John Diehl
Known for
Long careers are rarer than they look, and John Diehl has become a familiar face with a body of work built one job at a time. The career has been split between cinema and television rather than settled in either. In cinemas, 'Jurassic Park III' is the work that stuck — Cooper, specifically. Viewers may also know him from 'Pearl Harbor'. The first screen credit dates from 1980.
John Diehl
73 Movies
31 Series
Long careers are rarer than they look, and John Diehl has become a familiar face with a body of work built one job at a time. The career has been split between cinema and television rather than settled in either. In cinemas, 'Jurassic Park III' is the work that stuck — Cooper, specifically. Viewers may also know him from 'Pearl Harbor'. The first screen credit dates from 1980.
Movies
Plays Tim Nunley
A Time to Kill
1996
Plays Lieutenant Kawalsky
Stargate
1994
Plays Assistant Mechanic
National Lampoon's Vacation
1983
Plays Senior Doctor
Pearl Harbor
2001
Plays Billy
Train Dreams
2025
Plays Punk
Escape from New York
1981
Plays Dad (Back Yard Party)
Falling Down
1993
Plays Cruiser
Stripes
1981
Plays Jack Nance
The Client
1994
Plays Police Captain
Most Wanted
1997
Plays Frank Elkins
Fire Down Below
1997
Plays Fred Trump
Armageddon Time
2022
Plays Taxi Driver
Hysterical
1982
Plays Stebbins
Walker
1987
Plays Vincent
Bookies
2003
Plays The Killer
Angel
1984
Plays Burl
The Zeros
2001
Plays Derelict
Whore
1991
Plays Mr. Buttinger
Foxfire
1996
Plays Jake Rock
Female Perversions
1996
Plays Keith Heading
Mo' Money
1992
Plays Pvt. Bucklin
Gettysburg
1993
Plays Fred
MadHouse
1990
Plays Gordon Liddy
Nixon
1995
Plays Henry Birdson
Lost Souls
2000
Plays Jimmy
Anywhere but Here
1999
Plays Jack
Kickboxer 2: The Road Back
1991
Plays Lowell
The End of Violence
1997
Plays Neil Trenton
Mikey
1992
Plays Paul
Land of Plenty
2004
Plays Steve
Down in the Valley
2005
Plays Philip Jennings
The Dark Side of the Moon
1990
Plays Detective
Apartment 1303 3D
2012
Plays Head Kidnapper
D.C. Cab
1983
Plays Les Birk
The Hi-Lo Country
1998
Plays Henry McBride
Out of the Wild
2017
Plays Nino
La Sirena
2020
Plays Tom Klinger
The Lucky Ones
2008
Plays Leland's Dad
Three Wishes
1995
Plays Polito
Casualties
1997
Plays Arnie
Joysticks
1983
Plays Delbert McCoy
Remote
1993
Plays Alex
Mind Ripper
1995
Plays Sheriff Larabie
Drifter: Henry Lee Lucas
2009
Plays Eddie Herbek
Almost Dead
1994
Plays Mr Dupree
White of the Eye
1987
Plays J.C. Cole
The Grave
1996
Plays Beaver (1940's)
Falling in Love Again
1980
Plays Phil
Motorama
1991
Plays Abe
Natural Selection
2011
TV Shows
Plays Larry Zito
Miami Vice
1984
Plays Assistant Chief Ben Gilroy
The Shield
2002
Plays B.J. Vines
Dark Winds
2022
Plays Chris
The John Larroquette Show
1993
Plays Colonel Robert McDonald
Snowfall
2017
Plays Isaac Keller
Cold Case
2003
Plays Kevin Delahanty
L.A. Law
1986
Plays Richard Sherman
Friday Night Lights
2006
Plays Claypool
The West Wing
1999
Plays Governor Trader
Jericho
2006
Plays John
Castle Rock
2018
Plays Harris Forman
Get Real
1999
Plays Edward Kennex
Almost Human
2013
Plays Gelson
Cassie & Co.
1982
Plays John sevrance
In the Heat of the Night
1988
Plays Miles Magnus
Monsters
1988
Plays Sheriff Delmont
The Pretender
1996
Plays Wilson Pinker Rawls
The X-Files
1993
Plays Jack Raglan
JAG
1995
Plays Johnson's Son
ER
1994
Plays Joe
The Outer Limits
1995
Plays Ray Dwyer
Scandal
2012
Plays Joe brady
NYPD Blue
1993
Plays Albert foss
Nash Bridges
1996
Plays Arthur Dunbar
Rizzoli & Isles
2010
Plays Doyle
Without a Trace
2002
Plays Mr. Lawson
Strong Medicine
2000
Plays Fortunato
The Guardian
2001
Plays Toby 'The Wick' Wood
Profiler
1996
Plays Vernon Toulane
Beauty and the Beast
1987
Latest Trailers
Watch Trailer
Train Dreams
Full Filmography
Train Dreams
Billy
2025
Film
Dark Winds
B.J. Vines · 6 episodes
2022–2023
TV
Snowfall
Colonel Robert McDonald · 3 episodes
2019–2023
TV
Armageddon Time
Fred Trump
2022
Film
La Sirena
Nino
2020
Film
Serpent in the Bottle
Marvin Decker
2020
Film
Castle Rock
John · 1 episode
2019
TV
Out of the Wild
Henry McBride
2017
Film
The North Star
Master Anderson
2016
Film
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is John Diehl and where are they from?
John Diehl is 76 years old, born on May 1, 1950 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
What are the most famous roles of John Diehl?
John Diehl is best known for roles in Jurassic Park III, Pearl Harbor, Con Air.
How many movies has John Diehl been in?
Over a 46-year career (since 1980), John Diehl has appeared in 73 movies and 30 TV shows.
What was John Diehl's first movie?
The career of John Diehl began with A Cry for Love (1980).
What is John Diehl's most recent movie or series?
John Diehl's most recent release is Train Dreams, which premiered on November 5, 2025.
What TV shows has John Diehl appeared in?
On television, John Diehl has appeared in The X-Files, Lie to Me, ER, The Shield.
John Diehl
1950-05-01 · Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
John Diehl (born May 1, 1950) is an American character actor with over 150 credits to his name in film and television. He is best known for his roles as Charles Kawalsky in the 1994 film Stargate, Det. Larry Zito on the 1980s cop show Miami Vice, Assistant Chief Ben Gilroy on The Shield, and as "the Cruiser" in Stripes. His other notable roles include Pvt. Bucklin, the spokesman of the 2nd Maine mutineers in Gettysburg, Cooper in Jurassic Park III (2001), as G. Gordon Liddy in the Oliver Stone movie Nixon, the Klansman informant ("Mickey Mouse") in A Time to Kill, and as Keith, a credit card company supervisor in Mo Money. He also appeared as the spirit of Harley Earl in a series of commercials for Buick. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and graduated from St. Xavier High School in 1968. For a time, he flirted with a professional boxing career, leaving Miami Vice to pursue it.