Corbin Dean Bernsen (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor and film director. He appeared as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series L.A. Law,Biography from a USA Network website for Psych as Dr. Alan Feinstone in The Dentist, as retired police detective Henry Spencer on the USA Network comedy-drama series Psych, and as Roger Dorn in the films Major League, Major League II, and Major League: Back to the Minors. He also appeared regularly on The Resident, The Curse, General Hospital, and Cuts, and has had intermittent appearances on The Young and the Restless.
Early life Bernsen was born in North Hollywood, the eldest son of producer Harry Bernsen Jr. and soap actress Jeanne Cooper. He graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1972. Bernsen is also a "double Bruin", having received both a BA in Theatre Arts in 1977 and an MFA in Playwriting in 1979 from UCLA.
Career
Acting After a two-year appearance on the soap opera Ryan's Hope, Bernsen was cast as lawyer Arnold Becker on the Steven Bochco television series L.A. Law in 1986. The series became a hit, and the role earned him Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, appearances on magazine covers, and guest-starring roles on Seinfeld and The Larry Sanders Show. He remained on L.A. Law for the entire run of the show, until it ended in 1994. He played the lead role in the two-season, NASA-themed series The Cape in 1996–97.
Bernsen appeared with British actor Bruce Payne in the films Kounterfeit and Aurora: Operation Intercept. He starred as the title character, Dr. Alan Feinstone, in the horror film The Dentist and its sequel. Bernsen was also cast as prima donna third baseman Roger Dorn in the sports comedy Major League and appeared in both of the film's sequels. Bernsen portrayed John Durant on General Hospital from September 2004 until the character was murdered in May 2006.
Bernsen played Jack Sherwood on Cuts, appeared twice on Celebrity Mole, and played a lawyer on Boston Legal. He appeared as another Q on Star Trek: The Next Generation. He also had a recurring role as Captain Owen Sebring on the military drama JAG and played a Republican senator in two episodes of The West Wing. He directed, produced, and appeared in the horror film Dead Air. Bernsen also co-starred in USA's Psych, playing the role of Henry Spencer, the father of the main character, Shawn Spencer (James Roday). In the film Rust, Bernsen plays a former minister who returns to his hometown.
Bernsen appeared in 25 Hill, a film he produced, directed and wrote, which is centered on the All-American Soap Box Derby, and at one time was planning a baseball movie about zombies, called Three Strikes, You're Dead.
He also appeared as a guest star in one episode of Switched at Birth, the ABC Family television series. Bernsen currently appears as Kyle Nevin on the television series The Resident.
Producing
Bernsen was president and co-owner of Public Media Works, a new media company that develops entertainment for targeted fan bases. He directed and starred in Carpool Guy, the company's first film; it was targeted at soap opera fans and released on DVD in 2005.
Bernsen then went on to form Team Cherokee Productions. According to the book One Red Paperclip, in June 2006, Bernsen traded a role in the film Donna on Demand to Kyle MacDonald for a snow globe of the band Kiss. It was this role that MacDonald eventually traded for a two-story farmhouse.Podcast featuring in its second-half an interview with Bernsen (in MP3 format) by a "new marketing" podcaster
In recent years, Bernsen focused on stories that explore aspects of Christian faith in today's world and how that can contribute to, but also tends to divide our common humanity. His first such film was Rust, released in 2010 by Sony Pictures. Bernsen, along with producing partner Chris Aronoff, formed Home Theater Films, an independent production company that develops, produces, and markets films and television shows. 25 Hill, the company's first title, was released in July 2012. This was followed by 3 Day Test (2012), Beyond the Heavens (2013), and Life with Dog (2017). Their film Mary 4 Mayor was due out in the fall of 2020.
Writing In October 2015, the Pelican Book Group released Bernsen's debut novel. The book, Rust: the Novel, is an adaptation of Bernsen's 2010 feature film, Rust, in which he played the main character and served as writer and director. Bernsen and his wife, Amanda Pays, have co-authored two books, Change Houses, Not Spouses and Open House: Reinventing Space for Simple Living, a coffee table book featuring remodeling and design ideas they have learned from remodeling their own homes.
Personal life Bernsen was married to Brenda Cooper from 1983 to 1987. Bernsen has been married to British actress Amanda Pays since 1988. They have four sons: Oliver, Angus, Henry, and Finley. Pays and Bernsen moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York in 2019 where he now focuses on film and television projects that can be shot locally.
