brother Ivan, and his mother immigrated to Palo Alto, California, United States, where his father was working as a research assistant at the Department of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University.[3] [4] His mother also worked at Stanford University as a project manager.[5]
In 1962, Ivanek and his family moved back to Slovenia for five years; they returned to Palo Alto in 1967. Having performed in numerous community theater plays in the San Francisco Bay Area, Ivanek graduated from Ellwood P. Cubberley High School in Palo Alto in 1975.[6] In 1978, Ivanek graduated from Yale University, majoring in theater. He later attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.[7]
Ivanek has worked extensively on the stage. In 1982, he originated the role of Hally in Athol Fugard's play "Master Harold"...and the Boys. He appeared in the U.S. premieres of Cloud Nine (for which he earned the 1981 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play), and The Pillowman. He performs frequently on Broadway and has been nominated for three Tony Awards for his performances in the original production of Brighton Beach Memoirs, in Two Shakespearean Actors, and in a revival of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, alongside David Schwimmer and Tim Daly.
However, Ivanek is perhaps best known for his supporting roles in a number of well-known television series. His first television role was as Sammie Wheaton on the soap opera The Edge of Night. Other roles include Emile Danko in Heroes; Roland in The X-Files; prosecuting attorney Ed Danvers in ; Ray Fiske in Damages; J.J. in Big Love; the Magister in True Blood; Governor James Devlin in Oz; Serbian terrorist Andre Drazen in 24; and Blake Sterling, the Director of National Intelligence in the NBC drama series The Event.[8] [9]
Most recently, Ivanek played Russell Jackson in the TV series Madam Secretary. He portrayed John Dickinson, the Pennsylvania representative to the Second Continental Congress, in the miniseries John Adams. He has guest-starred on such shows as and House. He has appeared several times on Law & Order, both as one-off characters and as Ed Danvers in crossover episodes with .
In addition to his stage and television work, Ivanek has appeared in more than 20 feature films, including The Sender, in which he made his feature film debut as the unnamed title character; School Ties; Black Hawk Down; In Bruges; Dogville; The Bourne Legacy; Donnie Brasco; Argo; Seven Psychopaths; and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
In 2012, he portrayed Dr. Stafford White in the drama The Mob Doctor. As of 2014, he had supporting roles in several shows on broadcast and cable television, including the series Revolution, where he plays the recurring roles of Dr. Calvin Horn and an illusory nanotech avatar of Horn; Suits; Banshee; and The Americans.
In the documentary That Guy... Who Was in That Thing, Ivanek states that his contract includes a rider to ensure that the first letter in his name, Ž, has its caron properly rendered in any credits sequence where his name appears.
Ivanek has received recognition for his on-screen work. In 2008, he was awarded the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance in the role of Ray Fiske on Damages.[10]
As of 2018, Ivanek resided in New York City with his partner, Greg Pierce. Pierce is the nephew of actor David Hyde Pierce.[11]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Bombmaker/Cleaning lady | |||
| Tex | Mark Jennings | Credited as "Hitchhiker" | ||
| John Doe #83 / The Sender | ||||
| 1984 | Mass Appeal | Mark Dolson | ||
| The Sun Also Rises | Bill Gorton | |||
| 1987 | Rachel River | Momo | ||
| 1990 | Artificial Paradise | Willy | ||
| 1991 | Our Sons | Donald Barnes | ||
| 1992 | School Ties | Mr. Cleary | ||
| 1996 | White Squall | Coast Guard Captain Sanders | ||
| Courage Under Fire | Ben Banacek | |||
| Infinity | Bill Price | |||
| SEC Agent Thompkins | ||||
| 1997 | Donnie Brasco | Tim Curley | ||
| Julian Po | Tom Potter | |||
| 1998 | Nowhere to Go | Principal Jack Walker | ||
| Bill Crowley | ||||
| 1999 | Snow Falling on Cedars | Dr. Whitman | ||
| 2000 | Dancer in the Dark | District Attorney | ||
| 2001 | Hannibal | Dr. Cordell Doemling | ||
