Adam Baldwin (born February 27, 1962) is an American actor. He made his film debut in My Bodyguard (1980) and later appeared in films including Full Metal Jacket (1987), Predator 2 (1990), Independence Day (1996), The Patriot (2000), and Serenity (2005). On television, he is known for playing Jayne Cobb in Firefly, John Casey in Chuck, and Mike Slattery in The Last Ship. He has also worked as a voice actor, including as Superman in Superman: Doomsday (2007) and Dutch in Halo 3: ODST (2009).
Early life Baldwin was born on February 27, 1962, in Winnetka, Illinois, and studied at New Trier Township High School in east Winnetka. Raised in the Chicago area, Baldwin played hockey as a youth.
Career Baldwin began acting professionally as a teenager, landing the role of Ricky Linderman in the Chicago-set film My Bodyguard (1980). That same year he appeared in Robert Redford's Academy Award-winning drama Ordinary People as Kevin Stillman. In the early 1980s he continued with supporting roles in films including D.C. Cab (1983) and Reckless (1984).
By the late 1980s he had moved into higher-profile studio productions, including Stanley Kubrick's Vietnam War film Full Metal Jacket (1987), in which he played the Marine nicknamed "Animal Mother," and the crime thriller Next of Kin (1989). In the 1990s he appeared in a run of mainstream features including Predator 2 (1990), the western biopic Wyatt Earp (1994) portraying Tom McLaury, and the science-fiction blockbuster Independence Day (1996). He later played Captain Wilkins in Roland Emmerich's Revolutionary War film The Patriot (2000).
On television, Baldwin became a regular cast member of Joss Whedon's science-fiction series Firefly (2002–2003) as the mercenary Jayne Cobb, and reprised the role in the continuation film Serenity (2005). From 2007 to 2012 he played the National Security Agency agent John Casey on NBC's action-comedy series Chuck. His other television work includes a regular role on ABC's Day Break (2006–2007) and a lead role on the 1996–1997 drama series The Cape as Col. Jack Riles. He made a brief on-screen return to the schoolyard premise of My Bodyguard with a cameo in the comedy Drillbit Taylor (2008), noted as an explicit nod to his earlier film.
In 2012 and 2015 he guest-starred on Castle as Detective Ethan Slaughter, reuniting on screen with Firefly co-star Nathan Fillion. He later joined the TNT action drama The Last Ship (2014–2018) as Mike Slattery, the destroyer's second-in-command. In film, he later appeared in the western The Kid (2019) as Bob Olinger, and the sports drama American Underdog (2021) as Terry Allen.
Baldwin has also worked as a voice actor, including voicing Superman in the animated film Superman: Doomsday (2007), and portraying Dutch in the video game Halo 3: ODST (2009). He provided additional voices for citizens and other miscellaneous characters in Half-Life 2: Episode Two (2007). Along with his Chuck co-star Yvonne Strahovski, he contributed voice work to Mass Effect 2 (2010), voicing the quarian marine Kal'Reegar.
Personal life Baldwin is married to Ami Julius and has three children. In 2009, he participated in Ride 2 Recovery's "Don't Mess with Texas Challenge", a fundraising ride supporting rehabilitation programs for wounded service members and veterans.
GamerGate In 2014, Baldwin became associated with GamerGate after using the hashtag "#GamerGate" during the controversy. Sources differed on how to characterize his role in the hashtag's origin: Time wrote that Baldwin "coined" the term, The Washington Post reported that its origin was disputed and that Baldwin claimed credit for it, and The New Yorker described it as having been popularized by him. The New Yorker also reported that Baldwin linked to a video making an allegation about game developer Zoë Quinn that the magazine said had since been "proved false". In a 2014 interview with Vulture, Baldwin described GamerGate as focused on ethics in games journalism and argued that threats of violence should not be treated as inherent to the hashtag, calling it "a mistake to commingle the two". WIRED later described Baldwin as lending "high profile support" to the controversy, while the Columbia Journalism Review wrote that, in the absence of clear spokespeople for GamerGate, journalists sometimes interviewed "proxies like actor Adam Baldwin".
