Nicholas Alan Searcy (born March 7, 1959) is an American character actor best known for portraying Chief Deputy United States Marshal Art Mullen on FX's Justified. He also had a major role in the Tom Hanks–produced miniseries From the Earth to the Moon as Deke Slayton, and directed Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer, a film released on October 12, 2018.Riley, Jason L., "'Gosnell,' Like Its Namesake, Faces a Media Blackout", The Wall Street Journal, October 16, 2018; Heldt, Brianna, "Media Ignores Big Opening and Critical Acclaim for 'Gosnell' Movie", Townhall, October 16, 2018
Early life Nicholas Alan Searcy was born in Cullowhee, North Carolina. He is a graduate of Cullowhee High School. He then briefly attended the North Carolina School of the Arts and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in English in the summer of 1982.
Career From 1982 to 1989, Searcy lived in New York where he did Off-Broadway plays. Some of these included Guys and Dolls, Cabaret and Jesus Christ Superstar. When he moved back to North Carolina, he began to act in features that were shooting locally. Small parts in Days of Thunder (1990), and The Prince of Tides (1991) led to the role of the malicious husband Frank in Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) and the helpful deputy sheriff in Nell (1994).
Searcy has appeared in several television series. He had a recurring role as Brett on Thunder Alley, was a series regular on American Gothic and guest starred on Murder One and Nash Bridges with Don Johnson. He was a regular character on the UPN series Seven Days from 1998 to 2001, and played Barry Martin on the ABC series Rodney, which starred Rodney Carrington, from 2004 to 2006. He has also starred in several TV movies, including In the Best of Families: Marriage, Pride & Madness (1994), Stolen Innocence (1995). In 2014 he appeared in the CBS drama Intelligence.
In the summer of 1996, Searcy produced, directed and acted in his independent feature, Paradise Falls (1997), written by Sean Bridgers, and they won the Southeastern Media Award at the Atlanta Film Festival, the Hollywood Discovery Award at the Hollywood Film Festival for Best Feature Film (Under $1 Million) and Best Dramatic Feature at the Charleston, S.C., 1997 WorldFest. Since then, he has appeared in films such as Cast Away (2000), One Hour Photo (2002), Runaway Jury (2003), The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2005), The Ugly Truth (2009), Greater (2016), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) and The Shape of Water (2017).
In 2011, Searcy appeared in the Herman Cain campaign ad "Yellow Flowers" on YouTube.
In 2015, Searcy was named the director of the movie Gosnell: America's Biggest Serial Killer, a true crime drama based on convicted infant murderer and abortionist Kermit Gosnell.
On December 27, 2017, Searcy was guest host of The Rush Limbaugh Show.
Personal life Searcy resides in Kentucky (as mentioned in a podcast with Mike Rowe on "Exposing The Lies Of January 6th | Nick Searcy #446 | The Way I Heard It..." minute 26 and 42 seconds) with his wife, actress Leslie Riley, and their two children, Chloe and Omar.
Activity on social media Searcy is an outspoken conservative; his political and interpersonal behavior on social media, such as Twitter, has been highlighted in several news outlets. Searcy has stated, "I know people have feelings. That's why I try to hurt them."
