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]

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]