Murphy Guyer (born December 25, 1952) is an American actor, playwright, writer and director, best known for his plays and for appearances in the films The Devil's Advocate (1997), The Jackal (1997), Arthur (2011) and Joker (2019).
Early years Murphy Guyer was born in Dover, Delaware, and grew up in rural eastern Maryland. He moved to New York City at the age of nineteen to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts on an acting scholarship, and soon discovered a talent for writing jokes and comic sketches. He began his professional career writing for various stand-up comics and improv groups.
Career In the early 1980s, Guyer's first play Eden Court premiered at the Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Kentucky. The play was later produced on Broadway and made into a film. During the course of his career, Guyer has written works for stage, screen and radio, and tends to farce and satire. His plays have been produced Off-Broadway and at regional theaters in the US, Canada, Ireland, Britain, Europe and Russia. His play The Realists was listed as one of the Best Plays of 1988-1989, and his adaptation of The Emancipation of Valet de Chambre was noted as one of the Best Plays of 1999-2000.
In 1991 Guyer began acting in TV and films, with his first appearance as Tommy Gallagher in the Law & Order episode "Heaven." Between 1996 and 2003, Guyer served as Associate Artistic Director for Playwrighting at the Cleveland Play House.
Works Selected plays include: Eden Court, produced at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Humana Festival, 1982-1983 The American Century, produced at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Humana Festival, 1984-1985 The American Century, produced at Solar Stage, Toronto, Canada, 1985 The Metaphor, produced at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Humana Festival, 1987-1988 Loyalties, published in 25 Ten-Minute Plays from Actors Theatre of Louisville, 1989, then in 30 Ten-Minute Plays for 4, 5, & 6 Actors from the National Ten-Minute Play Contest, 2001 The Enchanted Maze, produced at Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, Waterford, CT, 1990 Rendezvous with Reality, produced in Philadelphia, PA, 1995 The Interrogation, produced by Subterranean Theatre Company, HydePark Theatre, Austin, TX, 1997 Russian Romance, produced at Cleveland Play House, Drury Theater, Cleveland, OH, 1998 The American Century, produced at Theatre of Western Springs, Western Springs, IL, 2000 World of Mirth, produced at Theater Four, New York City, 2001, The Infinite Regress of Human Vanity, produced at Cleveland Play House, 2002
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1995 Parallel Sons Sheriff Mott 1996 City Hall Captain Florian 1997 Firehouse Detective Leo Patillo Television film 1997 Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery William Clark Documentary film 1997 Love Walked In Howard's Boss 1997 The Peacemaker INS Agent 1997 The Devil's Advocate Barbara's Father 1997 The Jackal NSC Representative 1998 Rounders Sergeant Detweiler 2004 She Hate Me John Erlichman 2005 La fiesta del Chivo Turk 2009 The Mercy Man Leary 2011 Arthur Officer Kaplan 2015 Good Friday Paul Chasse 2017 Wetlands Captain Schmidt 2017 Wonderstruck Security Chief 2018 Paterno Gary Schultz Television film 2019 Joker Barry O'Donnell 2024 Joker: Folie à Deux White Chapel Minister
Television Year Title Role Notes 1991 Law & Order Tommy Gallagher Episode: "Heaven" 1996 The City Darryl Hassey 4 episodes 1997 Oz CO Eddie Hunt 4 episodes 2010 Rubicon R.C. Gilbert 5 episodes 2011 Mildred Pierce Mr. Pierce 5 episodes 2013–2016 House of Cards Oren Chase 2 episodes 2016 The Blacklist Eye in the Sky 2 episodes2016BillionsChief Mueller1 episode 2020 NOS4A2 FBI Agent Daltry 2 episodes 2020 The Right Stuff Cooper's CO 1 episode
Videogames Year Title Role 2006 Neverwinter Nights 2 Ammon Jerro 2010 Red Dead Redemption Aquila 2016 Batman: The Telltale Series Police Commissioner James Gordon 2017–2018 Batman: The Enemy Within
References
External links
www.murphyguyer.com List of works at Filmreference.com