In 2013, Searcy mocked Sean Penn's political views upon the death of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, for whom Penn had expressed admiration. Later that year, he responded to professional wrestler Kevin Nash's remarks on the Affordable Healthcare Act by calling him an "ass-kissing statist". In 2014, Searcy responded to several individuals in a discussion of same-sex marriage and incest, during which he mocked individuals and journalists on the basis of their weight, after they had called him and other Republicans "racist." Searcy also routinely ridiculed people because of their weight in 2015, again in response to their charges that those who opposed Democratic policies were "racist". Searcy was also noted for his criticism of Donald Trump in 2016, and reported that friends were angry at him for jokes he made about the presidential candidate at the time. Searcy reported, "I have trouble finding this election anything other than ridiculous." In 2017, he expressed uncertainty over whether he has lost work due to his political views. Searcy attended the January 6 United States Capitol attack but was not charged nor arrested. He has attempted to change the media narrative that it was an insurrection.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Director Notes 1990 Days of Thunder Highway Patrol Officer Tony Scott 1991 The Prince of Tides Man at Party Barbra Streisand Fried Green Tomatoes Frank Bennett Jon Avnet 1992 Love Field FBI Man Jonathan Kaplan 1993 The Real McCoy Roy Sweeney Russell Mulcahy House of Cards Construction Driver Michael Lessac The Fugitive Sheriff Rawlins Andrew Davis 1994 Nell Sheriff Todd Peterson Michael Apted 1997 Carolina Low Jake Kyler Nick Searcy Writer, director, producer, actor 2000 Tigerland Captain Saunders Joel Schumacher Cast Away Stan Robert Zemeckis 2002 One Hour Photo Repairman Mark Romanek 2003 Head of State Brian Lewis Chris Rock Runaway Jury Doyle Gary Fleder 2004 The Assassination of Richard Nixon Tom Ford Niels Mueller 2006 Cold Storage Clive Tony Elwood Flicka Norbert Rye Michael Mayer The Dead Girl Carl Karen Moncrieff 2007 An American Crime Lester Likens Tommy O'Haver Timber Falls Clyde Forester Tony Giglio The Comebacks Mr. Truman Tom Brady 2008 Eagle Eye David Johnson D. J. Caruso Uncredited 2009 The Ugly Truth Stuart Robert Luketic 2010 Blood Done Sign My Name Robert Teel Jeb Stuart The Last Song Tom Blakelee Julie Anne Robinson 2011 Moneyball Matt Keough Bennett Miller 2012 Gone Mr. Miller Heitor Dhalia 2016 The Sweet Life County Sheriff Rob Spera Greater The Farmer David Hunt 2017 The Shape of Water General Frank Hoyt Guillermo del Toro Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Father Montgomery Martin McDonagh Uncredited 2018 Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer Mike Cohan Nick Searcy Director, actor 2019 The Best of Enemies Garland Keith Robin Bissell 2021 The Man from Nowhere Herb Matt Green Hotel Coppelia Thompson Jose Maria Cabral Dominican Republic film Capitol Punishment Himself Christopher Burgard Narrator and interviewer 2022 Terror on the Prairie The Captain Michael Polish 2023 The Old Way Marshal Jarret Brett Donowho Muzzle Captain Freeman John Stalberg Jr. Police State Head of FBI Field Office Dinesh D'Souza 2024 Reagan James Baker Sean McNamara 2027 Potsy Ponciroli Post-production
Television Year Title Role Notes1992L.A. LawMr. Kreck1 episodeI'll Fly AwayFBI Agent Holt1993In the Heat of the NightStanReturn to Lonesome DoveRaab2 episodes1994Thunder AlleyBrett8 episodes1995–1996American GothicDeputy Ben Healy18 episodes1995Double RushE.R. Doctor1 episode1996Nash BridgesVincent Mulroy1997Chicago HopeEliEarly EditionRobert Dankowski1998From the Earth to the MoonDeke SlaytonMiniseries; 10 episodes1998–2001Seven DaysNathan RamseyMain cast; 66 episodes1999CI5: The New ProfessionalsMatthew 7:121 episode2002Double TeamedLarry BurgeTelevision movie2003CSI: MiamiJack Seeger1 episodeLuckyJackson LinkletterThe GuardianPaul NystromThe West WingNate Singer2004–2006RodneyBarryMain cast; 44 episodes2005–2006CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationSheriff Burdick2 episodes2007Army WivesMr. Craddock1 episodeNCISJoseph BarnesCriminal MindsDet. Jordan2008Boston LegalHarry Beckham2008–2009Easy MoneyRoy BuffkinMain cast; 8 episodes2009Without a TraceWayne Vogel 1 episodeLie to MeMr. DonnellyEpisode: "Black Friday"2010The MentalistSheriff Andy Burnside1 episode2010–2015JustifiedArt MullenMain cast; 78 episodes2013ArcherBorder Patrol (voice)1 episodeNTSF:SD:SUV::GaryMomNathanEpisode: "Estrogen and a Hearty Breakfast"2013–2015Hot in ClevelandWarden Burkhalter/Chief Barker2 episodes2014IntelligenceGeneral Greg Carter1 episodePetals on the WindDr. ReevesTelevision movieHawaii Five-0Ned Burrows1 episode2015Key & PeeleCop201611.22.63Deke SimmonsMiniseries; 5 episodes2018Chicago MedJerome FerrisEpisode: "Devil in DisguiseLethal WeaponRayEpisode: "Need to Know"The RanchFrank2 episodes20199-1-1Father JamesonEpisode: "Bobby Begins Again"The Hot ZoneFrank Mays2024The Perfect Couple Deputy Carl2026Reacher Monty DeRosa3 episodes ||==References==
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