Keith Ian Carradine ( ; born August 8, 1949) is an American actor. In film, he is known for his roles as Tom Frank in Robert Altman's Nashville, E. J. Bellocq in Louis Malle's Pretty Baby, and Mickey in Alan Rudolph's Choose Me. On television, he is known for his roles as Wild Bill Hickok on the HBO series Deadwood, FBI agent Frank Lundy on the Showtime series Dexter, Lou Solverson in the first season of FX's Fargo, Penny's father Wyatt on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, and U.S. President Conrad Dalton on the CBS political drama Madam Secretary.
He is a member of the Carradine family of actors which began with his father, John Carradine.
Early life
Carradine was born August 8, 1949, in San Mateo, California. He is a son of actress and artist Sonia Sorel (née Henius), and actor John Carradine. His full brothers are Christopher and Robert Carradine, both of whom are actors. His paternal half-brothers are Bruce and David Carradine. His maternal half-brother is Michael Bowen. His maternal great-grandfather was biochemist Max Henius, and his maternal great-grandmother was the sister of historian Johan Ludvig Heiberg.
Carradine's childhood was troubled; he has said that his father drank and his mother "was a manic depressive paranoid schizophrenic catatonic—she had it all." His parents divorced in 1957, when he was eight years old. A bitter custody battle led to his father gaining custody of him and his brothers, Christopher and Robert, after the children had spent three months in a home for abused children as wards of the court. Keith said of the experience, "It was like being in jail. There were bars on the windows, and we were only allowed to see our parents through glass doors. It was very sad. We would stand there on either side of the glass door crying." He was raised in San Mateo primarily by his maternal grandmother, and he rarely saw either of his parents. His mother was not permitted to see him for eight years following the custody settlement. Thus, he had some background in theater when he was cast in the original Broadway run of Hair (1969), which launched his acting career. In that production he started out in the chorus and worked his way up to the lead roles playing Woof and Claude. He said of his involvement in Hair, "I really didn't plan to audition.
In 1991, he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, In March and April 2013, he starred in the Broadway production of Hands on a Hardbody,
In 1977, Aldrich said "I think that Keith Carradine, if he's careful—I don't think he is careful—and if he's prudent about the selection of his parts, can be a great big movie star. I think that whoever's advising him is making some terrible selections about material. Because I think the guy is gifted, he's talented, he's attractive."
In 1977, Carradine starred opposite Harvey Keitel in Ridley Scott's The Duellists.
Music and songwriting
His brother, David, said in an interview that Keith could play any instrument he wanted, including bagpipes and the French horn. In 1984, he appeared in the music video for Madonna's single "Material Girl". In the early 1990s, he played the lead role in the Tony Award–winning musical The Will Rogers Follies.
Television
In 1972, Carradine appeared briefly in the first season of the hit television series, Kung Fu, Carradine also starred in the ABC sitcom Complete Savages, and he played Wild Bill Hickok in the HBO series Deadwood.
In 2026, Carradine guest-starred on the ABC crime show High Potential.
Video games
In 2012, Carradine lent his voice to the video game Hitman: Absolution, voicing the primary antagonist Blake Dexter. before Will filed for divorce in 1999. The couple had two children: actors Cade Richmond Carradine and Sorel Johannah Carradine.
On November 18, 2006, Carradine married actress Hayley DuMond, in Turin, Italy. They met in 1997 when they co-starred in the Burt Reynolds film The Hunter's Moon.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1971
| McCabe & Mrs. Miller
| Cowboy
|
|-
| 1971
| A Gunfight
| The Young Gunfighter
|
|-
| 1973
| Emperor of the North Pole
| "Cigaret"
|
|-
| 1973
| Idaho Transfer
| Arthur
|
|-
| 1973
| Hex
| Archibald "Whizzer" Overton
|
|-
| 1974
| Antoine and Sebastian
| John
|
|-
| 1974
| Thieves Like Us
| Bowie
|
|-
| 1974
| Run, Run, Joe!
| Joe
|
|-
| 1975
| Nashville
| Tom Frank
| Academy Award for Best Original Song <br> Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
|-
| 1975
| You and Me
| Death Guy
|
|-
| 1976
| Lumière
| David
|
|-
| 1976
| Welcome to L.A.
