---
name: "Michael O'Neill"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/michael-oneill-21710"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "29 May 1947"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 80
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-09-17T07:51:52.433659+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Michael O'Neill

Actor. Born 29 May 1947 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 29 May 1947, Montgomery, Alabama, USA
- **Active:** 1993–present
- **Also known as:** مایکل اونیل
- **Average Fi1m score:** 80, as actor, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 84 (1), 2000s 82 (1), 2010s 81 (2), 2020s 70 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 80 to 74 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 1 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Crime 3, History 2, Mystery 1, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 1, Thriller 1
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $353m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3308419, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642259/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/21710

## Biography

Michael O'Neill is an American actor. He graduated from Auburn University in 1974 and trained at the Theatricum Botanicum in Los Angeles under Will Geer and Ellen Geer before moving to New York to begin his career.

He is known for his recurring role as Secret Service Agent Ron Butterfield on *The West Wing* (1999–2006). Other television credits include appearances in *24* (2001), *The Unit* (2006–2009), *Grey's Anatomy* (2005), *Prison Break* (2005), *The Mentalist* (2008), *Criminal Minds* (2005), *The X-Files* (1993), *Sons of Anarchy* (2008) and *Fringe* (2008). Film roles include *Transformers* (2007), *Seabiscuit* (2003), *Traffic* (2000), *J. Edgar* (2011) and *Dallas Buyers Club* (2013) as Richard Barkley.

*Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, encyclopediaofalabama.org.*

## On Fi1m (5)

- *Air* (2023), Fi1m 70, as Joe Dean — [page](https://film.one/film/air.md)
- *Dallas Buyers Club* (2013), Fi1m 75, as Richard Barkley — [page](https://film.one/film/dallas-buyers-club.md)
- *Rectify* (2013), Fi1m 87, as Senator Roland Foulkes — [page](https://film.one/tv/rectify.md)
- *Traffic* (2000), Fi1m 82, as Lawyer Rodman — [page](https://film.one/film/traffic.md)
- *The X-Files* (1993), Fi1m 84, as Patrol Captain Van Gelder — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-x-files.md)

## Also known for

- *Transformers* (2007), Tom Banacheck
- *Prison Break* (2005), Herb Stanton
- *The Mentalist* (2008), Sheriff Nelson
- *Criminal Minds* (2005), Det. Yarbough
- *J. Edgar* (2011), Senator McKellar
- *NCIS* (2003), Riley McCallister
- *Green Zone* (2010), Colonel Bethel
- *Dreamcatcher* (2003), Gen. Matheson

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/michael-oneill-21710