Why Vince From Fire Country Looks So Familiar
A new firefighter drama series is coming to CBS soon — "Fire Country" premieres on October 7, 2022. The series follows Bode Donovan (Max Thieriot), a young convict who has served time for robbing someone at gunpoint, then joins a prison release firefighting program in order to shorten his sentence. He starts off his new normal with optimism, ready to get himself out of prison sooner than expected, but then he finds out the program will be more complicated than he had hoped because he has been assigned to his hometown — which he abruptly left years prior. This means he must face his former friends — and former life — while working alongside the other inmates and firefighters to do his new difficult job.
The trailer was released back in May 2022, giving potential viewers a look into the series — including its cast. While watching the trailer, you may have thought that the character of Vince, a veteran firefighter who loves his job, looks a bit familiar. So what else has the actor, Billy Burke, been in? Here's a breakdown of Burke's most notable roles over the years.
Burke had a stint on 24
The action-drama series "24" follows counter-terrorist agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) as he works to prevent possible terrorist attacks, such as presidential assassination attempts, bombings, cyber warfare, and more within the realm of 24 hours — the series was presented in real-time, so each episode covers one hour and each season consists of 24 episodes. Billy Burke played Gary Matheson, who hires Jack's daughter Kim (Elisha Cuthbert) as an au pair to help take care of his daughter. After Kim begins working for the family, she realizes that Gary is abusive toward his wife and eventually becomes abusive toward Kim, as he physically assaults and harasses her. The situation eventually escalates to Kim killing Gary, with the help of Jack's instructions, in the midst of an intense altercation. Burke appeared on the series from 2002 to 2003 in a total of seven episodes.
In 2012, Burke sat down for an interview with The A.V. Club, during which he discussed his time on "24." He revealed that he didn't know much about the show before landing the role, but that he was ultimately happy with the project and his role in it. "It was dark and dripping with stuff that you love to just get your teeth into as an actor," he said.
Burke starred as Charlie in The Twilight Saga
In what may be Billy Burke's most recognizable role, he starred as Charlie Swan in all five of the movies in "The Twilight Saga," beginning with 2008's "Twilight." If you somehow don't know the premise of one of the biggest franchises of recent years, "Twilight" follows teen Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) as she moves in with her dad, Charlie (Burke), in the small town of Forks, Washington, where she soon discovers that vampires exist — and that she's falling in love with one of them, Edward (Robert Pattinson). The subsequent films — 2009's "New Moon," 2010's "Eclipse," 2011's "Breaking Dawn – Part 1" and 2012's "Breaking Dawn – Part 2" — follow the subsequent aftermath of Bella and Edward getting together and, eventually, Bella becoming a vampire.
Charlie is a vital supporting character in the story. After getting off to a bit of a rough start in their father-daughter relationship, Charlie and Bella become closer over the course of the films, leading Bella heartbroken over having to say goodbye to Charlie; since she won't age, Charlie can't know that she is still "alive." Jacob (Taylor Lautner), Bella's werewolf friend, ends up revealing his own secret to Charlie in order to let the older man in on the knowledge that supernatural entities exist, so that he can make of Bella's new appearance (and lack of aging) what he will.
In the same interview with The A.V. Club, Burke said, "Charlie Swan has been very, very good to me ... I've loved playing basically the only guy in the entire storyline who has no idea what's going on."
Burke starred in post-apocolyptic series Revolution
Created by Eric Kripke, the 2012 drama series "Revolution" takes place in the year 2027, which is 15 years after a worldwide electrical blackout altered life as humans know it. Billy Burke plays tavern owner Miles Matheson, a former U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant, who is one of the founders of the nation-state "Monroe Republic." After establishing the Republic as a way to police American citizens amid the chaotic aftermath of The Blackout, Miles then assumes the role of Commanding General of the Militia. The series ran for two seasons on NBC before ultimately being canceled.
Burke was grateful for the opportunity to participate in "Revolution," in part because he wanted to differentiate his career from "Twilight." This is despite the fact that the film franchise is what brought him into the public eye and gave him opportunities such as "Revolution," a catch-22 that Burke has been open about. Burke told Sci-Fi Bulletin, "I had just come off a great run of gigs with the Twilight movies, which did open some doors for me. They did all right business, but there was a real danger there of being forever connected to that character. So when this role came along it was such a great and different turn." He added that moving on to "Revolution" was fine because he enjoys everything about the role.
Burke starred in Maid
Based on the memoir by Stephanie Land, the 2021 Netflix drama "Maid" follows Alex Russell (Margaret Qualley), a young mother who takes a job as a maid to support her daughter Maddy (Rylea Nevaeh Whittet) after leaving her abusive boyfriend Sean (Nick Robinson). Billy Burke plays Alex's father Hank, whom she has an estranged relationship with. In one frustrating scene, Hank even sides with Sean over Alex, citing that he can relate to Sean's struggle with alcoholism.
In a 2022 interview with HotCorn, Burke described his experience working on "Maid" as a wonderful experience, noting that he loves the cast and that he is proud of how the final product turned out. Discussing the process of getting into the head of his complex character, Burke said, "It took awhile for me to, sort of, understand what I was playing because it wasn't all written out there for me in the beginning so I saw the beginnings of the character and what he may or may not become and I kind of made it up as I went along." He said that he and the writers worked on his character's backstory along the way to fit what best accentuated the story and Hank's relationship with Alex.
Burke shows up in 9-1-1: Lone Star
Since 2020, Billy Burke has had a recurring arc on the Fox procedural drama "9-1-1: Lone Star." The series — created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear as a spinoff to their other show "9-1-1" — follows New York firefighter Owen Strand (Rob Lowe), who moves with his son to Austin, Texas. There, he grapples with his own personal drama while working to save lives as a firefighter. Burke plays Captain Billy Tyson, a former firefighter who is battling a thyroid cancer diagnosis. Owen and Billy have a fraught relationship at times, with Owen first being portrayed as a rival figure. Owen even punches Billy at one point, after Billy delivers news that the firehouse is being shut down. However, Owen has also come to Billy for advice before so there is respect between the two as well.
Burke has appeared in eight episodes as of the time of writing. It is currently unclear whether or not Burke will return for the show's 4th season, which was renewed in May of 2022 and is set to premiere in early 2023 (via TV Line). With Burke's new main role in the upcoming "Fire Country," his time is definitely limited, but, on the other hand, his role in "Lone Star" was always recurring.