Career
Murphy is best known for his performances as Jill Clayburgh's adulterous husband Martin in Paul Mazursky's An Unmarried Woman (1978), as Woody Allen's morally ambiguous best friend Yale in Manhattan (1979), as The Mayor of Gotham City in Batman Returns (1992), as ethically enigmatic lawyer Alan Kligman, Esq. in Magnolia (1999), as the "mutant" Angel's human father (and crusading cure-developer) Warren Worthington II in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), and as the star of Garry Trudeau and Robert Altman's 1988 miniseries Tanner '88.
Murphy worked frequently with Altman, including as Captain Ezekiel Bradbury "Me Lay" Marston V, in M*A*S*H (1970), as Det. Lt. Frank Shaft in Brewster McCloud (1970), as John Triplette in Nashville (1975), and as the eponymous, fictitious former U.S. Congressman and presidential aspirant, Jack Tanner, in Tanner '88, a role he later reprised in the 2004 Sundance Channel follow-up miniseries Tanner on Tanner. Other Altman films and television series in which Murphy appeared include the World War II TV series Combat! (in which Murphy appeared, twice, in 1963, on the show's second of five seasons), Countdown (1968), That Cold Day in the Park (1969), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1988) and Kansas City (1996).
Other notable film roles include Count Yorga, Vampire (1970), What's Up, Doc? (1972), The Thief Who Came to Dinner (1973), The Front (1976), The Great Bank Hoax (1977), The Class of Miss MacMichael (1978), The Year of Living Dangerously (1983), Cloak & Dagger (1984), My Letter to George (1986), Salvador (1986), Private Parts (1997), Silver City (2004), According to Greta (2009), White House Down (2013) and They Came Together (2014).
Though usually cast in supporting roles and character parts, Murphy has also had leading turns in theatrical films including Phase IV (1974), Manhattan (1979), Strange Behavior (1981), Hot Money (1983), Shocker (1989), The Island (1998) and the 2014 film Fall—in an acclaimed performance that garnered him a nomination for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Performance in a Drama Film in 2015—as well as his having had starring turns in television films like Bell, Book and Candle (1976), 3 by Cheever: O Youth and Beauty! (1979), Countdown to Looking Glass (1984), Tailspin: Behind the Korean Airliner Tragedy (1989), The Ultimate Lie (1996), Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story (1996) and In the Dark (2003).
In addition to his starring turns in the HBO Films original productions Tanner '88, Tailspin: Behind the Korean Airliner Tragedy, and Countdown to Looking Glass, Murphy has also appeared in other films for the cable giant, including the historical biopics Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster (1992), Truman (1995) and Live from Baghdad (2002).
Murphy had starring turns in two major primetime series: as Dr. Art Armstrong on the ABC family drama Two Marriages (1983-1984), and as jaded veteran reporter Andy Omart on the short-lived CBS newspaper drama Hard Copy (1987).
He has appeared extensively in Canadian film and television, including co-starring on the legal dramady series This Is Wonderland, as longtime judicial veteran Judge Maxwell Fraser. For his work on the show, Murphy was nominated for three Gemini Awards, winning twice, successively, in 2004 and 2005, and nominated for a third in 2006. He was cast as monolithic casino executive Jimmy Molloy on the American ESPN competitive poker drama Tilt (2005), as veteran law enforcement superior, Chief Ed Wycoff, on the Canadian CTV police drama The Bridge (2010), and as George Kelly, the father of ex-soldier-turned-thief Ethan Kelly (played by Cole Hauser) in the third season of the Canadian-British-American DirecTV police drama Rogue in 2015.
His guest-starring turns on television span more than half of a century, including guest appearances on series Bonanza, Ben Casey, Hogan's Heroes, The Sixth Sense, Premiere, Baretta, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Judging Amy, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Family Law, 12 O'Clock High, Lifestories, Here Comes the Brides, LAX, Person of Interest and L.A. Law.
He has appeared in Canadian television films and miniseries Sleeping Dogs Lie (1998), The Life and Crimes of William Palmer (1998), H2O (2004), Hunt for Justice (2005), Playing House (2006) and The Quality of Life (2008), as well as a number of theatrically released features including Folks! (1992), Tart (2001), Childstar (2004), Away from Her (2006), The Trotsky (2008) and Indian Horse (2017). Murphy's guest-starring turns on Canadian television series include E.N.G., Living in Your Car, Bury the Lead, Michael: Every Day and Street Legal.
Murphy has also been a narrator of documentary films, including several dozen episodes of the PBS historical documentary series The American Experience, as well as the public television travel series Weekends with Yankee, and a variety of various American- and Canadian-produced documentary films.
