I first saw Jon Gries in Tour of Duty as a guest star. He played the role of a USAF Major who had been shot down and held as a PoW for 3 years. He was very convincing as he portrayed a man who was haunted by his memories of the camp.
When I later saw him playing Broots in the Pretender it didn't click straight away that he was the same guy. I mean the two characters were different. His body language, tone of voice, mannerisms were all completely different. Most actors carry similar mannerisms from character to character, they can't help it they don't even know they have these mannerisms.
In fact it was only when I watched the episode of Tour of Duty again, not long after watching the Pretender that I realised they were the same person. Give this guy more roles!moreless
Jon Gries
Born
6/17/1957, Glendale, California, United StatesBirth Name
Jonathan Francis GriesGender
MaleAlso Known As
Jon Francis, Jonathan Gries, Johnathan Gries, Jonathon GriesBiography
EDIT
Born Jonathan Francis Gries in California to writer/director Tom Gries, Jon was exposed to the entertainment industry at an early age. He started his acting career at the tender age of 11 with a part in Will Penny and went on to gain roles in a wide variety…more
Credits
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Star (42)
Role-
Taken 2
Star2012
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Napoleon Dynamite
Uncle Rico
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S 1:
Ep 6
FFA
3/4/12
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S 1:
Ep 5
Bed Races
2/19/12
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S 1:
Ep 4
Pedro vs. Deb
2/12/12
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S 1:
Ep 3
Ligertown
1/29/12
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S 1:
Ep 1
Thundercone
1/15/12
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S 1:
Ep 6
FFA
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Around June
Star2012
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Redemption: For Robbing the Dead
Star2012
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Five Time Champion
Star2012
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Deep in the Heart
Star2012
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Unicorn City
Star2011
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Noobz
Star
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Crazy On the Outside
Star2010
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Taken
Casey2009
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Taken (Extended Cut)
Star2009
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Good Intentions
Star2009
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Elsewhere
Star2008
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Bar Starz
Star2008
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The Sasquatch Gang
Chilcutt2007
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September Dawn
John D. Lee2007
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American Pastime
Star2007
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Astronaut Farmer
Star2007
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Frank
Star2006
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Stick It!
Brice Graham2006
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Natural Selection
Star2006
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Waterborne
Star2005
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Napoleon Dynamite
Uncle Rico2004
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Confessions of an Action Hero
Star2004
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The Rundown
Harvey2003
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The Snow Walker
Star2003
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Northfork
Star2003
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The Big Empty
Star2003
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The Pretender
Broots
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S 4:
Ep 22
The Pretender: Island of the Haunted
12/10/01
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S 4:
Ep 21
The Pretender 2001
1/22/01
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S 4:
Ep 20
The Inner Sense (2)
5/13/00
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S 4:
Ep 19
The Inner Sense (1)
5/13/00
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S 4:
Ep 18
Corn Man A Coming
5/6/00
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S 4:
Ep 22
The Pretender: Island of the Haunted
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Men in Black
Van Driver1997
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Martin
Shawn (1992-1994)
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S 5:
Ep 23
California, Here We Come (1)
5/1/97
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S 5:
Ep 22
One Flew over the Hoochie's Nest
4/24/97
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S 5:
Ep 18
Auction
3/20/97
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S 5:
Ep 17
I, Martin, Take Thee Pam?