| Carroll Barber
|
|-
| 1977
| The Duellists
| Armand D'Hubert
|
|-
| 1978
| Pretty Baby
| E.J. Bellocq
|
|-
| 1978
| Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
| Our Guests At Heartland
|
|-
| 1979
| Old Boyfriends
| Wayne Van Til
|
|-
| 1979
| An Almost Perfect Affair
| Hal Raymond
|
|-
| 1980
| The Long Riders
| Jim Younger
|
|-
| 1981
| Southern Comfort
| Private First Class Spencer
|
|-
| 1984
| Choose Me
| Mickey
|
|-
| 1984
| Maria's Lovers
| Clarence Butts
|
|-
| 1985
| Trouble in Mind
| "Coop" Cooper
|
|-
| 1986
| The Inquiry
| Tito Valerio Tauro
|
|-
| 1988
| The Moderns
| Nick Hart
|
|-
| 1988
| Backfire
| Reed
|
|-
| 1989
| Street of No Return
| Michael
|
|-
| 1989
| Cold Feet
| Monte Latham
|
|-
| 1990
| Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will?
| Clarence
|
|-
| 1990
| The Bachelor
| Dr. Emil Gräsler
|
|-
| 1991
| The Ballad of the Sad Cafe
| Marvin Macy
|
|-
| 1992
| CrissCross
| John Cross
|
|-
| 1994
| Andre
| Harry Whitney
|
|-
| 1994
| Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
| Will Rogers
|
|-
| 1995
| The Tie That Binds
| John Netherwood
|
|-
| 1995
| Wild Bill
| William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody
|
|-
| 1996
| 2 Days in the Valley
| Detective Creighton
|
|-
| 1997
| A Thousand Acres
| Ty Smith
|
|-
| 1998
| Standoff
| Zeke Clayton
|
|-
| 1999
| The Hunter's Moon
| Turner
|
|-
| 1999
| Out of the Cold
| Dan Scott
|
|-
| 2001
| Cahoots
| Matt
|
|-
| 2001
| Wooly Boys
| Sheriff Hank Dawson
|
|-
| 2002
| Falcons
| Simon
|
|-
| 2002
| The Angel Doll
| Adult Jerry Barlow
|
|-
| 2002
| The Outsider
| Noah Weaver
|
|-
| 2003
| The Adventures of Ociee Nash
| Papa George Nash
|
|-
| 2004
| Hair High
| Joe "JoJo" (voice)
|
|-
| 2004
| Balto III: Wings of Change
| Duke (voice)
| Direct-to-DVD
|-
| 2005
| Our Very Own
| Billy Whitfield
|
|-
| 2005
| The Californians
| Elton Tripp
|
|-
| 2007
| Elvis and Anabelle
| Jimmy
|
|-
| 2007
| The Death and Life of Bobby Z
| Johnson
|
|-
| 2007
| All Hat
| Pete Culpepper
|
|-
| 2008
| Lake City
| Royce "Roy"
|
|-
| 2009
| Winter of Frozen Dreams
| Detective Lulling
|
|-
| 2010
| Peacock
| Mayor Ray Crill
|
|-
| 2011
| The Family Tree
| Reverend Diggs
|
|-
| 2011
| Cowboys & Aliens
| Sheriff Taggart
|
|-
| 2013
| Ain't Them Bodies Saints
| Skerritt
|
|-
| 2014
| Cowgirls 'n Angels: Dakota's Summer
| Austin Rose
|
|-
| 2014
| Terroir
| Jonathan Bragg
|
|-
| 2016
| A Quiet Passion
| Edward Dickinson
|
|-
| 2017
| Ray Meets Helen
| Ray
|
|-
| 2018
| The Old Man & the Gun
| Captain Calder
|
|-
| 2021
| The Power of the Dog
| Governor Edward
|
|-
| 2022
| A Nashville Country Christmas
| Keaton Walker
|
|-
| 2024
| Afraid
| Marcus
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1971
| Bonanza
| Ern
| Episode: "Bushwacked"
|-
| 1972
| Love, American Style
| George Pomerantz
| Episode: "Love and the Anniversary"
|-
| 1972
| Man on a String
| Danny Brown
| Television movie
|-
| 1972–1973
| Kung Fu
| Middle Caine
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1980
| A Rumor of War
| Lieutenant Murphy "Murph" McCloy
| Television movie
|-
| 1983
| Chiefs
| "Foxy" Funderburke
| 3 episodes <br> Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special
|-
| 1984
| The Fall Guy
| Cook
| Episode: "October the 31st"
|-
| 1984
| Scorned and Swindled
| John Boslett
| Television movie
|-
| 1985
| Blackout
| Allen Devlin
| Television movie
|-
| 1986
| Half a Lifetime
| J.J.
