Frederic Enrico Rossovich (born August 28, 1957) is a retired American actor. Rossovich began acting in the early 1980s, first gaining recognition for portraying Ron "Slider" Kerner in the 1986 film Top Gun. Rossovich's other movies include the thriller-drama The Lords of Discipline (1983), the sex comedy Losin' It (1983), the science fiction film The Terminator (1984), the romantic comedy Roxanne (1987), the witchcraft-themed thriller Spellbinder (1988), the thriller Paint It Black (1989), the military action film Navy SEALs (1990), and the Disney Channel Original Movie Miracle in Lane 2 (2002).
Rossovich is also recognized for his lead role in the TV-series Pacific Blue, often described as a "Baywatch on bikes", which ran on the USA Network for five seasons between March 1996 and April 2000 and also gained popularity abroad. He also portrayed Dr. John Taglieri in the first season of ER, and Spud Lincoln in the CBS series Sons and Daughters (1991).
Early life
Rossovich was born Frederic Enrico Rossovich in Palo Alto, California and grew up in Grass Valley, California eventually graduating from Nevada Union High School. His brother, Tim, was a former professional football player and also an actor. He attended college at Sacramento State University. He was a bodybuilder during his late teens and early twenties. Rossovich has Croatian and Italian ancestry; his mother's family originates from the Tuscany region of Italy, while his father's family comes from Istria, Croatia. His great-grandfather emigrated to the United States from Mošćenička Draga, a coastal town in Istria, Croatia, whence the surname Rossovich originates, as it was first found there.
Career
Rossovich's first big movie break came when he was cast as Cadet First Lieutenant Dante Pignetti in the drama-thriller The Lords of Discipline, with Bill Paxton and Michael Biehn. The movie helped launch Paxton's and Biehn's careers, and Rossovich would go on to work again with both Biehn and Paxton in The Terminator and Navy SEALs. He and Paxton worked together also in Streets of Fire, an American neo-noir rock musical film directed and co-written by Walter Hill. Rossovich's next movie was Losin' It, a "teenage romp down to Mexico... and [Rossovich] played a marine who the kids kept coming across, and which resulted in some high jinks." Losin' It was Tom Cruise's first lead role. Rossovich and Cruise, who Rossovich considers "a great guy," He then moved to Sweden, where he resides as of 2016. After giving up cinema and his Hollywood life, Rossovich attempted a return to acting in 2012, with the comedy drama Sandbar. Rossovich does not appear to be contemplating to return to acting steadily, as in 2012 he stated: "I've had a really great marriage and kids. I've saved my money and invested. I can do what I want. I guess that's a blessing and a curse. It takes away some of your drive to go out and be a workaholic."
Rossovich has appeared in over 30 films, including:
- The Terminator (as Matt) (1984)
- Top Gun (as 'Slider') (1986)
- Roxanne (as Chris McConnell) (1987)
- Navy SEALs (as Corpsman James Leary) (1990)
He also appeared in several TV series, including:
- Pacific Blue (as Lieutenant Anthony Palermo, 1995–1998)
- ER as Dr. John Taglieri (1994–1995)
- Black Scorpion as Walker
- Sons and Daughters as Spud Lincoln (1991)
Rossovich has made guest appearances in such TV shows as Tales from the Crypt, Mad About You, Murder, She Wrote and Due South. In 2007, he appeared with his son, Roy, in an episode of House Hunters International set in Stockholm, Sweden.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1983
| Losin' It
| Marine
|
|-
| 1983
| The Lords of Discipline
| Dante 'Pig' Pignetti
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1984
| Streets of Fire
| Officer Cooley
|
|-
| The Terminator
| Matt
|
|-
| 1985
| Warning Sign
| Bob
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1986
| Let's Get Harry
| Kurt Klein
|
|-
| The Morning After
| Detective
|
|-
| Top Gun
| Lieutenant Junior Grade Ron 'Slider' Kerner
|
|-
| 1987
| Roxanne
| Chris McConnell
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1988
| Spellbinder
| Derek Clayton
|
|-
| Cognac
| Bogoljub / Nikamia
|
|-
| Waxwork
| Michael Loftmore
| Uncredited
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1989
| Paint It Black
| Jonathan Dunbar
|
|-
| The Roommate
|
| Short Film
|-
| 1990
| Navy SEALs
| Leary
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1993
| The Evil Inside Me
| Daniel
| Also known as Fatally Yours
|-
| Tropical Heat
| Gravis
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1994
| Future Shock
| Frat Boy
|
|-
| New Crime City
| Anthony Ricks
| Lead role
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1995
| Cover Me
| Sergeant Bobby Colter
|
|-
| Black Scorpion
| Lieutenant Stan Walker
|
|-
| 1996
| Black Scorpion II: Aftershock
| Construction Foreman
|
|-
| 1997
| Truth or Consequences, N.M.
