Chance Kelly is an American film and television actor who played Detective Ed Cutler on the NBC series Aquarius. He is also known for starring as Lt. Col. "Godfather" Ferrando in the 2008 HBO miniseries Generation Kill, Mitchell Loeb in the Fox television series Fringe, and Randall Watts in the Cinemax television series Banshee.
Early life
Kelly was born on January 28, 1967. He graduated from Byram Hills High School in Armonk, NY in 1985. After playing football at Ithaca College, Kelly transferred to New York University where he earned a BA in English and Writing, with the intention of pursuing a career as a writer. But, after losing a bet and in spite of a profound fear of public speaking, he entered an acting class. He was so terrified that he gave his first monologue to a brick wall.
Career
While pursuing his acting career, he also entered the amateur boxing circuit in NYC, winning the Superheavyweight division of the NYC Metros tournament. The following year, he entered the NYC Golden Gloves, winning his first fight by knockout, only to have to subsequently drop out of the competition for work on the film The Devil's Own. A few years later, he also earned an MS from Columbia University. He played Lt. Col. Stephen "Godfather" Ferrando in HBO's Generation Kill. After reading the book upon which the adaptation was based, Kelly embarked on a five-month shoot in Africa, from May to December 2007. He also developed a unique, raspy voice for the role. The Boston Globe praised the "fierce edge" Kelly's performance brought to the series, opining, "Godfather leads with the competitive fury of a high school football coach. His eyes are cold fire, and Kelly, like a few other members of this cast, deserves notice at Emmy time next year." On Memorial Day 2009, he was appointed Honorary Marine by the Marine Corps League for his work inGeneration Kill. Kelly appeared in the first season of the science fiction series Fringe as Agent Mitchell Loeb, beginning with the episode "In Which We Meet Mr. Jones". He portrayed Bart McDade, President and COO of Lehman Brothers, in the HBO film Too Big to Fail. Kelly appears as a mysterious interrogator in the American television seriesHomeland. He has also played recurring characters on For Life, 'Power, Banshee, House of Cards, Legends, Hostages, Army Wives, The Whole Truth, Delocated, Rescue Me, and The Black Donnellys. Additionally, he has also guest starred on The Blacklist, Alpha House, Motive, Nikita, Burn Notice & The Jury, NYC 22, Blue Bloods, Unforgettable, Body of Proof, Ray Donovan, Golden Boy, and Blindspot. He played the disturbing "Orange Suit Man" in M. Night Shyamalan's film Unbreakable. He has also appeared in the feature films American Sniper, Little Children, The Taking of Pelham 123, Stake Land, and Broken City. Kelly portrayed seven different characters on seven different Law & Order'' episodes between 2002 and 2011: Court Officer #1 ; Det. Finch ; Kyle Marsden ; Fireman Charlie Hugo ; State Trooper Lawley ; Elvis Howell ; and Sergeant Forde. Kelly continues his writing pursuits and has several scripts in development.
Personal life
Chance Kelly's maternal grandfather was screenwriter William Fay. Chance Kelly's great, great, great Uncle was Honest John Kelly. John Kelly was one of the first Irish-Catholics to be elected in U.S. Congress in 1856. He would go on to become Sheriff of New York, and later take over and re-organize Tammany Hall in the wake of the Boss Tweed era. John Kelly was a fierce defender of the rights of New York immigrants from all parts of the world. He is entombed beneath the Basilica of Old St. Patrick's Cathedral on Mulberry Street in NYC, where he and the venerable Pierre Toussaint https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Toussaint were fellow parishioners. Chance Kelly holds a BA from New York University and an MS from Columbia University. Chance Kelly is married with three children.
