Ed O'Ross
- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Rough'n'tumble character actor Ed O'Ross was born as Ed Oross on July
4, 1946 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was an altar boy as a kid and
graduated from Munhall High in 1964. Following graduation O'Ross
attended both Point Park College and Carnegie Tech. He was an amateur
Golden Gloves boxing champion and minor league baseball player prior to
embarking on an acting career. He studied acting in New York with
legendary teachers Stella Adler and Uta Hagen. Ed made his film debut
in 1982 in "Dear Mr. Wonderful." A strong actor with an often intense
and intimidating screen presence, O'Ross gets frequently cast as ramrod
army officers, cynical seen-it-all-twice cops, and mean villains.
O'Ross was memorably nasty as brutal Russian drug dealer Viktor 'Rosta'
Rostavili in Walter Hill's stirring buddy cop action thriller "Red
Heat." Other notable parts include slimy dope pusher Mendez in the
exciting blockbuster "Lethal Weapon," the rugged Lt. Touchdown in
Stanley Kubrick's powerful "Full Metal Jacket," vicious mobster Ralph
Capone in "The Verne Miller Story," hard-boiled detective Cliff Willis
in the terrific sci-fi/action winner "The Hidden," the antsy Stringer
in the enjoyably trashy "Action Jackson," and the tough Col. Perry in
"Universal Soldier." Ed was outstanding as lusty Russian florist
Nikolai on the acclaimed cable TV series "Six Feet Under." Among the
other TV shows O'Ross has done guest spots on are "Curb Your
Enthusiasm," "CSI: NY," "NYPD Blue," "Boston Legal," "Chicago Hope,"
"Seinfeld," "Frasier," "Walker: Texas Ranger," "Moonlighting," and
"Scarecrow and Mrs. King." On stage Ed has appeared in Shakespeare's
"King Lear," James Thurber's "Story Theater," and City Center
children's theater. He has also acted in several TV commercials. Ed
O'Ross lives in both New York and Los Angeles.