With a career spanning over half a century, Tom Skerritt is a fantastic actor who has appeared in many movies, TV shows, and even video games! Today, we are looking back on his legendary career as we check out some of his most memorable and iconic roles.
Duke Forrest , M*A*S*H (1970)
What better place to start a look back at the career of Tom Skerritt than his breakthrough role as surgeon Duke Forrest in the iconic black comedy M*A*S*H. While M*A*S*H is mostly remembered for the TV series, a neat bit of trivia about the role of Duke Forrest is that Tom Skerritt was offered the chance to reprise his role as Duke for the TV series, but he ultimately turned it down. You could argue that Tom Skerritt would not have had the career he would go on to have without the role of Duke Forrest.
Dr. David Drumlin, Contact (1997)
You could argue that in the sci-fi drama Contact, Tom Skerritt actually plays one of the villains or at the very least a major antagonist! Going head to head with Jodie Foster as mankind accepts that they are not alone in the universe sees Tom Skerritt showcase a really strong and stern acting style. An acting style that actually got him nominated for an award, A Blockbuster Entertainment Award for best supporting actor. It may not mean much today, but back in the 80s and especially the 90s, Blockbuster Video was a big deal!
Ben Givens, East of the Mountains (2021)
Here we are all the way in 2021 and Tom Skerritt has a leading role! East of the Mountains is a powerful drama where Tom Skerritt plays the role of a man called Ben. Ben is a widower and he has decided that he wants to end his life. We go with him on a journey of reminiscence and even a little later in life self-discovery as he heads to where he and his late wife fell in love. This is powerful stuff that is sure to make more than a few tears appear in your eyes. This is easily one of the best performances from the later part of his career!
Reverend Maclean, A River Runs Through It (1992)
Here we have another powerful performance from Tom Skerritt as he plays the role of Reverend Maclean. Here he plays the father of two sons, Norman and Paul, one of which is more laid back and the other is a real rebel. Seeing Tom Skerritt play a caring father to the self-destructive Brad Pitt is pretty awesome stuff. His closing speech at the end is sure to hit you right in the feels. This is a fantastic coming of age story and a story about family and unconditional love and Tom Skerritt is a huge reason as to why the movie packs the emotional punch that it does.
Bruce Gardener, Poltergeist III (1988)
Playing the uncle of the iconic Carol Anne, Tom Skerritt is awesome in the role of Bruce Gardener in Poltergeist III. This is a really fun ghost story and as the creepy as hell Kane starts to tighten his evil grasp on this Chicago high rise building, Bruce and his wife Pat soon realize that the stories Carol Anne was telling were not made up. Poltergeist III kind of gets ignored, but this is still a fun and pretty jumpy ghost story and Tom Skerritt is pretty underrated in this role as he delivers a very believable performance.
Darryl Cooper, Poison Ivy (1992)
This was a tough choice to put on here as, to be honest, 1992’s Poison Ivy is really a Drew Barrymore movie as she steals the show. However, as well as stealing the show, her character Ivy also steals Tom Skerritt’s Darryl away from his wife and daughter in this slick, stylish, and raunchy erotic thriller. This came as part of the early 90s erotic thriller boom and it is one of the movies that tends to get ignored which is a shame as it is a thrilling watch and Tom Skerritt is fantastic in his role as the caring father and husband who is led astray.
Mike “Viper” Metcalf, Top Gun (1986)
Sure, you remember Top Gun for Tom Cruise as Maverick, Val Kilmer as Ice Man, and Anthony Edwards as Goose. However, Tom Skerritt also had a role in Top Gun, he was Viper and he was the commanding officer of Top Gun and he actually served in Vietnam with Maverick’s dad! While it is cool that Tom Skerritt is in Top Gun a neat bit of movie trivia is that not only does he play a military man in the movie, he actually was in the United States Air Force so it is kind of neat that he is an actual military man, playing one in a movie!
Captain Frank Sedman, Knight Moves (1992)
A thriller that revolves around chess? Hey, Knight Moves from 1992 may not sound like the most exciting thriller on paper, but this is a fun whodunnit murder mystery. Peter was a chess prodigy as a child who now lives a great life. However, his lover ends up being murdered and this is where Tom Skerritt comes into play! He is a cop who realizes that there is a serial killer at work here and Peter may have a few skeletons hiding in his closet. This is a fantastic thriller that also features a great performance from The Highlander, Christopher Lambert.
John D’Angelo, Fighting Back (1992)
If you want to see a more brutal and hard hitting performance by Tom Skerritt, 1982’s Fighting Back is the movie for you. Set in Philadelphia, Tom Skerritt plays the role of a man called John D’Angelo. Crime is taking over the city and after losing his unborn child and his mother is robbed, John has had enough! John starts a brutal vigilante group that tries to clean up the streets and also find the gang leader responsible for the death of his child. John is such a great character that you admire him and also fear him at the same time as he is certainly a very flawed character.
Captain Arthur Davis, Alien (1979)
What better place to wrap this up than with one of the greatest sci-fi horror movies of all time, Alien? We all think of Ripley when it comes to the Alien franchise, but Tom Skerritt is actually the man in charge of this initial run-in with the Xenomorph as he plays ship captain, Arthur Davis. Granted, things do not go well for poor Captain Davis, but this is an iconic role for sure and arguably the role most people associate Tom Skerritt with! A fun bit of trivia is that when the studio initially offered him the role, he turned it down! It was not until Ridley Scott came on board that he accepted the role.
Even if the name may not ring a bell, chances are you will have seen something that Tom Skerritt was a part of. With so many iconic roles, it was hard to narrow this list down to just 10, but we encourage you to have some fun by thinking about what you consider to be the best Tom Skerritt performances. You can find more top movie picks from other celebrities right here on YouTube.
Tom Skerritt was ranked at the 329th place of contemporary actors by YouGov, with an overall fame of 65% and a popularity rating of 43%.
