Alan Ruck

Alan Ruck
At the 2006 Dallas Comic Con.
Born	July 1, 1956 (1956-07-01) (age 55) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1983–present
Spouse	Claudia Stefany (1986–2005), 2 children Mireille Enos (2008–present), 1 child

Alan Ruck (born July 1, 1956) is an American film, stage and television actor, perhaps best known for his roles as Cameron Frye in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Stuart Bondek on Spin City.

Early life

Ruck was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Parma Senior High School located in Parma, Ohio, and graduated from University of Illinois with a B.F.A. in drama in 1979.^[1]

After school, I went up to Chicago, because I didn't really know anybody in New York or Los Angeles, and I knew people who were doing plays in Chicago. So I went up there, and I knocked around a little bit. And I guess about a year after I was out of school, I got my first job.

Ruck made his Broadway debut in 1985 in Neil Simon's Biloxi Blues with Matthew Broderick. Early on, Ruck was a prominent stage actor at many theaters around the country, including Wisdom Bridge Theatre in Chicago. In his initial foray into film acting, Ruck appeared in Class and Hard Knocks as well as some television films.^[1]

Career

Ruck is perhaps best known for his role as Cameron Frye, Ferris Bueller's hypochondriac best friend in John Hughes' Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Ruck was actually 29 when he portrayed the 17-year-old Cameron), and as Stuart Bondek, the lecherous, power-hungry member of the mayor's staff on the hit ABC sitcom Spin City, which ran from 1996-2002.

His first film role was in the 1983 drama film Bad Boys released on the 25th of March, where he played Carl Brennan, Sean Penn's friend in the film. The same year he played Roger Jackson in Class. One of his other film roles was in the 1987 film Three for the Road.

Ruck later appeared in the 1989 comedy film Three Fugitives. Following that, he played a significant role as Hendry William French in Young Guns II, the 1990 sequel to Young Guns. He also played Captain John Harriman of the USS Enterprise-B in the 1994 film, Star Trek Generations, a role which he has reprised along with Generations co-star Walter Koenig and other Trek alumni in the fan film Of Gods and Men.^[2] Alan also played an annoying tourist named Doug Stephens on an ill-fated bus in the blockbuster Speed, and was also one of the hostages in the elevator at the beginning of the film. Another supporting role was of the eccentric storm chaser Robert 'Rabbit' Nurick in the 1996 disaster film Twister.

In 1990–1991, Ruck starred as Chicago ad man Charlie Davis, in the ABC series Going Places. ABC canceled Going Places after only one season (and 22 episodes). He appeared in the series Daddy's Girls in 1994, which was canceled after three episodes. From 1996–2002, Alan played Stuart Bondek in the sitcom Spin City alongside Michael J. Fox and later, Charlie Sheen. In 2005, he played Leo Bloom in the Broadway version of Mel Brooks' The Producers, a role also played by his Ferris Bueller co-star, Matthew Broderick.

Ruck was then cast in the pilot of the Tim Minear-created Fox Network series Drive, but did not appear in the actual series. He also starred in one episode of the Comedy Central sitcom Stella as Richard, a man looking for work. He later starred in Episode 9 of the second season of Scrubs as a patient, and played reporter Steve Jacobson on the ESPN miniseries The Bronx Is Burning.

In 1998, Ruck guest starred in the fifth episode of the 1998 HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon as the NASA engineer Tom Dolan.

In 2006, Ruck guest starred in a single episode of Stargate Atlantis called "The Real World". In the 2007 comedy Kickin' It Old Skool, he appears as Dr. Frye, a possible connection to Cameron Frye. He even mentions still trying to pay off an old Ferrari, a reference to Cameron totaling his dad's Ferrari in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

In 2009, Ruck had a minor role as a married man named Frank in an episode of Cougar Town. In his role, he has problems with his marriage due to a crush he had long ago on Jules, played by Courteney Cox.

He also played the part of a ghost of a family man in the 2008 film Ghost Town starring Ricky Gervais.

Ruck also has a small role in the 2008 M. Night Shyamalan film, The Happening. He recently played the role of Dean Bowman in the college fraternity drama, Greek. He appeared in a guest role as a manic geologist in an episode of Eureka. Additionally, he plays Mr. Cooverman in the film I Love You, Beth Cooper. In 2009, Ruck filmed the medical drama Extraordinary Measures^[3][4] in Portland, Oregon, with star Harrison Ford.

Ruck then appeared as a bank robber in an episode from the third season of the USA Network series Psych and as a lawyer in the fifth season of the ABC series, Boston Legal. He recently guest starred as Martin, a magazine reporter, on an episode of Ruby & The Rockits entitled "We Are Family?". In 2010, he guest starred as ex-money laundering accountant turned dentist, on an episode of Justified entitled "Long in the Tooth".

Ruck was most recently cast as a lead character in the 2010 NBC mystery-drama, Persons Unknown. He also guest starred on the television show Fringe as a scientist turned criminal.

Personal life

Ruck married Claudia Stefany in 1984, and had two children with her—a daughter, Emma, and a son, Sam. They divorced in 2005. He married actress Mireille Enos on January 4, 2008. They met in 2005 while co-starring in the Broadway revival of Absurd Person Singular. Mireille gave birth to their daughter Vesper Vivianne on September 23, 2010.

Partial filmography

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alan Ruck

• Alan Ruck at the Internet Movie Database
• Alan Ruck at AllRovi
• Alan Ruck at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)