Devane was born on September 5, 1939, in Albany, New York,[2] the son of Joseph Devane, who had been Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was governor of New York.[3] His father was of Irish descent and his mother Kate had Dutch and German ancestry.[4] Devane graduated from Philip Schuyler High School in Albany, and then the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1962.[2]
Devane has played members of the Presidential Cabinet on two evening dramas. In 2004, on The West Wing, he guest-starred as the secretary of state and potential vice presidential nominee.[7] Devane appeared in several scenes with Martin Sheen; they also appeared together as President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert, respectively, 30 years earlier in The Missiles of October (1974). In 2005, he joined the cast of 24 as Secretary of Defense James Heller for seasons four through six.[7]
Later career
In 2004, Devane appeared in three episodes of Stargate SG-1 as PresidentHenry Hayes and appears in the direct-to-DVD movie Stargate: Continuum. He also co-starred in the short-lived sitcom Crumbs and as Brian's real-estate broker father in What About Brian (2006–07). In 2008, he appeared in Russ Emanuel's Chasing the Green alongside Jeremy London, Ryan Hurst, and Robert Picardo. He also appears as police officer turned psychologist Dr. Dix in the Jesse Stone mystery movies with Tom Selleck.[7] In 2010, he appeared in the NCIS episode "Worst Nightmare" as a grandfather who is not what he appears to be, and is actually a former U.S. deep-cover special-operations agent, of a child kidnapped from Marine Corps Base Quantico.
In 2012, Devane began a recurring role as Grandpa Edward Grayson on the ABC primetime soap opera Revenge.[8] Devane also played the President of the United States in the Christopher Nolan film The Dark Knight Rises. Devane reprised his role as James Heller, now President, in the limited-run series 24: Live Another Day, which premiered in May 2014.
Devane had a cameo role as Williams, as part of NASA, in the 2014 film Interstellar and a year later, was also part of the regular cast of the sitcom The Grinder. In 2022, he appeared in a four-episode guest arc on the Amazon Prime Video detective series Bosch: Legacy.
Personal life
He married Eugenie McCabe in 1961. They lived in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, with their two sons.[2]
