Gary Cole turns 70 on 20 September 2026. The American actor, born in Park Ridge, Illinois, built a character-actor career: drama, comedy, voice work and, from season 19, a lead role on NCIS.

He studied theatre at Illinois State University and worked on the Chicago stage, including with Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Theatre remained the base: dry diction, authority that can turn comic without asking for applause.

His first major television lead was Jack “Nighthawk” Killian, the radio host in Midnight Caller. In the Line of Fire followed. In Office Space (1999) he played manager Bill Lumbergh — a cult figure, not the sole marker of the career.

On The West Wing he was Vice President Bob Russell. He appeared in The Brady Bunch Movie, Talladega Nights, The Good Wife, Suits and Veep, where Kent Davison brought an Emmy nomination. His voice turns up in Family Guy, Archer and Bob’s Burgers.

In 2021 he joined NCIS as Special Agent Alden Parker after Mark Harmon left. The series continued; as of season 23, reported by the Associated Press, Cole remains in the role. He does not replace a Gibbs: Parker is a separate character.

The anniversary marks longevity, not a slogan. Steppenwolf, Midnight Caller, Lumbergh, Russell and Parker are enough names. This account stays with the public career.

Seventy years mark a repertory actor, not a one-film star. His NCIS status, checked at the time of writing, is as a series regular. Future contracts are not an editorial announcement.

Image: David Shankbone, Gary Cole (2011), CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.

Source consulted: Gary Cole — Television Academy.