Why Richard Wheatley From Law & Order: Organized Crime Looks So Familiar
Fans of Law & Order: SVU saw the return of their favorite character, Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), in the April 1 premiere of the newest show in the Dick Wolf franchise, Law & Order: Organized Crime. When SVU first began in 1999, the show became a huge hit, thanks to the innate chemistry between Stabler and Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). The partners not only made a great team, but were the epitome of a "will they/won't they" romance arc that had fans on the edge of their seats.
Meloni was a series regular until his departure in 2011 and, now, ten years later, he is once again reprising his role in a new series of his own — a move that is long overdue and a welcome sight for fans. NBC's official summary for Organized Crime reads, in part: "Elliot Stabler returns to the NYPD to battle organized crime after a devastating personal loss. However, the city and police department have changed dramatically in the decade he's been away, and he must adapt to a criminal justice system in the midst of its own moment of reckoning."
The new series has Stabler going up against the mafia, including a crime boss by the name of Richard Wheatley. If you think you've seen Wheatley before, you probably have — he is played by actor Dylan McDermott, who has had a long career of various roles in film and television. Here are just a few of the things you may have seen him in.
Dylan McDermott appeared in 1993's In the line of Fire
Early on in his acting career, Dylan McDermott appeared in the political action thriller In the Line of Fire alongside veteran star Clint Eastwood. The film, which tells the tale of a plot to assassinate the president of the United States and the Secret Service agents attempting to foil it, also stars Rene Russo and John Malkovich as the assassin. Eastwood's Frank Horrigan receives a call from a mysterious figure calling himself Booth and claiming he plans to kill the president. Horrigan, a Secret Service agent who was once a part of the detail protecting President John F. Kennedy, begs to rejoin the presidential protection detail.
McDermott plays the role of Secret Service agent Al D'Andrea, Horrigan's partner in the counterfeit division who joins him in quest to prevent the assassin from killing his target. It served as McDermott's breakout role and laid the foundation for his long and successful career.
McDermott starred in the remake of Miracle on 34th Street
A Christmas classic, Miracle on 34th Street has had several adaptations over the decades in film, theater, and television. The original film from 1947 starred Maureen O'Hara and John Payne, along with young Natalie Wood in one of her first big screen roles. Wood plays Susan, a skeptical 6-year-old who follows logic and reason in lieu of childlike wonder. When a kind stranger enters her life claiming to be Santa Claus, Susan and her mother find themselves reexamining their belief in the magic of Christmas.
Perhaps the most famous reboot of the holiday tale is the 1994 version of Miracle on 34th Street, starring Elizabeth Perkins, Mara Wilson, Richard Attenborough, and Dylan McDermott. McDermott plays Bryan Bedford, the handsome young lawyer who must defend Kris Kringle (Attenborough) in court against assault charges while also setting out to prove that the sweet older man is, in fact, the real Santa Claus. Like the original film, Miracle on 34th Street has an ending filled with all of the hope and goodwill of the holiday season — and McDermott's piercing baby blues certainly don't hurt.
He was on The Practice for 8 seasons
Before operating on the wrong side of the law, from 1997 to 2004, Dylan McDermott was known the television audiences as Bobby Donnell, the senior partner at the law firm of Robert Donnell and Associates on The Practice, a role for which he took home the 1999 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series and received a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series the same year. The show saw McDermott's character struggle with balancing the requirements of the legal profession with his own ethics and moral code.
Faced with flagging ratings, original network ABC shook up the cast for the show's eighth and final season. As a result, McDermott appeared as a special guest star instead of a series regular, with James Spader joining the cast as the morally flexible Alan Shore in a move that CNN reports "saved The Practice."
He played the father in The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Based on the novel of the same name by Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower was praised by critics as a strong coming-of-age drama with a top notch cast. The movie stars Logan Lerman (of Percy Jackson fame) as Charlie, a teenage boy struggling with mental illness who finds solace in his new friends, Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller). Paul Rudd co-stars as Mr. Anderson, Charlie's mentor and English teacher. The film received many awards and nominations, including the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film — Wide Release in 2013 and Favorite Drama Movie at the People's Choice Awards the same year.
McDermott plays Charlie's father in the movie — a well-meaning but slightly oblivious character. Although his appearances in the film are minimal, you may remember the scenes at the dinner table in which he spouts cliches at Charlie about how to make new friends, as well as playfully warning Charlie's sister, Candace, that she is "cruising for a bruising." Though he may have trouble showing it, Charlie's dad really does love him and wants the best for his son.
McDermott was Ben in American Horror Story: Murder House
American Horror Story is coming up on its 10th season, but the hugely popular horror series might not have gotten anywhere without the compelling first season storyline that started it all: Murder House. In Murder House, the Harmon family moves to Los Angeles in order to get a fresh start away from a turbulent past. Little do they know that the beautiful old Victorian home they've just moved into has a dark past of its own. McDermott plays Ben Harmon, father of Violet (Taissa Farmiga) and husband to Vivien (Connie Britton), who struggles with the consequences of committing an infidelity that nearly ended his marriage.
Ben is a psychiatrist who sees clients in the house, which is when he is introduced to Tate (Evan Peters), a young man who will change the family's lives forever. Thanks to the house's violent and bloody history, the Harmons have more to contend with than just their family grievances — including a faction of angry and bitter ghosts and the fact that Vivien is pregnant with the Antichrist.