Robert Knepper
Knepper in 2016
Born
Robert Lyle Knepper

(1959-07-08) July 8, 1959
Fremont, Ohio, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1977–present
Spouses
Tory Herald
​
​
(m. 2005; div. 2009)​
    Nadine Kary
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2013)​
    Children1

    Robert Lyle Knepper[1] (born July 8, 1959)[2] is an American actor best known for his role as Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell in the Fox drama series Prison Break (2005–2009, 2017), Samuel Sullivan in the final season of the NBC series Heroes (2009–2010), Angus McDonough in The CW series iZombie (2015–2018) and Rodney Mitchum in Showtime's revival of Twin Peaks (2017). He has appeared in films such as Hitman (2007), Transporter 3 (2008) and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016).

    Early life

    Knepper was born in Fremont, Ohio,[2] and raised in Maumee, Ohio, the son of Pat Deck and Donald Knepper,[3] a veterinarian. He was interested in acting from an early age, due to his mother's involvement as a props-handler at a community theater. After graduating from Maumee High School in 1977, he attended Northwestern University; during this time, Knepper obtained professional roles in plays in Chicago. Nearing the completion of his degree, Knepper quit Northwestern and went to New York City, where he continued to work in theater.[4]

    Career

    Although Knepper did not intend to work in film and television projects, he began his television and film career in 1986 with The Paper Chase and That's Life!. Knepper went on to have larger roles in such films as Wild Thing, Young Guns II, When the Bough Breaks and Everyone Says I Love You. He made appearances on such television series as The Twilight Zone, Star Trek: The Next Generation, ER and Law & Order. In 2005, after a recurring role on the HBO series Carnivàle, Knepper was cast in his best-known role, as Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell in Prison Break. The series received positive reviews upon release, and "T-Bag" is often considered to be one of the greatest television villains of all time.[5][6] During his time on Prison Break, Knepper starred in a number of films; Good Night, and Good Luck, Hitman, Transporter 3 and The Day the Earth Stood Still.

    After Prison Break ended in 2009, Knepper was cast as villain Samuel Sullivan in the fourth and final season of Heroes.[7] After this, he went on to have a recurring role in Stargate Universe in 2010. He guest-starred on season six of Criminal Minds as Rhett Walden, a serial killer. The same year he played the titular character in the film adaptation of Burning Daylight.[8]

    In addition, Knepper appeared as Honolulu Police Internal Affairs detective Rex Coughlin in two episodes of Hawaii Five-0.

    In 2011, he reprised his role of T-Bag in one episode of the A&E series Breakout Kings. The next year, he played Frank Sinatra in My Way, a biopic of Claude François, a French pop singer who wrote the song "Comme d'habitude", the original version of Sinatra's song "My Way".

    Knepper was cast in the 2013 television series Cult as Roger Reeves, an actor playing Billy Grimm on a show called Cult.[9] The show was canceled after only one season. The same year, he appeared in R.I.P.D., Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters and guest starred on the television series The Blacklist (episode: "The Courier"). At the end of 2013, the TNT series Mob City premiered, in which Knepper played gangster Sid Rothman.[10] In 2014, Knepper guest starred in episodes of Arrow and The Flash as master hacker and time-and-motion study expert William Tockman / Clock King.[11]

    Since 2015, Knepper has had a recurring role on iZombie as Angus McDonough, the estranged and abusive father of Blaine DeBeers (David Anders).[12] It was announced in July 2017 that Knepper would be promoted to the show's main cast for season 4.[13][14]

    Knepper was cast in the reboot of David Lynch's Twin Peaks as gangster Rodney Mitchum. He later voiced the audiobook adaptation for the tie-in epistolary novel of the show called The Secret History of Twin Peaks.

    Personal life

    Knepper has a son, Benjamin Peter (born 2002), with his first wife, Tory Herald.[4][15] He married his second wife, Nadine Kary, in 2013.[16]

    Sexual assault allegations

    On November 8, 2017, costume designer Susan Bertram accused Knepper of sexual assault on the set of the film Gas Food Lodging in 1991.[17][18] Knepper denied the allegations in a since-deleted Instagram post.[19][20] On February 28, 2018, Bertram's lawyers announced she was filing a defamation lawsuit against Knepper in Los Angeles County Superior Court in the wake of his denials, seeking damages in a jury trial.[21][22] Knepper's lawyers denied that he defamed Bertram. On June 1, 2021, Bertram's attorney announced that the lawsuit had been settled; the terms have not been publicized.[23]

    Four additional allegations taking place between 1983 and 2013 were made by women against Knepper on December 5, 2017, including an accusation of rape in Vancouver in 2010. All of the allegations were denied by Knepper.[20][24]

