Early career in theater

After graduating from high school in 1971,^[4] Morse was invited by Esquire Jauchem, who had directed him in one of his school plays, to audition for the repertory theater he was helping form in Boston, the Boston Repertory Company.^[5] Morse became a member that summer at age 17 and spent six years performing there while living in the Fort Hill section of Roxbury.^[6]

In 1975, Jauchem, by then the artistic director of the Boston Repertory Theater, adapted and directed a stage musical version of The Point! that starred Morse as Oblio.^[7] The production later toured to the Trinity Square Repertory Company in Providence. In the late 1970s, Morse moved from Boston to New York to further his stage career with the Circle Repertory Company and to study acting at the William Esper Studio.^[8][9]

Film and television

In 1980, Morse made his theatrical film debut in the drama Inside Moves.^[6] Morse was listed as one of the twelve most "Promising New Actors of 1980" in John A. Willis's Screen World, Vol. 32.^[10]

Morse's big break came in 1982 when he was cast in the television medical drama St. Elsewhere. He played Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison, a young physician who is forced to deal with the death of his wife and the struggles of a single parent professional.^[11]

Morse appeared in a number of supporting roles following St. Elsewhere. He is quoted as saying, "I made the decision that I didn't care if there was any money in the role or not. I had to find roles that were different from what I had been doing."^[12] His turn in Desperate Hours as antagonist showed a darker side of Morse.^[12] He later starred in The Indian Runner and The Crossing Guard. He has appeared in three adaptations of Stephen King stories: The Langoliers, Hearts in Atlantis, and The Green Mile. He was a guest star on Homicide: Life on the Street, playing a racist cousin of Detective Tim Bayliss.^[13]

In 2002, Morse starred as Mike Olshansky, an ex-Philadelphia police officer turned cab driver, in the television film Hack. For his role in the 2002 crime-drama film Shuang Tong, Morse was nominated as Best Supporting Actor in the Golden Horse Awards, the first ever nomination for an English-speaking actor. He appeared as suspicious neighbor Mr. Turner in the 2007 thriller Disturbia. Film critic and commentator John Podhoretz wrote that Morse is a "largely unsung character actor who enlivens and deepens every movie fortunate enough to have him in the cast."^[14]

In 2006, Morse received a phone call from David Shore, who had previously worked with him on the Hack series. Shore asked him if he would be interested in having a guest role on House. When Morse watched the show, he could not understand why people enjoyed it because he believed "this House guy is a total jerk." When he told some of his friends about the offer, however, their excited reactions convinced him to accept the role.^[15] Morse portrayed Michael Tritter, a detective with a vendetta against Dr. House. He earned his first Emmy Award nomination for his work on the series.^[16]

In 2008, Morse portrayed George Washington in the HBO miniseries John Adams, for which his nose was made bigger with prosthetics. Morse commented, "The first thing that comes to mind is my nose; it was my big idea to do that nose. We didn't have a lot of time, because they asked me to do this about three weeks before they started shooting, and I just kept looking at these portraits and thinking 'this man's face is so commanding.' And I did not feel that my face was very commanding in the way his was. So I convinced them that we should try the nose, and we tried it on, and everybody went, 'Wow, that's Washington.'"^[15] Morse's portrayal earned him his second Emmy Award nomination. He also portrays Washington in voice form as part of The Hall of Presidents show in Walt Disney World Resort's Magic Kingdom.^[17]

Morse has stated that out of all of the films he has done, his favorites are The Green Mile,^[18] The Crossing Guard, and The Indian Runner.^[15]

In 2010, he guest starred in two episodes of the HBO drama series Treme as Lt. Terry Colson of the New Orleans Police Department. He was promoted to series regular starting with the show's second season, which began in April 2011. Later that year, Morse won the best actor award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival for his role in Collaborator.^[19] He played an ex-CIA agent in the film World War Z (2013). He played the late NFL player Mike Webster in the biographical sports drama Concussion (2015).

Stage

In addition to performing in films and on television, Morse has continued to appear on stage. For his performance in the 1997 Off-Broadway production of Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama How I Learned to Drive, he received an Obie Award, a Drama League Award, a Drama Desk Award, and a Lucille Lortel Award. That same year, he played Father Barry in the play adaptation of On the Waterfront.^[20] From 2007 to 2008, Morse appeared on Broadway in Conor McPherson's play The Seafarer.^[21][22] He received a Tony Award nomination for his role in the 2018 Broadway revival of The Iceman Cometh.^[23]

Film

Television

Selected stage work

Audiobook performances