Early Life and Education
Berkeley was born in Brooklyn and raised in New Jersey.1 He studied at Hampshire College and also worked in theater productions across the Five Colleges consortium in Massachusetts, including Smith, Mount Holyoke, Amherst, and the University of Massachusetts, as well as Off-Broadway productions in New York City.1
After college he trained with teachers from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the Moscow Arts Theater, and HB Studios in New York, before later studying under Lee Strasberg at The Actors Studio in Los Angeles.1 His transition to film was catalyzed by a casting director who saw him in a production of Reynolds Price's play Early Dark and encouraged him to pursue screen work.1
Career
Berkeley made his screen debut in Mommie Dearest (1981), playing Christopher Crawford.2 Through the 1980s he accumulated a steady stream of television guest roles on series including M*A*S*H, Cagney and Lacey, Remington Steele, Miami Vice, Moonlighting, and The A-Team.1
His film work through the 1990s established him as a reliable character actor across a range of genres. He played Todd Voight in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Trevor Lyle in Candyman (1992), Henry Hurt in Apollo 13 (1995), Ralph in Heat (1995), Secret Service Agent Gibbs in Air Force One (1997), Dr. Lamar in Gattaca (1997), and Marshal Van Cleef in Shanghai Noon (2000).1 He appeared in both Michael Mann's 1989 television film L.A. Takedown and Mann's celebrated 1995 theatrical remake Heat, playing different characters in each version.1
On television, Berkeley achieved broad recognition through several prominent series regular roles. He played George Mason, the head of the counter-terrorist unit, across the first two seasons of 24 (2001-2003).1 He then played Percy Rose, the main antagonist of the first two seasons of the action thriller Nikita (2010-2012).1 In the web drama The Booth at the End (2010-2012) he played the enigmatic lead character known only as "The Man,"1 a role that earned him the Streamy Award for Best Male Performance in Drama at the 3rd Annual Streamy Awards in 2013.3 He played Gregory, a recurring antagonist, across seasons six through eight of AMC's The Walking Dead (2016-2018).1 Additional notable television credits include Sheriff Thomas McAllister in The Mentalist, John Smith in Jericho (2006), Peter Lockwood in Supergirl (2018), and Captain Gilad Pellaeon in The Mandalorian (2023).1
Berkeley's voice acting credits include recurring and guest roles in Gargoyles, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, and Teen Titans, as well as Quentin Beck/Mysterio in The Spectacular Spider-Man, Captain Atom in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, and Dr. Kirk Langstrom in Son of Batman.1
In addition to acting, Berkeley works as a makeup artist, painter, and sculptor.1
Extreme Ghostbusters
Berkeley appeared as a guest voice actor in Extreme Ghostbusters, the 1997 animated continuation of the Ghostbusters franchise. He contributed to two episodes:
Personal Life
Berkeley met actress Sarah Clarke on the set of 24 in 2001 and the two married in 2002.1 They have two children together.1
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
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"Xander Berkeley," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xander_Berkeley
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IMDb, "Xander Berkeley as Christopher Crawford (Adult)," Mommie Dearest (1981), accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082766/characters/nm0075359
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The Streamy Awards, "3rd Annual Nominees and Winners," accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.streamys.org/nominees-winners/3rd-annual-nominees/
