Željko Ivanek

Željko Ivanek
Ivanek in 2017
Born	(1957-08-15) August 15, 1957 (age 67) Ljubljana, PR Slovenia, FPR Yugoslavia
Nationality	American
Education	Yale University (BA) London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1981–present
Parent	Ferdo Ivanek

Željko Ivanek (/ˈʒɛlkoʊ ɪˈvɑːnɪk/;^[1] Slovene: [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 Homicide: Life on the Street (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 The Walking Dead: Dead City.

Early life and education

Ivanek was born in Ljubljana, PR Slovenia, FPR Yugoslavia,^[2] to the family of Ferdo Ivanek, originally from Varaždin, Croatia,^[3] and Vojka, née Šimić.^{[4][better source needed]} 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.^[4][5] His mother also worked at Stanford University as a project manager.^[6]

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.^[7] In 1978, Ivanek graduated from Yale University, majoring in theater. He later attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.^[8]

Acting career

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 Homicide: Life on the Street; 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.^[9][10]

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 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and House. He has appeared several times on Law & Order, both as one-off characters and as Ed Danvers in crossover episodes with Homicide: Life on the Street.

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.

Awards

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.^[11]

Personal life

As of 2018, Ivanek resided in New York City with his partner, Greg Pierce. Pierce is the nephew of actor David Hyde Pierce.^[12]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	The Soldier	Bombmaker/Cleaning lady
	Tex	Mark Jennings	Credited as "Hitchhiker"
	The Sender	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
	The Associate	SEC Agent Thompkins
1997	Donnie Brasco	Tim Curley
	Julian Po	Tom Potter
1998	Nowhere to Go	Principal Jack Walker
	A Civil Action	Bill Crowley
1999	Snow Falling on Cedars	Dr. Whitman
2000	Dancer in the Dark	District Attorney
2001	Hannibal	Dr. Cordell Doemling
	Black Hawk Down	Lieutenant Colonel Gary Harrell
2002	Unfaithful	Detective Dean
2003	Dogville	Ben
2004	The Manchurian Candidate	Vaughn Utly
2005	Manderlay	Dr. Hector
2006	The Hoax	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	The Bourne Legacy	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	X-Men: Apocalypse	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

Television

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	Homicide: Life on the Street	Ed Danvers	37 episodes
1994	The X-Files	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	Governor James Devlin	27 episodes
1998	From the Earth to the Moon	Ken Mattingly	Episode: "The Original Wives Club"
	The Rat Pack	Robert F. Kennedy	Television movie
2000	ER	Bruce Resnick	Episode: "The Dance We Do"
	Homicide: The Movie	Ed Danvers	TV film
2001	The Practice	AUSA Steven Sanders	Episode: "The Confession"
2002	The Practice	Matthew Davies	Episode: "Neighboring Species"
	24	Andre Drazen	15 episodes
	The Twilight Zone	ER chief	Episode: "The Lineman"
2003	The West Wing	Steve Atwood	2 episodes
	The Reagans	Michael Deaver	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"
	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Andrew Melton	Episode: "Nesting Dolls"
2006	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Everett Drake	Episode: "Taboo"
	Bones	Carl Decker	Episode: "The Woman in the Car"
	Shark	Eliot Dasher	2 episodes
	Cold Case	John Doe	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	John Dickinson	2 episodes
	House	Jason	Episode: "Last Resort"
2008–2014	The Mentalist	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	The Event	Blake Sterling	22 episodes
2013	White Collar	Brett Forsythe	Episode: "Digging Deeper"
2012–2013	The Mob Doctor	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	Russell Jackson	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 Walking Dead: Dead City	"The Croat"	Main cast
TBA	Death by Lightning	Doctor Willard Bliss	Upcoming miniseries

Stage

Year	Title	Role(s)	Notes
1978	Idiot's Delight	Palota[13]
	Design for Living	Photographer[14]
	The School for Wives	Notary[15]
	A Month in the Country	Matvey[16]
1979	Hay Fever	Sandy Tyrell[17]
	Charley's Aunt	Charley Wykeham[18]
	Children of the Sun	Rioter[19]
1980	The Front Page	Earl Williams[20]
1981	The Survivor	Yankele, understudy Rudy[21]	Broadway debut
	Cloud 9	Betty/Gerry[22]	Winner: Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
1982	"Master Harold"...and the Boys	Hally[23]
1983	Brighton Beach Memoirs	Stanley Jerome[24]	Nomination: Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play
1985	A Map of the World	Stephen[25]
1986	Loot	Hal[26]
1988	The Cherry Orchard	Trofimov[27]
	Hamlet	Hamlet[28]
1990	Ivanov	Lvov[29]
1991	Two Shakespearean Actors	John Ryder[30]	Nomination: Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play Nomination: Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
1992	It's Only a Play	Peter Austin[31]
1994	The Glass Menagerie	Tom Wingfield[32]
2001	The Dumb Waiter	Ben[33]
	The Zoo Story	Peter[33]
2002	Blue/Orange	Robert Smith[34]
2005	The Pillowman	Ariel[35]
2006	The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial	Lt. Com. Philip Francis Queeg[36]	Nomination: Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play Nomination: Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play
2012	Slowgirl	Sterling[37]

