John Kapelos

John Kapelos
John Kapelos
	Kapelos in 2014
Born	March 8, 1956 (age 68); London, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1981–present

John Kapelos (born March 8, 1956) is a Canadian actor from London, Ontario.^[1] He is best known for his portrayals of janitor Carl Reed in The Breakfast Club^[2] and Detective Donald Schanke in Forever Knight.^[3]^[4]

An alumnus of The Second City, Chicago,^[5]^[6] Kapelos's theatrical work spans eight years from Second City's Touring Company (1978–1982) to six revues as a member of the famed Resident Company (1982–1986), and finally Second City's critically acclaimed return to off-Broadway in Orwell That Ends Well at the former Village Gate in New York City.^[2]^[7]

Career

Kapelos' work in film includes appearances in three John Hughes films, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Weird Science, which all earned him notice in the 1980s as a character actor.^[5] He also appeared in 1999's The Deep End of the Ocean, which received praise from both The New York Times^[8] and Roger Ebert^[9] from The Chicago Sun Times.

Other film appearances include Schepisi's Roxanne,^[10]^[11] with Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah, and Garry Marshall's Nothing in Common,^[10] opposite Tom Hanks, and Touchstone’s Stick It. While he has often appeared in comedies, several roles, including The Boost,^[12] with James Woods, and Internal Affairs^[10] with Richard Gere, have been dramatic roles.

On television, Kapelos has appeared in numerous shows. Those appearances include Miami Vice as a corrupt public defender, Desperate Housewives, Queer as Folk, The X-Files, Seinfeld, Home Improvement, Dead Like Me, ER, and Boston Legal.^[10] He also played a security guard in a 2010 episode of the television series Nikita, filmed at the University of Toronto. More recently, he has appeared in a recurring role on Days of Our Lives.

Kapelos also guest teaches at the AIA Studios focusing on improv/acting workshops;^[13] produced a four-part series on YouTube featuring monologues by NPR-contributor Michael Raysses called Greek to Me,^[14] and manages an independent record label called Carpuzi Records, which has produced sound recordings featuring him and some of the Second City alumni, such as Dan Castellaneta.^[15]

Selected filmography

Film

Thief (1981) as Mechanic #3
Tootsie (1982) as Actor at Party (uncredited)^[10]
Doctor Detroit (1983) as Rush Street Dude
Class (1983) as Bellman
Sixteen Candles (1984) as Rudy^[5]
The Naked Face (1984) as Frank
The Breakfast Club (1985) as Carl^[5]^[16]
Weird Science (1985) as Dino
My Man Adam (1985) as Mr. Rangle
Head Office (1985) as General Sepulveda
Off Beat (1986) as Lou Wareham
Nothing in Common (1986) as Roger the Commercial Director
Roxanne (1987) as Chuck
Vibes (1988) as Eugene
The Boost (1988) as Joel Miller
All's Fair (1989) as Eddie
Internal Affairs (1990) as Steven Arrocas
Defenseless (1991) as Jack Hammer
We're Talkin' Serious Money (1992) as Marty 'the Greek'
Man Trouble (1992) as Detective Melvenos
Guilty as Sin (1993) as Ed Lombardo
The Shadow (1994) as Duke Rollins
The Craft (1996) as Ray (uncredited)
The Late Shift (1996)
The Relic (1997) as McNally
Johnny Skidmarks (1998) as Walter Lippinscott
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999) as George Karras
Blood Type (1999) as ER Policeman
Bad Faith (2000) as Lou Miles
Legally Blonde (2001) as Dewey Newcombe (uncredited)
Ignition (2001) as Conor's Lawyer
Auto Focus (2002) as Bruno Gerussi^[2]
Fast Food High (2003) as John Redding
I Accuse (2003) as Det. Murray
Mimic 3: Sentinel (2003, Video) as Det. Gary Dumars
Shallow Ground (2004) as Leroy Riley
Knuckle Sandwich (2004) as Mr. O'Doogle
Phil the Alien (2004) as The General
Aurora Borealis (2005) as Stu
The River King (2005) as Joey Tosh
Stick It (2006) as Chris DeFrank
Fifty Pills (2006) as Harold
Mr. Soul (2006) as Bill Corrigan
Whisper (2007) as Whitley
Everybody Wants to Be Italian (2007) as Steve Bottino^[17]
Snow Buddies (2008, Video) as Jean George
Tripping Forward (2009) as Vladdy
Junkyard Dog (2010) as Hellerman
Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws (2010, Video)
Not That Funny (2012) as Kevork Sarkissian
Afternoon Delight (2013) as Jack
Miss Dial (2013) as Creepy Guy
Free Ride (2013) as Coast Guard Captain
Who the F Is Buddy Applebaum (2013) as Maggs
Underdog Kids (2015) as Teacher
First Round Down (2016) as Sonny^[18]
The Shape of Water (2017) as Mr. Arzoumanian^[10]
The Unicorn (2018) as Louis
Blood Type (2018) as ER Police Officer Lewis
22 Chaser (2018) as Bissey
Love Shot (2018) as Tony