| Television movie <br> Nominated—CableACE Award for Best Actor in a Theatrical or Dramatic Special
|-
| 1986
| A Winner Never Quits
| Pete Gray
| Television movie
|-
| 1987
| Murder Ordained
| Trooper John Rule
| Television movie
|-
| 1987
| Eye on the Sparrow
| James Lee
| Television movie
|-
| 1988
| Stones for Ibarra
| Richard Everton
| Television movie
|-
| 1988
| My Father, My Son
| Lieutenant Elmo Zumwalt III
| Television movie
|-
| 1989
| The Revenge of Al Capone
| Michael Rourke
| Television movie
|-
| 1989
| Hallmark Hall of Fame
| Richard Everton
| Episode: "Stones for Ibarra"
|-
| 1989
| Confessional
| Liam Devlin
| 4 episodes
|-
| 1989
| The Forgotten
| Captain Tom Watkins
| Television movie
|-
| 1990
| Judgment
| Pete Guitry
| Television movie
|-
| 1991
| Payoff
| Peter "Mac" McAllister
| Television movie
|-
| 1992
| Lincoln
| William Herndon (voice)
| Television movie
|-
| 1994
| In the Best of Families: Marriage,<br>Pride & Madness
| Tom Leary
| Television movie
|-
| 1994
| Is There Life Out There?
| Brad
| Television movie
|-
| 1995
| Trial by Fire
| Owen Turner
| Television movie
|-
| 1996
| Special Report: Journey to Mars
| Captain Eugene T. Slader
| Television movie
|-
| 1996
| Dead Man's Walk
| William "Bigfoot" Wallace
| 3 episodes
|-
| 1997
| Perversions of Science
| Arthur Bristol
| Episode: "Dream of Doom"
|-
| 1997
| Keeping the Promise
| William "Will" Hallowell
| Television movie
|-
| 1997
| Last Stand at Saber River
| Vern Kidston
| Television movie
|-
| 1997–1998
| Fast Track
| Dr. Richard Beckett
| 23 episodes
|-
| 1998
| American Buffalo: Spirit of a Nation
| The Narrator
| Television documentary
|-
| 1999
| Outreach
| Dr. Vincent Shaw
| Television movie
|-
| 1999
| Hard Time: Hostage Hotel
| Corporal Arlin Flynn
| Television movie
|-
| 1999
| Night Ride Home
| Neal Mahler
| Television movie
|-
| 1999
| Sirens
| Officer Dan Wexler
| Television movie
|-
| 1999
| A Song from the Heart
| Oliver Comstock
| Television movie
|-
| 2000
| Metropolis
| Quincy
| Television movie
|-
| 2000
| Enslavement
| Pierce Butler
| Television movie
|-
| 2000
| Baby
| John Malone
| Television movie
|-
| 2001
| The Diamond of Jeru
| John Lacklan
| Television movie
|-
| 2002
| American Experience
| The Narrator
| Episode: "Public Enemy Number 1"
|-
| 2002
| Frasier
| Carl (voice)
| Episode: "Frasier Has Spokane"
|-
| 2002
| Arliss
| Lamar Scott
| Episode: "What You See Is What You Get"
|-
| 2002
| Street Time
| Frank Dugan
| 3 episodes
|-
| 2003
| Star Trek: Enterprise
| Captain A.G. Robinson
| Episode: "First Flight"
|-
| 2003
| Spider-Man: The New Animated Series
| Jonah Jameson (voice)
| 5 episodes
|-
| 2003
| Monte Walsh
| Chester "Chet" Rollins
| Television movie
|-
| 2003
| Coyote Waits
| John McGinnis
| Television movie
|-
| 2003–2004
| Wild West Tech
| Host
| 13 episodes
|-
| 2004
| Deadwood
| James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok
| 5 episodes <br> Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television
|-
| 2004–2005
| Complete Savages
| Nick Savage
| 19 episodes
|-
| 2005
| Into the West
| Captain Richard H. Pratt
| Episode: "Casualties of War"
|-
| 2006
| Where There's a Will
| Sheriff Clifford Laws
| Television movie
|-
| 2007
| American Masters
| The Narrator
| Episode: "Novel Reflections: The American Dream"
|-
| 2007
| Criminal Minds
| Frank Breitkopf
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2007–2009
| Dexter
| FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy
| 15 episodes
|-
| 2008
| Numbers
| Carl McGowan
| 3 episodes
|-
| 2008
| Crash
| Owen
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2009
| Law & Order
| Martin Garvik
| Episode: "Take-Out"
|-
| 2009
| Dollhouse
| Matthew Harding
| 3 episodes
|-
| 2009
| Damages
| Julian Decker
| 5 episodes
|-
| 2010–2019
| The Big Bang Theory
| Wyatt
(Penny's Dad)
| 5 episodes
|-
| 2012
| Missing
| Martin
| 7 episodes
|-
| 2014
| The Following
| Barry
| Episode: "Resurrection"
|-
| 2014
| Raising Hope
| Colt Palomino
| Episode: "Anniversary Ball"
|-
| 2014
| NCIS
| Mannheim Gold
| Episode: "Rock and a Hard Place"
|-
| 2014–2015
| Fargo
| Lou Solverson
| 11 episodes
|-
| 2014–2019
| Madam Secretary
| President Conrad Dalton
| 93 episodes
|-
| 2015
| Mike Tyson Mysteries
| Jason B. (voice)
| Episode: "Jason B. Sucks"
|-
| 2021–2022
| Fear the Walking Dead
| John Dorie Sr.