| Robert Boylan
|
|-
| 1998
| Telling You
| McQueeney
| (uncredited)
|-
| 2003
| Artworks
| Bret Rogers
|
|-
| 2012
| Sandbar
| Ronnie McCubbing
|
|-
| 2016
| A Beautiful Day
| Jack
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1978
| Fantasy Island
| Abdul (uncredited)
| Episode: "King for a Day/Instant Family"
|-
|1979
| Fantasy Island
| Boris Smolensk (uncredited)
| Episode: "Baby/Marathon: Battle of the Sexes"
|-
|1980
| Fantasy Island
| Ozzie (uncredited)
| Episode: "Eagleman/Children of Mentu"
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1981
| B. J. and the Bear
| Football Player
| Episode: "Beauties and the Beasts"
|-
| Eight is Enough
| Fred
| Episode: "If the Glass Slipper Fits"
|-
| 1983
| Deadly Lessons
| Craig
| TV movie
|-
| 1984
| Single Bars, Single Women
| Dolph
| TV movie
|-
| 1985
| MacGruder and Loud
| Officer Geller
| Episode: "The Price of Junk"
|-
| 1988
| 14 Going on 30
| Roy 'Jackjaw' Kelton
| TV movie
|-
| 1990
| Tales From the Crypt
| Hans/Younger Carlton Webster
| Episode: "The Switch"
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1991
| The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw
| Ethan Cassidy
| TV movie
|-
| Sons and Daughters
| Spud Lincoln
| 13 episodes
|-
| 1992
| Tequila and Bonetti
| T.T. Boner
| Episode: "Tequila and Boner"
|-
| 1993
| Mad About You
| Sherman Williams
| Episode: "The Painter"
|-
| 1994
| Touched by an Angel
| Marshall
| Episode: "Fallen Angela"
|-
| 1994-1995
| ER
| Dr. John 'Tag' Taglieri
| 11 episodes
|-
| 1995
| Due South
| Mark Smithbauer
| Episode: "The Blue Line"
|-
| 1996
| Murder, She Wrote
| Steve Gantry
| Episode: "Race to Death"
|-
| 1996-1998
| Pacific Blue
| Lieutenant Anthony Palermo
| 57 Episodes
|-
| 1997
| Legend of the Lost Tomb
| Dr. Eric Leonhardt
| TV movie
|-
| 1998
| Mike Hammer, Private Eye
| Henry Spencer
| Episode: "A New Leaf: Part 2"
|-
| 1999
| Killer Deal
| Sgt. James 'Jimmy' Quinn
| TV movie
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2000
| Miracle in Lane 2
| Myron Yoder
| TV movie
|-
| Chicken Soup for the Soul
| Don Yaeger
| TV series
|}
Music videos
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Artist
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1988
|How Can the Laboring Man Find Time for Self Culture?
|Martini Ranch
| Adonis
|-
| 1992
|Watch Me
|Lorrie Morgan
| Boyfriend
|-
|}
Video games
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|Denotes video games that have not yet been released
|-
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{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col"|Year
! scope="col"|Title
! scope="col"|Role(s)
!scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1997
|Blue Heat: The Case of the Cover Girl Murders
|Sgt. Bobby Colter
| Based on Cover Me
|-
|}