- Born
- Birth nameEdward Orss
- Nickname
- Butch
- Height5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
- 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.- IMDb Mini Biography By: woodyanders
- Deep gravelly voice
- Often plays Russian characters
- Is a former Golden Gloves boxing champ.
- He's the son of a steel worker.
- Ed O'Ross guest starred on two different TV series: "Men" in 1989 and "NCIS" in 2011 and they were both titled, 'Baltimore'!.
- Studied acting with Uta Hagen and Stella Adler.
- Boy, if anyone thinks I look Irish, they need glasses. I'm pure Czechoslovakian and proud of it.
- This is the first good series I've ever done, let's put it that way. When you get up in the morning and you can't wait to go to work and you're just loving every minute of it, it really is heaven. (on playing Nikolai on "Six Feet Under")
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