| 10 episodes
|-
| 2021
| Rugrats
| Bob Brine (voice)
| Episode: "The Pickle Barrel"
|-
| 2023
| Accused
| Billy Carlson
| Episode: "Billy's Story"
|-
| 2024
| Law & Order: Organized Crime
| Clay Bonner
| 3 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" |2026
| High Potential
| Douglas Newmeyer
| Episode: "Under the Rug" (S2E9)
|-
|Imperfect Women
|R.L. Hennessy
|Recurring role
|}
Theater
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
|-
| 1968
| Hair
| Woof / Claude
|-
| 1982
| Foxfire
| Dillard Nations
|-
| 1991
| The Will Rogers Follies
| Will Rogers
|-
| 2006
| Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
| Lawrence Jameson
|-
| 2013
| Hands on a Hardbody
| JD Drew
|}
Video games
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" |Notes
|-
| 2012
| Hitman: Absolution
| Blake Dexter
| Voice
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Nominated work
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| 1975
| Academy Awards
| Best Original Song
| "I'm Easy"
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 1987
| CableACE Awards
| Best Actor in a Theatrical or Dramatic Special
| Half a Lifetime
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 1991
| rowspan="2"| Drama Desk Awards
| Outstanding Actor in a Musical
| The Will Rogers Follies
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 2013
| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
| Hands on a Hardbody
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 2002
| Edda Awards
| Best Actor
| Falcons
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 1998
| Golden Boot Awards
| colspan="2"| Golden Boot
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 2004
| Gold Derby TV Awards
| Best Drama Guest Actor
| Deadwood
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 1975
| Golden Globe Awards
| Best Original Song
| "I'm Easy"
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 1975
| Grammy Awards
| Best Album of Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special
| Nashville
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 2002
| Great Lakes International Film Festival
| colspan="2"| Artistic Excellence Award
|
| align="center"|
|-
| colspan="2"| Star of Excellence
|
|-
| 2004
| Online Film & Television Association Awards
| Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series
| Deadwood
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 1984
| Primetime Emmy Awards
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special
| Chiefs
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 2005
| rowspan="2"| Prism Awards
| Best Performance in a Comedy Series
| Complete Savages
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 2007
| Best Performance in a TV-Movie
| Our Very Own
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 2018
| San Diego International Film Festival
| colspan="2"| Gregory Peck Award
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 2004
| Satellite Awards
| Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television
| Deadwood
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 1991
| rowspan="2"| Tony Awards
| Best Leading Actor in a Musical
| The Will Rogers Follies
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 2013
| Best Featured Actor in a Musical
| Hands on a Hardbody
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 1998
| rowspan="2"| Western Heritage Awards
| Television Feature Film
| Last Stand at Saber River
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 2024
| colspan="2"| Hall of Great Western Performers
|
| align="center"|
|-
| 2014
| Wine Country Film Festival
| Best Actor
| Terroir
|
| align="center"|
|}
See also
- Carradine family
- List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States
References
Further reading
- Pilato, Herbie J. (1993). The Kung Fu Book of Caine: The Complete Guide to TV's First Mystical Eastern Western. Boston: Charles A. Tuttle. .
External links
- Mindgame official site
- BroadwayWorld.com interview with Keith Carradine, October 16, 2008
- Keith Carradine Discusses 'The Duellists' at Virginia Film Festival, November 3, 2012
- SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations with Keith Carradine, May 17, 2013