Dean Norris

Dean Joseph Norris (born April 8, 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Hank Schrader on the AMC series Breaking Bad (2008–2013). Throughout his career, he has amassed over 154 credits across film and television, including over 40 law enforcement roles.

Early life and education

Dean Joseph Norris was born on April 8, 1963, in South Bend, Indiana, to a family of Hungarian descent; his grandfather lived in Tiszadob. He graduated from Clay High School in 1981, where he was the class valedictorian. While in high school, he was a member of the award-winning student-produced comedy show Beyond Our Control, which ran on WNDU-TV.

He is a 1985 graduate of Harvard College, where he was a first-generation college student who studied the interdisciplinary concentration of Social Studies and was a member of Hasty Pudding Theatricals. He also earned a diploma from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1987.

Career

Television

Norris starred in Tremors: The Series and the film Without Limits. He has had guest spots in other television series including NYPD Blue, The X-Files, The West Wing, and Lost.

He played Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Hank Schrader on Breaking Bad from the show's premiere in 2008 to its final season in 2013. Norris's performance on Breaking Bad has received critical acclaim.

Norris also starred in the CBS series Under the Dome. He plays selectman James "Big Jim" Rennie, the only town council member in the area when it is cut off from the rest of the United States.

As of June 2017, he plays mob boss Clay "Uncle Daddy" Husser in the TNT series Claws.

In 2020, Norris reprised the role of Agent Hank Schrader on-screen in the Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul during the show's fifth season.

Norris was cast in a lead role for the CBS sitcom United States of Al.

Film

Norris has appeared in films such as Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Hard to Kill (1990), Total Recall (1990), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), The Firm (1993), Starship Troopers (1997), The Cell (2000), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Evan Almighty (2007), Sons of Liberty (2015), The Book of Henry (2017), Death Wish (2018), Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) and Carry-On (2024).

Personal life

Norris and his wife, Bridget, a former entertainment attorney, have five children together. The couple lives in Temecula, California. In 2018, the couple opened the Norris Performing Arts Center in Murrieta. Norris is a fan of his hometown team the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. In 2019, he helped launch Schraderbräu, Hank Schrader's in-universe home-brewed craft beer, as an official product.

In 2022, the couple purchased The Swing Inn Cafe, a long-standing restaurant in Old Town, Temecula, for $6 million.

Norris is a member of the Democratic Party. He is known to have attended the 2016 and 2024 Democratic National Conventions.

Filmography

Film

• 1985 — Blind Alleys — Peter Brockway
• 1989 — Police Academy 6: City Under Siege — Cop
• 1989 — Disorganized Crime — Deputy Joe
• 1989 — Lethal Weapon 2 — Detective Tim Cavanaugh
• 1990 — Montana — Foreman
• 1990 — When You Remember Me — Bill
• 1990 — Hard to Kill — Sergeant Goodhart
• 1990 — Total Recall — Tony
• 1990 — Gremlins 2: The New Batch — SWAT Team Leader
• 1990 — Desperate Hours — Maddox
• 1991 — Terminator 2: Judgment Day — SWAT Team Leader
• 1992 — The Lawnmower Man — The Director
• 1993 — The Firm — Squat Man
• 1993 — Full Eclipse — Fleming
• 1993 — Jailbait — Hershiser
• 1994 — Playmaker — Detective Marconi
• 1994 — The Last Seduction — Shep
• 1995 — Safe — Mover
• 1995 — Money Train — Guard
• 1997 — Gattaca — Beat Cop
• 1997 — Starship Troopers — Commanding Officer
• 1998 — The Negotiator — Scott
• 1998 — Without Limits — Dellinger
• 1999 — Sonic Impact — Agent McGee
• 2000 — 3 Strikes — Officer Robert
• 2000 — The Cell — Cole
• 2001 — The One — Sergeant Siegel
• 2005 — American Gun — Terrence
• 2006 — Little Miss Sunshine — State Trooper McCleary
• 2007 — Evan Almighty — Officer Collins
• 2007 — The Heartbreak Kid — Jodi's Father
• 2008 — Linewatch — Warren Kane
• 2010 — How Do You Know — Tom
• 2011 — Prom — Frank Prescott
• 2012 — Get the Gringo — Officer Bill
• 2013 — The Frozen Ground — Sergeant Lyle Haugsven
• 2013 — The Counselor — The Buyer
• 2014 — Small Time — Ash Martini
• 2014 — Men, Women & Children — Kent Mooney
• 2015 — Remember — John Kurlander
• 2015 — Secret in Their Eyes — 'Bumpy' Willis
• 2017 — Fist Fight — Principal Richard Tyler
• 2017 — The Book of Henry — Commissioner Glenn Sickleman
• 2018 — Beirut — Donald Gaines
• 2018 — Death Wish — Detective Kevin Raines
• 2019 — The Hustle — Howard Bacon
• 2019 — Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark — Roy Nicholls
• 2023 — Fool's Paradise — Studio Head
• 2024 — Unfrosted — Nikita Khrushchev
• 2024 — The Six Triple Eight — General Halt
• 2024 — Carry-On — Phil Sarkowski
• 2025 — The Parenting — John
• 2025 — Border Hunters — Abraham

Awards and nominations

• 2011 — Saturn Awards — Best Supporting Actor on Television — Breaking Bad — Nominated
• 2012 — Screen Actors Guild Awards — Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series — Breaking Bad — Nominated
• 2013 — Screen Actors Guild Awards — Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series — Breaking Bad — Nominated
• 2014 — Screen Actors Guild Awards — Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series — Breaking Bad — Won
• 2014 — Saturn Awards — Best Supporting Actor on Television — Under the Dome — Nominated