Xander Berkeley

" I’d been reluctant to do a TV series for a long time, just as I’d been reluctant to get married and I ended up doing both with this show and it’s turned out to be a fabulous surprise."

— Xander Berkeley on his 24 role in 2002

Xander Berkeley (born December 16, 1955; age 68) played CTU Agent George Mason on 24 and voiced The Handler in the Solitary short. He is married to Sarah Clarke, who played Nina Myers on the show and they have had one child.

Biography and career

Xander Berkeley was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 16, 1955, but has lived most of his life in New Jersey. He attended Hampshire College and worked in the theaters at the five college system which Hampshire was a part of, including Smith, Mount Holyoke, Amherst, and the University of Massachusetts. Berkeley worked in the Regional and Repertory Theaters in addition to Off Broadway while living in New York. A casting agent saw Berkeley in a play written by Reynolds Price called Early Dark, and encouraged him to move to Hollywood.

Berkeley began playing minor roles in 1981, with early appearances in M*A*S*H, Cagney & Lacey, Remington Steele, Miami Vice, Moonlighting and The A-Team. Although not becoming a household name, Berkeley's face was increasingly recognizable into the 1990s. His later television guest roles included The X-Files, CSI, ER, Criminal Minds, Standoff (with Gina Torres), The Mentalist and Law & Order.

On the big screen, Berkeley appeared in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (with Jenette Goldstein), A Few Good Men (with Kiefer Sutherland), The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag (with Michael O'Neill), The Killing Jar (with Carlos Bernard and Tamlyn Tomita, and art director Rob Kyker), Candyman (with Tony Todd), Heat (with Dennis Haysbert), Magma: Volcanic Disaster (with Reiko Aylesworth), Apollo 13 (with Ned Vaughn), If These Walls Could Talk (with Harris Yulin), A Kidnapping in the Family (with Laura Harris), Leaving Las Vegas, Gattaca, Air Force One (with Glenn Morshower, Timothy Carhart, Wendy Crewson, Jurgen Prochnow, Don McManus, Spencer Garrett, Tom Everett and David Gianopoulos), Amistad, Shanghai Noon, Timecode, Seraphim Falls, Faster, Kick-Ass and Taken. He has starred in numerous acclaimed indie films and shorts.

He also appeared in the 2007 film Fracture, which featured fellow 24 actors Billy Burke, Bob Gunton, Gonzalo Menendez, Michael Khmurov, Yorgo Constantine, and Alla Korot. Despite having had few leading roles, he has appeared in more than 80 motion pictures. Most of his roles have been unsympathetic characters, morally flawed ones similar to 24's Mason or background supporting roles.

Berkeley with wife, Sarah Clarke

Since the 90s, he has also done voiceover work for animated series such as Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Gargoyles and various superhero cartoon shows.

Berkeley also starred in a Hulu online series called The Booth at the End as the man sitting in the title location. He won the Streamy Award for Best Male Dramatic Performance. His wife Sarah Clarke also co-starred. He is also the main villain Percy on the hit spy series Nikita; both shows co-star his real-life spouse once again.

In 2014, Xander co-starred in Joel Surnow's film Small Time as well as the acclaimed indie crime thriller This Last Lonely Place (with Rhys Coiro and Carly Pope).

Berkeley is also a skilled make-up artist and designed his own make-up when his character on the show was suffering from radiation poisoning in the second season.

24 credits

• Season 1
  • "Day 1: 12:00am-1:00am"
  • "Day 1: 3:00am-4:00am"
  • "Day 1: 4:00am-5:00am"
  • "Day 1: 3:00pm-4:00pm"
  • "Day 1: 4:00pm-5:00pm"
  • "Day 1: 5:00pm-6:00pm"
  • "Day 1: 6:00pm-7:00pm"
  • "Day 1: 7:00pm-8:00pm"
  • "Day 1: 8:00pm-9:00pm"
  • "Day 1: 9:00pm-10:00pm"
  • "Day 1: 10:00pm-11:00pm"
  • "Day 1: 11:00pm-12:00am"
• Season 2
  • "Day 2: 8:00am-9:00am"
  • "Day 2: 9:00am-10:00am"
  • "Day 2: 10:00am-11:00am"
  • "Day 2: 11:00am-12:00pm"
  • "Day 2: 12:00pm-1:00pm"
  • "Day 2: 1:00pm-2:00pm"
  • "Day 2: 2:00pm-3:00pm"
  • "Day 2: 3:00pm-4:00pm"
  • "Day 2: 4:00pm-5:00pm"
  • "Day 2: 5:00pm-6:00pm"
  • "Day 2: 6:00pm-7:00pm"
  • "Day 2: 7:00pm-8:00pm"
  • "Day 2: 8:00pm-9:00pm"
  • "Day 2: 9:00pm-10:00pm"
  • "Day 2: 10:00pm-11:00pm"

24-related appearances

• Berkeley provided DVD audio commentary for the episode "Day 2: 10:00pm-11:00pm" (with Robert Cochran).

• In an interview with the UK version of SciFi Wire Magazine, he explained his reluctance to accept his offered role due to being constantly typecast as a prick-like character but accepted it due to the role being fleshed out and the promise that Season 2 would showcase a different side to this character's arc.

See also

• Performers with multiple roles

External links

• Official website
• Xander Berkeley at Wikipedia
• Xander Berkeley at the Internet Movie Database
• Xander Berkeley (@Xanderberkeley) on Twitter
• Xander Berkeley (@xanderoriginal) on Instagram