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Jon Gries
Gries at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	Jonathan Gries (1957-06-17) June 17, 1957 (age 67) Glendale, California, U.S.
Other names	Jon Francis
Occupations	Actor writer director music video director
Years active	1968–present

Jonathan Gries (/ɡraɪz/ GRYZ; born June 17, 1957) is an American actor, writer, and director. He is best known for the role of Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male, and recurring character Roger Linus on Lost. He is also known for his roles in Martin, The Pretender, The Monster Squad, Running Scared, Real Genius, Dream Corp LLC, Get Shorty, and The White Lotus.

Life and career

Gries was born in Glendale, California, the son of writer, director, and producer Tom Gries. His first film role came at the age of 11, when he played the Boy Horace in the Charlton Heston film Will Penny, which was written and directed by his father. Some of his signature roles have come in cult classics. He played Lazlo Hollyfeld in Real Genius (1985), Azzolini in Rainbow Drive, Shawn McDermott in the TV series Martin (1992–1994), Ronnie Wingate in Get Shorty (1995), Harvey in The Rundown, and Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite (2004). Gries has played a werewolf on several occasions, such as Fright Night Part 2 and The Monster Squad.

In the historical Western film September Dawn, he played executed murderer John D. Lee, in a performance praised by critics who otherwise panned the film. He played Casey in the films Taken (2008), Taken 2 (2012), and Taken 3 (2014), and was in TerrorVision, as O.D. He lent his voice for the video game Hitman: Absolution.

Among his television roles are that of a terrorist in season two of the hit show 24 and as Broots on the NBC series The Pretender. He had a guest role on The X-Files in the episode "Sleepless". He played Dylan McKay's drug dealer in season 5 of Beverly Hills, 90210. He played Ben Linus's father Roger in a recurring role on the TV series Lost. He played Shawn on the Fox sitcom Martin during the first two seasons. He appeared twice in the TV series Quantum Leap—first, as a bookie in the episode "The Right Hand of God" and then as a band member in the episode "Glitter Rock". He appeared as Rusty the Bum in two episodes of Seinfeld.

In 2007, he played the menacing dad to Samaire Armstrong in Around June. In 2008, he appeared in the CSI: NY episode "The Box" as the father of that episode's victim. In 2010, he wrapped production on A True Story. Based on Things That Never Actually Happened. ...and Some that Did and appeared in one episode of Nikita. He played Martin in the TV show Supernatural in the episodes "Sam, Interrupted" (2010), "Hello, Cruel World" (2011) and "Citizen Fang" (2012). He played Bob, a former drug addict who operates a safe haven for abused Mexican women, in The Bridge. He played Strabinsky in the TV Show Psych in the episode "One, Maybe Two, Ways Out" (2010).

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

As director

• Flies on Fire - "Long Gone Dead" (1989)
• Low Profile - "Pay Ya Dues" (1989)
• Low Profile - "That's Y They Do It (1989)
• Low Profile - "Funky Song" (1990)
• Mere Mortals - "Cracked" (2006)

As actor

• Alice in Chains - "Rooster" (1993)
• Lenny Kravitz - "Mr. Cab Driver" (1990)

References

1. Gries, Jon (May 19, 2021). "Napoleon Dynamite's Uncle Rico Actor Jon Gries Full Interview". Legends & Masters Show (Interview). Interviewed by Tom Wheeler. Event occurs at 0:34. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
2. "Today's Birthdays". The Wausau Daily Herald. The Associated Press. June 17, 2004. p. 2B. Actor Jon Gries is 47.
3. "Jon Gries". Allmovie. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
4. Gries, Jon (September 6, 2018). "My father #Tomgries with #Jimbrown #BurtReynolds on the set of 100 Rifles Burt was a lovely, funny guy. Greatest laugh &sense of humor. RIP" (Tweet). Retrieved November 30, 2022 – via Twitter.
5. Means, Sean P. (August 23, 2007). "'September Dawn' a campy screen disaster". The Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on October 5, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2017. The movie's one emotionally honest performance is handed in by Jon Gries (Uncle Rico from "Napoleon Dynamite"), who brings some weight and a sense of guilt to his portrayal of John D. Lee.
6. The Hollywood Reporter Archived September 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
7. Fry, Ted. "Movies | Mormon massacre story "September Dawn" mixes fact, fiction | Seattle Times Newspaper". Seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
8. Jon Gries at IMDb
9. Jon Gries at IMDb
10. "Dream Corp LLC Season 2 Cast & Character Guide". screenrant.com. October 22, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
11. Stockman, Tom (December 11, 2013). "WAMG Interview: Actor/Director Jon Gries on ANOTHER MAN'S GUN". wearemoviegeeks.com. Lanier Media. Retrieved May 30, 2016.

External links

• Jon Gries at IMDb

• 1957 births
• Living people
• 20th-century American male actors
• 21st-century American male actors
• American male television actors
• American male film actors
• Film directors from California
• Film producers from California
• Male actors from Glendale, California