Danny Goldring

Danny Goldring had the face of someone who has seen too many winters in Chicago. In 2008 he faced Heath Ledger's Joker with a sawed-off shotgun at the start of The Dark Knight. He didn't yell or show fear, because his character was a bank manager who wasn't going to let a bunch of clowns rob his loot.

Danny Goldring never waited for permission to step into a scene.

He was born in 1946 and grew up in an environment where hard work was the only currency. Before stepping onto a television set, he spent years delivering mail as a United States Postal Service employee. But acting was always there (latent) until he decided that the stages of Chicago were his place.

The Tough Guy Who Never Blinked

His theater training was the foundation for everything. He performed with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and the Goodman Theatre. In those spaces, he learned to use his imposing presence to play men of authority, sometimes with a current of sadness beneath the surface. In 1993, he landed a role in The Fugitive opposite Harrison Ford.

And the industry took notice.

From that point on, casting directors called on him to play cops, soldiers or villains of few words. In 1998 he worked on The Parent Trap and in 1996 on Eraser. But his natural habitat was television, where he could stretch out his characters over several episodes.

The actor appeared in three different series from the Star Trek franchise. He played a Cardassian in Deep Space Nine and a member of the Xindi-Reptilian species in Enterprise. He racked up more than 80 credits on his celebrity profile across film and television over five decades.

The Man of a Thousand Supporting Uniforms

In 2001, he joined the cast of Six Feet Under as Detective Lemaster. It was a small role, but Goldring made viewers remember his face by the end of the episode. That made him a safe bet for producers who needed gritty realism and instant credibility.

He was a method actor with none of the airs of a cover-page star.

In 2010, he appeared in The Chicago Code, showing he was still connected to his roots. His last on-screen appearance was in 2012 on Boss, where he played a city councilman. His salary was never the highest on set, but his reputation among fellow actors was spotless.

He died in Chicago on January 2, 2022 from complications of liver disease at the age of 75.