Television

Miami Vice (1985) as Andy Sloan
Onassis: The Richest Man in the World (1988, TV Movie) as Costas Gratsos
Nick Knight (1989, TV Movie) as Det. Don Schanke
And the Sea Will Tell (1991, TV Movie) as Len Weinglass^[19]
Forever Knight (1992–1995) as Det. Don Schanke
Seinfeld (1993, Episode: "The Sniffing Accountant")
Cool and the Crazy (1994, TV Movie) as The Greek
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (Episode 16, aired Jun 10, 1995) as Vassily Savchenko (Lucky Leon)
God, the Devil and Bob (2000) (voice)
Angel (2000) as Roland Meeks
The X-Files (2002) as Special Agent Fordyce
State of Grace (2002) as Milton Figer
The District (2002) as Victor Abbot
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2002) as Chief Duke Rittle
Just Cause (2002) as Carlos Ramirez
Boomtown (2002) as Hugo Pinkston
ER (2002) as Mr. Irby
Judging Amy (2003) as Zack Wiley
The Dead Zone (2003) as Patrick Hanchin
Dead Like Me (2003) as Angus Cook
Frasier (2004) as Policeman
Cold Case (2004) as John Butler
Crossing Jordan (2004) as Halper
Identity Theft: The Michelle Brown Story (2004, TV Movie) as Ray De Lucc
Without a Trace (2004) as Ezra Hafetz
Boston Legal (2004) as Detective Wayne Farley
Queer as Folk (2005) as Don
McBride: Tune in for Murder (2005, TV Movie) as Bob Carter
Gilmore Girls (2005) as Orientation Leader
Flight 29 Down (2005-2007) as Captain Russell
Category 7: The End of the World (2005) as Secretary of Homeland Security Jim Roberts
Desperate Housewives (2006) as Eugene Beale
The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman (2006) as Ken
CSI: NY (2006) as Bobby Rossmore
One Tree Hill (2007) as Carl
Monk (2007) as Paulie Flores
Chuck (2008) as Yari Demitrios
The Suite Life on Deck (2008) as Elias
Zeke & Luther (2009) as Discount Dave
iCarly (2009) as Morris
Criminal Minds (2011) as Sheriff Montell
Modern Family (2013, Episode: "Fulgencio") as Stavros
Psych (2013) as Tom Swaggerty
Justified (2013–2014) as Picker^[2]^[5]
Transparent (2014) as Gary
Republic of Doyle (2014) as Inspector Vince Pickard
NCIS (2016) as Victor Castor
Impastor (2016) as Judge Brenden Bell
The Expanse (2018, Episode: "Delta V") as Ren
The Umbrella Academy (2020) as Jack Ruby
Medical Police (TV series) (2020) as Frank Neri^[20]
Days of Our Lives (2023-24) as Konstantin Meleounis