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes1980My BodyguardRicky LindermanOrdinary PeopleKevin Stillman1983D.C. CabAlbert Hockenberry1984RecklessRandy Daniels19863:15Jeff HannahBad GuysSkip Jackson1987Full Metal JacketSergeant "Animal Mother"Hadley's RebellionBobo McKenzie1988Cohen and TateTateJohn Carter1989Next of KinJoey Rosselini1990Predator 2Agent Adam Garber1991Guilty by SuspicionFBI Agent #11992Where the Day Takes YouOfficer BlackRadio FlyerJack "The King" McKenzie1993Eight Hundred Leagues Down the AmazonKojaTreacherousTommy WrightBitter HarvestBobby1994Cold SweatMitchWyatt EarpTom McLaury1995Digital ManCaptain WestHow to Make an American QuiltMr. Dodd1996Independence DayMajor MitchellLover's KnotJohn Reed1997Starquest IILee1998GargantuaMarine Biologist2000Captain James WilkinsCaptain Wagner2001Pursuit of HappinessChad HarmonAbove & BeyondPeter ClerkinJackpotMel JamesFarewell, My LoveJimmyDouble BangVinnie KrailesChris Myers / Keyman2002HypersonicChristopher Bannon2003Control FactorLance BishopBetrayalDetective Mark WinstonGacyJohn Gacy Sr.2004Dr. ViadesEvil EyesJeff Stenn2005Molly & Roni's Dance PartyPrincipalSerenityJayne Cobb2006Lenny2007Superman: DoomsdaySuperman (voice)Direct-to-video A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.2008Gospel HillCarl HerrodDrillbit TaylorDisgruntled Bodyguard2009Little Fish, Strange PondTommy2010Browncoats: RedemptionPhone OperatorUncredited2011InSightDr. Graham Barrett2012War of the Worlds: GoliathWilson (voice)2015Vault of the Macabre IINarrator (voice)Short film2017Vault of the Macabre: The House Upon the Hill2019The KidBob OlingerThe Legend of 5 Mile CaveSam Barnes 2021 American Underdog Terry Allen
Television
Year Title Role Notes 1984Pigs vs. FreaksMickey SouthTelevision film 1985Special TreatOtto FrommerEpisode: "Out of Time" Poison IvyIke DimickTelevision film 1986Welcome Home, BobbyCleary Biggs 1992Cruel DoubtDet. John Taylor DeadboltAlec Danz 1993The Last ShotMark Tullis Jr.TV short 1994Blind JusticeSgt. HastingsTelevision film 1995Fallen AngelsRalphEpisode: "Good Housekeeping" VR.5Scott CooperEpisode: "Pilot" Trade-OffThomas HughesTelevision film SawbonesBurt Miller Shadow-OpsDalt 1996Smoke JumpersDon Mackey 1996–1997The CapeCol. Jack RilesMain role; 18 episodes 1997The VisitorMichael O'Ryan4 episodes 1997–1999FirehawksMorgan Dalton (voice)26 episodes1998From the Earth to the MoonFred HaiseEpisode: "For Miles and Miles" GargantuaJack EllwayTelevision film IndiscreetJeremy Butler The Outer LimitsMajor James BowenEpisode: "Phobos Rising" 2000RecessB.O.E. Agent (voice)Episode: "All the Principal's Men"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeDr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward HydeTelevision film 2000–2001Static ShockYork (voice)2 episodes Men in Black: The SeriesAgent X (voice)7 episodes2000–2005Jackie Chan AdventuresFinn (voice)Main role; 48 episodes 2001The Zeta ProjectSven (voice)Episode: "Crime Waves"2001–2002The X-FilesKnowle Rohrer5 episodes 2002–2003FireflyJayne CobbMain role; 14 episodes2003Control FactorLance BishopTelevision filmCSI: MiamiDe SotoEpisode: "Dead Woman Walking" Monster MakersJay ForrestTelevision film 2004JAGCmdr. Michael RainerEpisode: "Good Intentions" Stargate SG-1Col. Dave DixonEpisodes: "Heroes" NCISCmdr. Michael RainerEpisode: "The Weak Link" AngelMarcus Hamilton5 episodes 2005Justice League UnlimitedJonah Hex, Rick Flag, Bonk (voice)3 episodesThe InsideSpecial Agent Danny LoveMain role; 13 episodes The Poseidon Adventure Sea Marshal Mike RogoTelevision film 2006BonesSpecial Agent Jamie KentonEpisode: "Two Bodies in the Lab"Invader ZimAnnouncer, Customer, Control Brain (voice)Episode: "The Frycook What Came from All That Space"2006–2008Day BreakChad SheltonMain role; 13 episodes 2007Sands of OblivionJesse CarterTelevision film 2007–2012ChuckJohn CaseyMain role; 91 episodes 2008CSI: NYDHS Agent Brett DunbarEpisode: "Hostage" Chuck Versus the WebisodesJohn Casey5 episodes 2011Love BitesHotel DickEpisode: "Modern Plagues" 2011–2012Transformers: PrimeBreakdown (voice)10 episodes 2012 Young JusticeParasite (voice)Episode: "Performance" LeverageColonel Michael Vance2 episodes Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Captain Steven Harris 3 episodes 2012–2015 CastleDetective Ethan Slaughter2 episodes2013 Beware the BatmanRex Mason / Metamorpho (voice) 3 episodes 2014–2018 The Last Ship Commander / Captain Mike Slattery Main role; 56 episodes 2019–present GunnyTime Himself / Host 2023–2024 9-1-1: Lone Star Detective Brian McGregor 2 episodes 2024S.W.A.T. Calvin WebbEpisode: "Family Man" TBAFirefly: The Animated Series Jayne Cobb (voice) Main role
Video games
Year Title Role Notes 2003 Kill.switch Archer 2007 Halo 3 Marines Half-Life 2: Episode Two Citizens 2009 Halo 3: ODST Dutch 2010 Mass Effect 2 Kal'Reegar 2011 DC Universe Online Superman 2013 Injustice: Gods Among Us Hal Jordan 2015 Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. Henry Fleming Infinite Crisis Hal Jordan / Green Lantern Firefly Online Jayne Cobb
References
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