Miguel Ferrer, who had played Owen Granger on “NCIS: Los Angeles” since 2012 and co-starred with Jill Hennessy on CBS’ “Crossing Jordan,” died Thursday of cancer. He was 61.
The son of Oscar-winning “Cyrano de Bergerac” actor Jose Ferrer and Rosemary Clooney, and cousin of George Clooney, he was set to reprise his role as FBI Agent Albert Rosenfeld on David Lynch’s revival “Twin Peaks,” which premieres May 21 on Showtime.
“Today, ‘NCIS: Los Angeles’ lost a beloved family member,” showrunner R. Scott Gemmill said in a statement. “Miguel was a man of tremendous talent who had a powerful dramatic presence on screen, a wicked sense of humor, and a huge heart. Our thoughts go out to his wife Lori, his sons, and his entire family. He will be greatly missed.”
Ferrer joined the cast of CBS’ popular spinoff “NCIS: Los Angeles” in 2012, opposite Chris O’Donnell, LL Cool J, Linda Hunt and others. He came in early on as the assistant director of NCIS and at first was a hard-as-nails unpleasant sort to the team. But during the course of the ensuing seasons, his Owen Granger warmed up to them and became a friend. There has been an ongoing mole-hunt storyline in the current eighth season of “NCIS: LA,” and Granger was stabbed while in police custody in the most recent episode that aired Sunday.
A veteran of 40-plus movies and scores of TV shows, Ferrer launched his career in the early 1980s with small guest shots on such series as “Magnum, P.I.,” “CHiPS” and “Cagney & Lacey” and features including “Heartbreaker,” “The Man Who Wasn’t There” and “Star Trek: III: The Search for Spock.” He would go on to focus mostly on TV throughout that decade before landing the “Twin Peaks” role in 1990.
Ferrer is notable for his early breakout role in Paul Verhoeven’s “Robocop” (1987) as Bob Morton, the ambitious and sleazy corporate climber who spearheads the Robocop program to great success, only to be murdered by his envious boss.
The Santa Monica native toplined the short-lived Stephen J. Cannell-creator cop drama “Broken Badges” in 1991 and also starred in Lynch’s 1950s romp “On the Air” the following year. He appeared in a number of features during the 1990s but continued to star on short-run TV series including “Fallen Angels” and Al Franken’s “LateLine.”
In 2001, Ferrer landed a role in the NBC drama “Crossing Jordan,” starring opposite Hennessy’s Boston medical examiner. The show was among the top 20 in the year-end ratings for 2001-02 and remained on the air until 2007.
After that series wrapped, Ferrer starred opposite Michelle Ryan in “Bionic Woman,” which lasted nine episodes, co-starred with Ally Walker and Tisha Campbell-Martin in the LAPD drama “The Protector” in 2011. But his next role, in “NCIS: LA,” would be his biggest.
Ferrer also was an accomplished drummer before turning to acting. He played in bands, toured with his mother and Bing Crosby and recorded with the Who’s Keith Moon.
Ferrer is survived by his wife Lori, sons Lukas and Rafi and his brothers and sisters.