    Late in 2017, in the wake of these accusations, The CW conducted an internal inquiry. Finding no evidence of misconduct transpiring on the set, it was announced he would be remaining on iZombie.[25] On January 12, 2018, it was announced that the studio had conducted a second investigation. CW president Mark Pedowitz stated, "Again, the investigation related to the set and his behavior on the set. They found no wrongdoing on the set."[26] Pedowitz elaborated that Knepper had signed on for a single season and that his exit from the series had already been planned.[26][27]

    Filmography

    Film

    Year Title Role Notes
    1986 That's Life! Steve Larwin
    1987 Wild Thing Wild Thing
    Made in Heaven Orrin
    1988 D.O.A. Nicholas Lang
    1989 Renegades Marino
    1990 Arduous Moon Andrew Short film
    Young Guns II Deputy Carlyle
    1991 Session Man Torrey Cole Short film
    Where the Day Takes You Rock Singer
    1992 Gas Food Lodging Dank
    1993 When the Bough Breaks Lt. Jimmy Creedmore
    1994 Under the Heat Milo
    1995 Search and Destroy Daniel Strong
    1996 Dead of Night Christian
    MugShot Joe
    Everyone Says I Love You Greg
    The Undercover Kid Bo the Dog (voice)
    The Hunchback of Notre Dame Frollo's Soldiers (voice)
    1997 You Are Here Jack
    1998 Phantoms Agent Wilson
    The Stringer John
    Jaded Freddy
    2000 Love & Sex Gerard Boussard
    2001 Lady in the Box Chris Stark
    2002 Topa Topa Bluffs Frank
    Swatters Daniel Steinberg
    2004 Species III Dr. Bruce Abbot
    2005 Good Night, and Good Luck Don Surine
    Hostage Will Bechler
    Hoodwinked! Keith Voice
    2007 Hitman Yuri Marklov
    2008 Turok: Son of Stone Chickak (voice) Direct-to-DVD
    Transporter 3 Johnson
    The Day the Earth Stood Still Colonel
    2010 Burning Daylight Elam "Burning Daylight" Harnish
    2011 Earth's Final Hours John Streich
    2012 My Way Frank Sinatra
    2013 R.I.P.D. Stanley Nawlicki
    Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters Kronos (voice)
    2014 Ride Peter
    The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 Antonius
    2015 The Hoarder Vince
    The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 Antonius
    Cold Deck Turk
    2016 Hard Target 2 Aldrich Direct-to-DVD
    Jack Reacher: Never Go Back General Harkness
    2017 Badsville Mr. Gavin
    2018 Frat Pack Kush
    Edge of Fear Victor Novak
    2019 1st Born Joe
    Defended War
    Voice of the Nation
    S.W.A.T Sam
    The Trapped[28] Victor
    2020 Battle of Defense
    2021 Lena and Snowball Percy
    Redemption Day Mr. K
    The Retaliators Otto
    2022 WarHunt Sgt. Brewer
    The Moderator Agent John Ross
    Mindcage Lt. Owings