Bernsen has one of the largest snow globe collections in the world, with over 8,000 globes. One notable globe in his collection is a Kiss motorized snow globe, for which Kyle MacDonald traded him in exchange for a speaking role in the film Donna on Demand. This was part of the famous "One Red Paperclip" series of trades, whereby MacDonald started with a red paperclip and ended with a farmhouse in Kipling, Saskatchewan. Across the Sound (July 1, 2006)
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 1967 Clambake Roy Uncredited 1974 Three the Hard Way Boy1976 Eat My Dust! Roy Puire King Kong Reporter Uncredited 1981 S.O.B. Surfer on Beach1987 Dead Aim Webster Hello Again Jason Chadman1989 Bert Rigby, You're a Fool Jim Shirley Major League Roger Dorn Disorganized Crime Frank Salazar 1991 Shattered Jeb Scott 1992 Frozen Assets Zach Shepard1993 Fatal Inheritance Woodward Dawes Ghost Brigade Col. Nehemiah Strayn1994 The Soft Kill Martin Lewis Bud Bowl V Coach of Team Bud Light A Brilliant Disguise Dr. Martin Trigger Fast Brent Mallick Final Mission General Morgan Breslaw Major League II Roger Dorn Savage Land Quint The New Age Kevin Bulasky Radioland Murders Dexter Morris1995 Someone to Die For Jack Davis Cover Me Andre Solloway Aurora: Operation Intercept Flight Engineer Murphy Tales from the Hood Duke Metger Temptress Nick Baja John Stone1996 The Dentist Dr. Alan Feinstone The Great White Hype Peter Prince Kounterfeit Marty Hopkins1997 An American Affair Dist. Atty. Sam Brady /Sen. John Crawford Menno's Mind Felix Medina Spacejacked Barnes1998 The Fairy King of Ar Rob Preston Major League: Back to the Minors Roger Dorn The Dentist 2 Dr. Alan Feinstone The Misadventures of Margaret Art Turner Kiss of a Stranger Mason2000 Rangers The Senator Delicate Instruments Sam Livingstone2001 Borderline Normal Benjiman Walling Apocalypse IV: Judgment Mitch Kendrick Rubbernecking Mr. Jones Final Payback Mayor Richardson Killer Instinct Jennings Wilhite Raptor Dr. Hyde2002 Fangs Carl Hart The Tomorrow Man Larry Dead Above Ground Mark Mallory2003 The Commission Rep. Gerald R. Ford The Company You Keep Poindexter 2004 Nightmare Boulevard Jerry Martin Death and Texas Coach Loren Stanley2005 Raging Sharks Capt. Riley Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Harlan Dexter Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Carpool Guy Michael Also director and producer2006 Submission Max The Naked Ape Mr. Feldman Paid William Montague Last Sunset John Wayne 2007 Pirate Camp Hookbeard 2008 House of Fallen Rowland2009 Donna on Demand Ben Corbin Also director Dead Air Dr. F Also director Trapped Edward Hutton2010 Rust James Moore Also director, writer, and producer Closets Grant Erickson Across the Line: The Exodus of Charlie Wright FBI Director Hill2011 25 Hill Roy Gibbs Also director, writer, and producer Bad Actress Himself Suing the Devil Barry Polk The Big Year Gil Gordon The Ascension Carl Pizza Man Criswell2012 Lay the Favorite Jerry Lizzie Dr. Fredricks 3 Day Test Tom Also director and writer Gordon Family Tree Ron Goodson Beyond the Heavens Gus Henry2014 Fast Track Liam Sterling Christian Mingle Matt Also director and writer The Last Straw Mr. G.2015 Midland The Shepherd Short film God's Club Max Graves2016 Prayer Never Fails Joseph T. Harrington Dead Man Rising Buck The Elvis Room Harker Short film In-Lawfully Yours Father Grayson Producer2017 Maximum Security Price Boone: The Bounty Hunter Cage Bickle Distortion Dr. Eli Sutton My Daddy's in Heaven Rick Adams2018 Surviving Theater 9 Tom Short film Reach Charles Karl Frederick Life with Dog Joe Bigler Alone We Fight Colonel Bradley Armstrong Eco-Teens Save the World! Senator Jeremy Ryburn2019 Faith, Hope & Love Brian Fuller Swell Harold When We Last Spoke Walt Cadia: The World Within George All Good Things Pop-Pop Sensory Perception Mr. Friedrich Sunrise in Heaven Jim a.k.a. Forever Love2020 Connective Tissue Dr. Epstein Short film Roe v. Wade Harry Blackmun First Lady King Max Mary for Mayor Pat A Deadly Legend Matthias Leary The Unseen Realm Himself The Farmer and the Belle: Saving Santaland Gran'Poppy The Christmas Project 2 Grandpa George A Bennett Song Holiday Aiden Neville2021 Past Shadows Lewis Samuels Weekend Warriors Chief Baumgardner The Hating Game Bexley2022 Game Changer Iann Gabriel Repeater Edgar Mann2023 Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist Steve Plank Herd Robert Miller Memory Box Father (voice) Short film Christmas at Keestone Clint Baker 2024 The Beldham 2025 MarshmallowRoy TowMartin La Rosa
Television