Rex Linn's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) CSI: Miami Detective F…

Main Movie Roles

BIOGRAPHY:

Rex Maynard Linn (born November 13, 1956) is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Frank Tripp in the television series CSI: Miami.

Linn was born in Hansford County, Texas, the third child, and second son, of Darlene (née Deere) and James Paul Linn.[1] In August 1969, his parents relocated the family to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where his father practiced law. There he attended Heritage Hall and later Casady School, an independent school affiliated with the Episcopal Church, and was employed part-time at the Oklahoma City Zoo. It was in November 1975, after seeing Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, that Linn announced that he really wanted to be an actor.[citation needed]
In his high school's production of Fiddler On The Roof, in which he very nearly demolished a set during a dance number, Linn was asked to leave the play by his drama coach. He was advised to direct his energy to some other field of endeavour, which effectively ended his high school acting career. He graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1980.[2]
Career After graduation, Linn worked his way up to VP of Energy Lending for the Lakeshore Bank, remaining with it until July 5, 1982, when the bank went insolvent. Linn was able to convince a talent agent to take a chance on him and represent him in the Oklahoma market. At the same time, he accepted a job with an oil company, overseeing field operations in western Oklahoma, all the while auditioning for film and TV commercial parts. After shooting some very bad commercials, he started landing small roles in various projects. It was during this time that he was given the opportunity to act in his first film, Dark Before Dawn, which was being produced by his best friend, Edward K. Gaylord II.
In 1989, he was cast in his first substantial role, as serial killer Floyd Epps, in Night Game, starring Roy Scheider. Following this film, and a part as the sheriff in the TV series, the Young Riders, he decided it was time to head west. He began with small ones in theatrical films such as My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (1991), Thunderheart (1992), and Sniper (1993), and guest shots on TV series including Northern Exposure, Raven, and The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. and Cliffhanger. Since Cliffhanger he has appeared in more than 35 films, with that number growing annually. Linn's most recent work includes an independent production, Cockfight, originally titled The Round and Round, which was released in 2004, Zodiac in 2005, and Abominable in 2006, with another picture, The Garage, in production in 2006.[citation needed]


TRIVIA:

• He has a B.A. degree in Radio, Television and Film from Oklahoma State University.
• He was a 32-year-old bank vice-president in western Oklahoma before he decided to move to L.A. and become an actor in the late 1980s.
• This bald, hulking character actor is frequently cast as stern cops or others involved in law enforcement.