    Television

    Year Title Role Notes
    1986 The Paper Chase Howard Episode: "Graduation"
    1986–1993 L.A. Law George 'Georgia' Buckner / David Orcott 3 episodes
    1987 Tour of Duty Racist Soldier Episode: "Burn, Baby, Burn"
    The Twilight Zone Alonzo Episode: "Joy Ride"
    Tour of Duty PV2 Allen Episode: "Burn Baby, Burn"
    Star Trek: The Next Generation Wyatt Miller Episode: "Haven"
    1989 Gideon Oliver Paul Hecht Episode: "Kennonite"
    1990 E.A.R.T.H. Force Dr. Peter Roland 3 episodes
    1990–1991 China Beach Long / Vietnam Vet 2 episodes
    1991 Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fashion Kim Weatherly Television film
    Civil Wars Joey D'Amato Episode: "Have Gun, Will Unravel"
    1992 Tequila and Bonetti Ren Philips Episode: "Runt of the Litter"
    Red Shoe Diaries Nick Willard Episode: "You Have the Right to Remain Silent"
    1993 Zelda Wilson Television film
    Doorways Thane Pilot
    1993–1996 Murder, She Wrote Charles George Drexler / Owen McLaglen / Robbie Dorow 3 episodes
    1994 Pointman Johnny Television film
    Getting Out Carl Television film
    1995 Law & Order Igor Smith Episode: "Rebels"
    New York Undercover David Carson Episode: "Buster and Claudia"
    New York News Ex-Con Episode: "Fun City"
    Pointman Ronnie McCusak Episode: "Here She Comes, Miss Murder"
    1996 Voice from the Grave Milosh Television film
    Central Park West Randy Boyd Episode: "Guess Who's Come to Annoy You?"
    The Big Easy Jack Gentry Episode: "The Gambler"
    Desert Breeze — Pilot
    1997 The Visitor Alex Burton Episode: "Dreams"
    1998 ER Keith Reynolds Episode: "My Brother's Keeper"
    Brimstone Assistant D.A. Stewart Lambert Episode: "Executioner"
    1999 Strange World Gil Sandifer Episode: "Azrael's Breed"
    Kidnapped in Paradise Renard Television film
    Absence of the Good Glenn Dwyer Television film
    Star Trek: Voyager Gaul Episode: "Dragon's Teeth"
    2000 Harsh Realm Priest Episode: "Camera Obscura"
    Profiler Martin Lewis Episode: "Tsuris"
    Seven Days Major Gene Hastings Episode: "Space Station Down"
    La Femme Nikita Henry Collins Episode: "Toys in the Basement"
    2001 The West Wing Morgan Ross Episode: "Ellie"
    Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot Robert F. Kennedy Television film
    Law & Order: Criminal Intent Dr. Peter Kelmer Episode: "The Good Doctor"
    2001 Thieves Special Agent Shue 10 episodes
    2002 Haunted Henry Episode: "Pilot"
    The Pennsylvania Miners' Story Mark Popernack Television film
    2002–2003 Presidio Med Sean 5 episodes
    2003–2005 Carnivàle Tommy Dolan 13 episodes
    2004 Species III Dr. Bruce Abbot Television film
    CSI: Miami Freddy Coleman Episode: "Addiction"
    2005 Point Pleasant Demon Dance Host Episode: "Last Dance"
    2005–2009; 2017 Prison Break Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell 75 episodes
    2009 Prison Break: The Final Break Television film
    2009–2010 Heroes Samuel Sullivan 19 episodes
    2010 Stargate Universe Simeon 6 episodes
    Chase Jack Druggan Episode: "The Comeback Kid"
    Criminal Minds Rhett Walden Episode: "Reflection of Desire"
    2011 Shameless Rod 2 episodes
    Breakout Kings Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell Episode: "The Bag Man"
    2012 Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden Lieutenant Commander Television film
    2013 Cult Roger Reeves /Billy Grimm 13 episodes
    The Blacklist The Courier Episode: "The Courier"
    Mob City Sid Rothman 6 episodes
    2014–2015 Hawaii Five-0 Internal Affairs Officer Coughlin 2 episodes
    2014 Arrow William Tockman / Clock King Episode: "Time of Death"
    The Flash Episode: "Power Outage"
    2015 Chicago Fire Adrian Gish / Trenton LamontEpisode: "3 Bells"
    Chicago PD Episode: "A Little Devil Complex"
    Texas Rising Empresario Buckley 3 episodes
    Public Morals Captain Johanson 4 episodes
    NCIS Benson Long Episode: "Personal Day"
    American Horror Story: Hotel Lieutenant Episode: "Room Service"
    2015–2018 iZombie Angus McDonough 17 episodes
    2016 From Dusk till Dawn: The Series Ranger Gary Willet 2 episodes
    2016–2018 Homeland[29] General Jamie McClendon 5 episodes
    2017 Twin Peaks Rodney Mitchum 6 episodes
    The Orville Hamelac Episode: "If the Stars Should Appear"
    Spirit Riding Free Harlan Grayson Voice
    2 episodes
    Dating Game Killer Detective Jim Hamell Television film
    2021 Nova Vita Mr. Chinzano 9 episodes
    Paper Empire Konstantin 6 episodes
    2022 The Pact Jay Episode: "Death is the Only Release"

    Video games

    Year Title Role Notes
    2010 Prison Break: The Conspiracy Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell

    Music videos

    Year Title Artist
    2023 "Honky Tonkin' About" The Reklaws
    (featuring Drake Milligan)

    Theatre

    • A Little Night Music – Northwestern University (1977)
    • The Ruling Class – Northwestern University (1979)
    • The Merchant of Venice – Northwestern University (1979–1980)
    • Ties – Chicago (1981)
    • Class Enemy – Evanston, Illinois (1981)
    • Lakeboat – Chicago (1982)
    • The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby – Chicago (1982)
    • Dark of the Moon – Sarasota (1983)
    • Life Signals – Sarasota (1983)
    • Sherlock Holmes – Sarasota (1983)
    • The Philanthropist – New York (1983)
    • Savage Amusement – New York (1984)
    • Romance – New York (1984)
    • The Person I Once Was – Louisville, Kentucky (1984)
    • The Very Last Lover of the River Cane – Louisville, Kentucky (1985)
    • Available Light – Louisville, Kentucky (1985)
    • Groves of Academe – Cluj, Romania (1985)
    • A Midsummer Night's Dream – New York (1987)
    • Romeo and Juliet – New York (1988)
    • The Legend of Oedipus – Williamstown, Massachusetts (1988)
    • Les Liaisons Dangereuses – Williamstown, Massachusetts (1988)
    • Nebraska – La Jolla (1989)
    • Ice Cream With Hot Fudge – New York (1990)
    • Bobby, Can You Hear Me? – Waterford, Connecticut (1990)
    • Buster Comes Through – Waterford, Connecticut (1990)
    • Lake No Bottom – New York (1990)
    • Dinosaur Dreams – Waterford, Connecticut (1991)
    • Home Grown – Waterford, Connecticut (1991)
    • Orestes – Los Angeles (1992)
    • Salomé – New York (1992)
    • Pal Joey – Boston (1992)
    • Sweet Bird of Youth – London (1994)
    • Pride's Crossing – San Diego (1997)
    • The Summer Moon – Seattle (1998)

