Boris McGiver

Boris McGiver is the kind of actor whose name you might not immediately know, but whose face you absolutely remember. With a distinctively rugged and expressive presence, he has built a career on delivering utterly believable, often authoritative, and sometimes unsettling characters. He broke through as the dogged, morally conflicted newspaper reporter Thomas Klebanow in 'The Wire,' a performance that set the tone for his niche: playing men with weight on their shoulders. He became a favorite of prestige filmmakers, appearing in Steven Spielberg's 'Lincoln' and as a ruthless lobbyist in 'House of Cards.' McGiver's power lies in his specificity; whether he's a CIA officer, a detective, or a political operative, he imbues each role with a palpable inner life and gritty authenticity.