Robert John Burke Biography
S.U.N.Y. (State University of New York) Purchase-educated Burke has had a long career in the acting field starting in the late '70s. Born in New York, Burke began acting as part of an internship at the Performing Arts Foundation Playhouse while still in high school.
He began acting on TV, appearing in such shows as As the World Turns and Happy Days. By 1977 he had his first feature film credit with the film Looking for Mr. Goodbar.
Burke devoted his energies in the '80s to an experimental teaching program designed to involve students directly in the arts, but he did snag a few roles in feature films like The Chosen (1981). When the '90s hit, he returned to working on film full time making notable appearances in films like Rambling Rose (1991), Heaven & Earth (1993), Tombstone (1993) and RoboCop 3 (1993), playing the futuristic cyborg.
After working with director Hal Hartley in his first film The Unbelievable Truth (1990), the two developed a friendship that would see them working together for more than a decade.
In 1992 they collaborated again to make the film, Simple Men, followed by Hartley's troubled romance triad Flirt (1995), and the fantasy film, No Such Thing (2002).
Burke has also made a number of notable television appearances through the years including guest appearances on Oz, Law & Order, the telefilm Crazy for a Kiss, the Emmy-winning miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, Rescue Me and most recently Army Wives. He also returned to film to star in Limitless with Bradley Cooper, and Safe (2012) alongside Jason Statham.
Filmography:
Safe (2012)
Limitless (2011)
Brooklyn's Finest (2009)
Miracle at St. Anna (2008)
Fast Track (2006)
Jack's Law (2006)
The Oh in Ohio (2006)
Munich (2005)
Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)
Hide and Seek (2005)
Connie and Carla (2004)
Speak (2004)
Piggie (2003)
Confessions of a Dangeruos Mind (2002)
State Property (2002)
No Such Thing (2001)
Triples (1998)
Somewhere in the City (1998)
Mayday - Flug in den Tod (1997)
First Love, Last Rites (1997)
Cop Land (1997)
Killer: A Journal of Murder (1996)
Thinner (1996)
Fled (1996)
If Lucy Fell (1996)
Flirt (1995)
Tombstone (1993)
RoboCop 3 (1993)
A Far Off Place (1993)
Heaven & Earth (1993)
Dust Devil (1992)
Simple Men (1992)
Rambling Rose (1991)
The Unbelievable Truth (1990)
Nightmare Weekend (1986)
The Chosen (1981)
Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)