3/6/97
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S 5:
Ep 16
Power to the People's Court
2/20/97
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S 5:
Ep 23
California, Here We Come (1)
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Casualties
Star1997
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Get Shorty
Ronnie Wingate1995
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Number One With a Bullet
Star1987
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TerrorVision
O.D.1986
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Real Genius
Lazlo Hollyfield1985
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Jackpot
Star
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Fright Night Part 2
Star
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A True Story. Based on Things That Never Actually Happened. ...And Some That Did
Star
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Ed And His Dead Mother
Star
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The Pretender
Broots (Season 4, re-occuring previously)
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Will Penny
Star1968
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Taken 2
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Recurring Role (2)
Role-
Lost
Roger Linus
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S 6:
Ep 7
Dr. Linus
3/9/10
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S 5:
Ep 17
The Incident (2)
5/13/09
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S 5:
Ep 16
The Incident (1)
5/13/09
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S 5:
Ep 13
Some Like It Hoth
4/15/09
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S 5:
Ep 11
Whatever Happened, Happened
4/1/09
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S 6:
Ep 7
Dr. Linus
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The Pretender
Broots
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S 3:
Ep 22
Donoterase (2)
5/22/99
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Ep 21
Donoterase (1)
5/22/99
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S 3:
Ep 20
Qallupilluit
5/22/99
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S 3:
Ep 19
End Game
5/8/99
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S 3:
Ep 18
Wake Up
5/1/99
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S 3:
Ep 22
Donoterase (2)
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Lost
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Guest Star (32)
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Supernatural
Martin Creaser
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S 8:
Ep 9
Citizen Fang
12/5/12
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S 5:
Ep 11
Sam, Interrupted
1/21/10
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S 8:
Ep 9
Citizen Fang
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Hawaii Five-0
Liam Miller
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S 2:
Ep 8
Lapa'au
11/7/11
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Ep 8
Lapa'au
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Nikita
Designation Engineer
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S 1:
Ep 10
Dark Matter
12/2/10
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Ep 10
Dark Matter
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Psych
Strabinsky
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S 5:
Ep 9
One, Maybe Two, Ways Out
9/8/10
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S 5:
Ep 9
One, Maybe Two, Ways Out
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Cold Case
Bill Shepard (1978)
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S 7:
Ep 19
Bullet (2)
4/4/10
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S 7:
Ep 18
The Last Drive-In (1)
3/28/10
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S 7:
Ep 19
Bullet (2)
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CSI: NY
Jim Warren
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S 5:
Ep 9
The Box
11/26/08
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S 5:
Ep 9
The Box
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Carnivale
Texas Ranger
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S 2:
Ep 1
Los Moscos
1/9/05
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S 2:
Ep 1
Los Moscos
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Las Vegas
Greg Walker
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S 1:
Ep 19
Sons and Lovers
3/22/04
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S 1:
Ep 19
Sons and Lovers
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Carnivale
Guest Star
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24
Joseph Wald
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S 2:
Ep 4
Day 2: 11:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
11/19/02
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S 2:
Ep 4
Day 2: 11:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
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ER
Marty Nesmith
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S 7:
Ep 20
Fear of Commitment
5/3/01
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Fear of Commitment
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Seinfeld
Rusty
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S 9:
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The Bookstore
4/9/98
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S 6:
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The Beard
2/9/95
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The Bookstore
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Strange Luck
Henry Bloom
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Last Chance
9/29/95
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Last Chance
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Chicago Hope
Jack Kimball
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Hello Goodbye
9/18/95
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Ep 1
Hello Goodbye
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Beverly Hills 90210
Dope Dealer
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Ep 11
Hate Is Just a Four-Letter Word
11/16/94
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Ep 10
The Dreams of Dylan McKay
11/9/94
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Intervention
11/2/94
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Ep 8
Things That Go Bang in the Night
10/26/94
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S 5:
Ep 11
Hate Is Just a Four-Letter Word
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The X-Files
Salvatore Matola
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S 2:
Ep 4
Sleepless
10/7/94
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Ep 4
Sleepless
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Bakersfield, P.D.