    References

    1. ↑ "Robert Knepper". NNDB.
    2. 1 2 Bona, Marc (March 8, 2013). "Robert Knepper: Your 2 p.m. Buckeye Bits A&E Trivia". Cleveland.com (Advance Digital). Archived from the original on March 9, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
    3. ↑ Baird, Kirk (December 3, 2008). "Maumee's Knepper thankful for big 'Break'". toledoBlade.com. Toledo, Ohio: The Blade / The Toledo Times. Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
    4. 1 2 Weber, Ann (November 22, 2002). "Maumee native helps bring ordeal of trapped Pennsylvania miners to TV". toledoBlade.com. Toledo, Ohio: The Blade / The Toledo Times. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2006.
    5. ↑ Stanley, Alessandra (August 29, 2005). "Jailhouse Heroes Are Hard to Find". The New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2009.
    6. ↑ November 27, 2006: The Killing Box". TV Guide. November 28, 2006; retrieved on March 2, 2007.
    7. ↑ "Ray Park & Robert Knepper Talk "Heroes"". CBR. September 17, 2009.
    8. ↑ "Exciting Upcoming Event!". Eventbrite. August 9, 2010. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
    9. ↑ "Robert Knepper Cast in the CW's Cult Pilot". February 23, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
    10. ↑ "Robert Knepper Talks CULT, Playing a Cult Leader, Frank Darabont's LOST ANGELS, and R.I.P.D." Collider.com. March 15, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
    11. ↑ "'Arrow' Villain Robert Knepper Had No Time to Shoot His Role as Clock King". MTV. February 26, 2014. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
    12. ↑ "'iZombie' casts Robert Knepper as Blaine's father". EntertainmentWeekly.com. August 5, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
    13. ↑ "iZombie: Robert Knepper made a series regular for season 4". Entertainment Weekly. July 21, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
    14. ↑ "iZombie @ Comic-Con: Robert Knepper Promoted to Series Regular in Season 4". TVLine. July 21, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
    15. ↑ "Benjamin Knepper". MyHeritage. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
    16. ↑ "See the Stars of Prison Break, Then & Now". E! Online. August 27, 2020. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
    17. ↑ "'Prison Break' Star Accused of Sexual Assault by Veteran Costume Designer". The Hollywood Reporter. November 8, 2017. Archived from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
    18. ↑ "'Prison Break' Star Robert Knepper Accused Of Sexual Assault On Set Of 1992 Film". Huffington Post. November 8, 2017. Archived from the original on November 22, 2017. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
    19. ↑ "Robert Knepper on Instagram". Instagram. November 9, 2017.
    20. 1 2 Johnson, Scott (December 5, 2017). "Four More Women Accuse Actor Robert Knepper of Sexual Misconduct". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
    21. ↑ Chmielewski, Dawn C. (February 28, 2018). "'Prison Break' Star Robert Knepper Sued For Defamation". Deadline. Archived from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
    22. ↑ Maddaus, Gene (February 28, 2018). "Robert Knepper's Sexual Assault Accuser Files Defamation Suit". Variety. Archived from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
    23. ↑ "Women Settles Defamation Suit Against Former 'Prison Break' Actor". MyNewsLA. June 1, 2021. Archived from the original on May 13, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
    24. ↑ Harris, Hunter (December 5, 2017). "Four More Women Have Accused Prison Break Actor Robert Knepper of Sexual Assault". Vulture. Archived from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
    25. ↑ Rice, Lynette (December 13, 2017). "'No evidence of wrongdoing' by Robert Knepper on iZombie set, studio says". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
    26. 1 2 Topel, Fred (January 12, 2018). "Robert Knepper Will Not Return for 'iZombie' Season 5". SlashFilm. Archived from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
    27. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (January 7, 2018). "CW President On Andrew Kreisberg & Robert Knepper Allegations: "Sexual Harassment And Misconduct Should Not Be Tolerated"". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
    28. ↑ "禁锢之地 The Trapped". maoyan.com (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved February 6, 2021.
    29. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (August 16, 2016). "'Homeland': Robert Knepper Set To Recur". Deadline.com. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
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