References

1. "SLOWGIRL: Interview with Željko Ivanek" on YouTube
2. "Željko Ivanek profile". TV Guide. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
3. Suhić, Nevenka (October 18, 2011). "Ponosan na svoje korijene!" [Proud of his roots!]. Regionalni Tjednik (in Croatian). No. 387. Varaždin, Croatia: Regionalni Tjednik d.o.o. p. 11. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
4. Voislava Simic-Ivanek, Ivan Simic-Ivanek, and Željko Šimic-Ivanek; arrived New York, New York, US, aboard Queen Elizabeth, destination Palo Alto, California; New York State, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1917-1966
5. Hausner, Jerry (January 10, 2022). "In Memoriam: Dr. Ferdo Ivanek". IEEE Microwave Magazine. 23 (2): 101. doi:10.1109/MMM.2021.3126823. S2CID 245871920.
6. "Ferdo Ivanek". mtt.org. IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
7. "Around Town". Palo Alto Online. February 14, 1996. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
8. "Željko Ivanek Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved March 17, 2008.
9. "NBC Picks Up Three New Series for 2010-11 Season with "The Event", "Outsourced" and "Love Bites"". The Futon Critic. May 7, 2010. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
10. Hibberd, James (May 16, 2010). "NBC's fall schedule, upfront revealed". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
11. Levin, Gary (January 5, 2009). "'Damages' returns in all its complexity." USA Today. p. 01D. Retrieved via Biography In Context database, November 25, 2018.
12. "Actor Željko Ivanek Hosts 35th Anniversary NAMI Event". Baltimore Magazine. September 24, 2018.
13. "Idiot's Delight". Williamstown Theatre Festival. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
14. "Design for Living". Williamstown Theatre Festival. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
15. "School for Wives, The". Williamstown Theatre Festival. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
16. "Month in the Country, A". Williamstown Theatre Festival. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
17. "Hay Fever". Williamstown Theatre Festival. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
18. "Charley's Aunt". Williamstown Theatre Festival. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
19. "Children of the Sun". Williamstown Theatre Festival. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
20. "Front Page, The". Williamstown Theatre Festival. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
21. "The Survivor – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
22. "Cloud 9". www.iobdb.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
23. Fugard, Athol (2009). "Master Harold" … and the boys. Penguin. ISBN 9780307475206.
24. "Brighton Beach Memoirs – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
25. "David Hare's 'A Map of the World' Opens Off-Broadway". AP NEWS. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
26. "Loot – Broadway Play – 1986 Revival | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
27. Rich, Frank (January 25, 1988). "Stage: Brook's 'Cherry Orchard'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
28. "Guthrie Theater flourishing in its 25th year. Moli'ere play on stage, 'Hamlet' in the wings". The Christian Science Monitor. July 29, 1988. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
29. Rich, Frank (September 25, 1990). "Review/Theater; Early Chekhov in a Cross-Cultural Exercise". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
30. "Two Shakespearean Actors – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
31. McNally, Terrence (1992). It's Only a Play. Dramatists Play Service. p. 4. ISBN 0822205823.
32. League, The Broadway. "The Glass Menagerie – Broadway Play – 1994 Revival | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
33. "Dumb Waiter & The Zoo Story, The". Williamstown Theatre Festival. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
34. Weber, Bruce (November 25, 2002). "THEATER REVIEW; Psychiatrists Do Battle, Mental Illness In the Middle". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
35. "The Pillowman – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
36. "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial – Broadway Play – 2006 Revival | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
37. Isherwood, Charles (June 19, 2012). "Filling the Silence With the Voice of Youth". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 20, 2021.

External links

• Željko Ivanek at IMDb
• Željko Ivanek at the Internet Broadway Database
• Željko Ivanek at Internet Off-Broadway Database