| Black Hawk Down | ||||
| 2002 | Unfaithful | Detective Dean | ||
| 2003 | Dogville | Ben | ||
| 2004 | Vaughn Utly | |||
| 2005 | Manderlay | Dr. Hector | ||
| 2006 | Ralph Graves | |||
| 2007 | Ascension Day | Master Travis | ||
| Live Free or Die Hard | Molina | |||
| 2008 | In Bruges | Canadian Guy | ||
| 2011 | Tower Heist | FBI Director Mazin | ||
| 2012 | Dr. Donald Foite | |||
| Argo | Robert Pender | Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Nominated—San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by an Ensemble | ||
| Seven Psychopaths | Paulo | Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cast Nominated—San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by an Ensemble | ||
| The Words | Cutler | |||
| 2016 | Pentagon Scientist | |||
| 2017 | Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | Desk Sergeant Cedric Connoly | Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | |
| 2020 | The Courier | John A. McCone | ||
| 2021 | The Last Duel | Le Coq |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Great Performances | March Hare | Episode: "Alice in Wonderland" | |
| 1986 | American Playhouse | George Deever | Episode: "All My Sons" | |
| 1987 | St. Elsewhere | Mark Dolson | Episode: "You Again?" | |
| Echoes in the Darkness | Vince Valaitis | Television movie | ||
| 1990 | L.A. Law | Joel Lassen | Episode: "Bound for Glory" | |
| 1993 | Law & Order | Phillip Swann | Episode: "American Dreams" | |
| 1993–1999 | 37 episodes | |||
| 1994 | Roland Fuller / Dr. Arthur Grable | Episode: "Roland" | ||
| 1995 | Murder, She Wrote | Eddie Saunders | Episode: "Home Care" | |
| Truman | Eddie Jacobsen | Television movie | ||
| 1997–1999 | Law & Order | ASA Ed Danvers | 2 episodes | |
| 1997 | Frasier | Dr. Arnold Shaw | Episode: "Death and the Dog" | |
| The Practice | DA Mark McGovern | Episode: "The Civil Right" | ||
| Millennium | Dr. Daniel "Danny" Miller | Episode: "Walkabout" | ||
| Ally McBeal | Judge Marshal Pink | Episode: "One Hundred Tears Away" | ||
| 1997–2003 | Oz | 27 episodes | ||
| 1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | Episode: "The Original Wives Club" | ||
| Television movie | ||||
| 2000 | ER | Bruce Resnick | Episode: "The Dance We Do" | |
| Ed Danvers | TV film | |||
| 2001 | The Practice | AUSA Steven Sanders | Episode: "The Confession" | |
| 2002 | The Practice | Matthew Davies | Episode: "Neighboring Species" | |
| 24 | 15 episodes | |||
| The Twilight Zone | ER chief | Episode: "The Lineman" | ||
| 2003 | The West Wing | Steve Atwood | 2 episodes | |
| The Reagans | TV movie | |||
| 2004 | Law & Order | Mr. Capplin | Episode: "Gov Love" | |
| Touching Evil | Ronald Hinks | Episode: "Pilot" | ||
| 2005 | NYPD Blue | Justin Deroos | Episode: "Stoli With a Twist" | |
| Andrew Melton | Episode: "Nesting Dolls" | |||
| 2006 | Everett Drake | Episode: "Taboo" | ||
| Bones | Carl Decker | Episode: "The Woman in the Car" | ||
| Shark | Eliot Dasher | 2 episodes | ||
| Cold Case | Episode: "One Night" | |||
| 2007–2010 | Damages | Raymond "Ray" Fiske | 16 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries, or Television Film | |
| 2007 | Lost | Edmund Burke | Episode: "Not in Portland" | |
| 2008 | Numbers | William Fraley | Episode: "When Worlds Collide" | |
| John Adams | 2 episodes | |||
| House | Jason | Episode: "Last Resort" | ||
| 2008–2014 | Dr. Linus Wagner | 2 episodes | ||
| True Blood | Magister | 5 episodes | ||
| 2009 | Heroes | Emile "The Hunter" Danko | 13 episodes | |
| 2009–2010 | Big Love | J.J. | 12 episodes | |
| 2010–2011 | Blake Sterling | 22 episodes | ||
| 2013 | White Collar | Brett Forsythe | Episode: "Digging Deeper" | |
| 2012–2013 | Dr. Stafford White | 13 episodes | ||
| 2013–2014 | Revolution | Dr. Calvin Horn | 5 episodes | |
| 2014 | Banshee | FBI Special Agent Jim Racine | 3 episodes | |
| The Americans | John Skeevers | Episode: "Stealth" | ||
| 2014–2015 | Suits | Eric Woodall | 4 episodes | |
| 2014–2019 | Madam Secretary | 102 episodes | ||
| 2015–2017 | 12 Monkeys | Leland Goines | 3 episodes | |
| 2022 | Now and Then | Detective Sullivan | 8 episodes | |
| Let the Right One In | Arthur | Recurring | ||
| 2023–present | "The Croat" | Main cast |