Biography
Bruce Kirkpatrick, a forty-year veteran American film, television and stage actor who grew up in Parsippany, New Jersey, has worked on numerous projects in each genre with many of the most prevalent names in the business. After his graduation from Parsippany Hills High School he studied at Syracuse University, Pittsburgh University, LAMDA, and with personnel of the Royal Shakespeare Company in London, England. Throughout high school, college, and graduate school, Bruce competed competitively in rugby, wrestling, boxing, and racquetball while also performing in plays and completing undergraduate and graduate degrees in acting. Bruce's professional career began in Pittsburgh where he took his first film role in the movie Flashdance in 1983. Between then and the year 2000 he made 7 television movies, 4 television series, and 9 films including The Dark Half ('93) starring Timothy Hutton, Striking Distance ('93) and 12 Monkeys ('95) with Bruce Willis, Backstreet Justice ('94) starring Paul Sorvino, and McBain ('91) with Christopher Walken. One of Bruce's favorite projects during this time was the made-for-television film Against Her Will ('92) with Walter Matthau and Harry Morgan, after which Matthau became an ongoing mentor in Bruce's life. Bruce continued to appear in films such as xXx State of the Union ('05), Little Children ('06) and The Lovely Bones '09), and TV series The Sopranos, Royal Pains, and in the recurring role of Roger Twigg on The Wire.
Beginning in 1991 thru 2010, Bruce played eleven different characters in all three primary shows of the Law & Order franchise: Law and Order, Law and Order: SVU, and Law and Order: CI. Most notable were his portrayals of serial rapist Richard White in "Stalked," Season 1 of SVU, and Tom Harrigan in the episode "Wannabe," in Law and Order ('93). Bruce has also appeared in five prime daytime soap operas including the recurring role of Patrick Curry on All My Children.
Bruce has a special place in his heart for the Independent Film genre, as well, and his portrayal of Senior in Silent Sea Production's 2013 film Blue Collar Boys earned him the Best Supporting Actor award from the London International Film-Maker Festival in 2016. More recently, Bruce has been seen as James Brannigan in the TV series Unforgettable ('14), American Fright Fest ('18), and the television series Hunters ('20) with Al Pacino.
Bruce's stage credits are also noteworthy and include the Trevor Nunn directed Broadway play Not About Nightingales, frequent regional theatre performances, and numerous commercials. Bruce has also worked prolifically as a stuntman and fight choreographer. His fight choreography for the Pittsburgh Public Theatre production of The Hairy Ape is preserved in the New York Library of Performing Arts Theatre on Film and Tape Archive.
