In Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount+ spy thriller “Lioness,” the CIA’s deputy director of operations may look familiar — because he’s played by one of the biggest “where do I know that guy from?” actors around today. Luckily, you don’t need to be in the CIA to uncover his identity; Michael Kelly is a prolific film and television actor.
In “Lioness,” Kelly plays Byron Westfield, the boss of Nicole Kidman’s Kaitlyn Meade. But “Lioness” is far from Kelly’s first time playing a CIA employee. In the John Krasinski-led Prime Video “Jack Ryan” series, Kelly plays Mike November, a CIA station chief in Caracas who leaves the agency in later seasons. “Jack Ryan” ended in 2023, the same year “Lioness” premiered, though Kelly reprised the role in the spin-off film “Jack Ryan: Ghost War.” He also appeared as CIA agent Mark Snow in the CBS series “Person of Interest.”
In 2020, he starred as Andrew McCabe, the real-life former Deputy Director of the FBI in the Showtime miniseries “The Comey Rule.” He also played Ron Goddard on “The Sopranos,” an FBI agent and member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Another notable FBI-affiliated role Kelly took was Jonathan “Prophet” Simms in “Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior.” Meanwhile, on the big screen, Kelly played an FBI agent in “Now You See Me.” He also had a cameo role in “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” as Agent Burke, a character affiliated with G.I. Joe.
Michael Kelly’s breakout series was House of Cards
Michael Kelly may have plenty of experience playing a member of various government agencies, but he has plenty of other notable credits in his filmography. He got his start acting in the early ’90s; one of his best-known roles from early in his career was that of the security guard CJ in Zack Snyder’s 2004 “Dawn of the Dead” remake.
Kelly’s breakout role — and the one that has earned him the most acclaim — was Doug Stamper in Netflix’s political thriller series “House of Cards.” Stamper appears in all six seasons of the show, originally serving as the right hand man to Kevin Spacey’s Frank Underwood before becoming an overt antagonist in his own right. Kelly was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama at the Emmys four times for his performance as Stamper.
A few of Kelly’s other notable credits include “The Adjustment Bureau,” “Chronicle,” and “Man of Steel” on the big screen, along with appearances in shows like “The Good Wife,” “Black Mirror,” “Taboo,” and “The Penguin.”
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