Ray Coombs
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Ep 12
A Bullet for Stiles
11/30/93
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Ep 12
A Bullet for Stiles
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Quantum Leap
Flash McGrath
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S 3:
Ep 17
Glitter Rock
4/10/91
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Ep 17
Glitter Rock
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Tour of Duty
Maj. Rex Chapman, USAF
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Ep 20
The Raid
4/28/90
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Ep 20
The Raid
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Jake and the Fatman
Lenny Maddox
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S 3:
Ep 18
By Myself
2/28/90
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Ep 18
By Myself
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Falcon Crest
Stone
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S 9:
Ep 15
Finding Lauren
2/16/90
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S 9:
Ep 15
Finding Lauren
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Paradise
Guest Star
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S 2:
Ep 4
Dead Run
10/7/89
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S 2:
Ep 4
Dead Run
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Quantum Leap
Roscoe
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S 1:
Ep 4
The Right Hand of God
4/7/89
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Ep 4
The Right Hand of God
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Tattinger's
Ricky
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S 1:
Ep 2
The Sonny Also Rises
11/2/88
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S 1:
Ep 2
The Sonny Also Rises
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Cagney & Lacey
'Hands' Callahan
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S 7:
Ep 2
The City is Burning
9/28/87
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S 7:
Ep 2
The City is Burning
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The Twilight Zone
Nick
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S 2:
Ep 16
Shelter Skelter
5/21/87
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S 2:
Ep 16
Shelter Skelter
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The Jeffersons
Frank
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S 10:
Ep 4
I Do, I Don't
10/16/83
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S 10:
Ep 4
I Do, I Don't
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The Powers of Matthew Star
Brad
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S 1:
Ep 20
Road Rebels
3/25/83
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Ep 20
Road Rebels
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The White Shadow
Uri Kogenski
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S 2:
Ep 20
The Russians Are Coming
2/26/80
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S 2:
Ep 20
The Russians Are Coming
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240-Robert
Brad
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S 1:
Ep 10
Poison Air
11/5/79
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S 1:
Ep 10
Poison Air
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The White Shadow
Guest Star
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Mulligan's Stew
Adams
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S 1:
Ep 2
Melinda Special
11/1/77
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S 1:
Ep 2
Melinda Special
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Supernatural
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Director (1)
Role-
The Pretender
Director
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S 4:
Ep 16
School Daze
4/22/00
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S 4:
Ep 16
School Daze
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The Pretender
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Producer (1)
Role-
Northfork
Producer2003
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Northfork
Trivia and Quotes
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Trivia
ADD TRIVIA-
Jon Gries once dated Bruce Springsteen's little sister.
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His highest grossing movie has been Men in Black.
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In 2000, Jon was given the opportunity to direct School Daze, a season four episode of The Pretender, a show which he had a starring role on at the time.
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Jon is also a singer/musician and was asked to perform a song for the movie Twin Falls, Idaho.
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Although Jon had been steadily working on television and in movies since 1968, his real big break came when he played the role of Lazlo Hollyfeld in the 1985 movie, Real Genius.
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He moved to New York to study acting.
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He has the unique ability to alternate between meek and menacing at the drop of a hat.
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Jon's first movie appearance was in 1968, credited under the alias Jon Francis, playing the role of Horace in the Western, Will Penny.
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The highest rated show that Jon has worked on is The Pretender.
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He is 5'11".
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Jon was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and three Teen Choice Awards for his role in Napoleon Dynamite.
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Jon has been one of three actors from The Pretender to appear on 24.
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In one of his appearances on Seinfeld, Jon plays a homeless man who refuses to give Kramer's (Michael Richards) Tupperware back. Coincidentally, in Napolean Dynamite, his character is a door to door Tupperware-like product salesman.
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He does not drink milk or eat red meat.
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Quotes
ADD QUOTES-
Jon: (on Napoleon Dynamite): The fun of this kind of experience, which I think, unfortunately, a lot of people in the film industry miss, is really the adventure of making a movie that is being nurtured almost like a child and having to go through a channel where there are not millions of hands kind of massaging it to the screen.
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Jon: (his definition of success): It's not about the money. It's not about the prestige or being recognized. It's about doing work that you really think has integrity.
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Jon Gries: Real Genius knocks the crap out of Weird Science, but that's just my feeling.
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User Score: 44
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mgreen789
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walrus_8463
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infinizee
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